B•U•R•S•TCLUB™
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. What is B•U•R•S•T Training?
A. Burst Training is bursts of high-intensity exercise done in short intervals of time, followed by periods of rest.
Q. Doing an “Intense” workout sounds scary! How hard do I have to go with burst training?
A. Intense does not mean impossible. That is the beauty of burst training! When we say "go 90-100% of your max effort," everybody’s max effort looks different. We are all at various degrees of physical fitness and health. Regardless, your body will respond to the “shocks” that you give it with huge benefits. If your level of intensity does not look like someone else’s, that’s ok! You’re body doesn’t care about what someone else is doing! It cares about what you are doing!
Q. Don’t I have to do aerobic exercise for 30 minutes or more to have a healthy heart and lungs?
A. This is a common question that can be answered simply with research. Intensity, not duration, affects the body’s response to exercise. So it is not about how long you exercise, but how hard you go--quality over quantity. One study found that as long as the intensity is sufficient, cardiovascular condition can be doubled in just 8 minutes a week of burst training. So shorter duration, higher intensity exercise is actually proven to be more effective at improving heart and lung health than traditional cardio.
Q: How can B•U•R•S•T Training be effective since the workout is so short?
A: Again, your body cares more about quality than quantity (or intensity rather than duration). When scientists compared traditional cardio (30-60 minutes aerobic exercise) to sprint training (20-60 second sprints) they found that sprint training can burn the same calories in 1/15th of the time. You can read more on our website about which hormones are released during different types of exercise and how this affects the body’s ability to burn fat.
Q. How exactly does B•U•R•S•T Training effect my body?
A. Burst works because it changes your hormones and it does so in two extremely powerful ways. First, everyone is either a “sugar burner” or a “fat burner” physiologically. Traditional aerobic exercise promotes getting into your "fat burning zone," then staying there for a set period of time. Although you may burn fat while you are in that zone, your body then responds by burning sugar for the rest of the day. When you are burning sugar you aren't burning fat. Would you rather burn fat for 30 minutes a day or 24 hours a day? This means that you can literally burst for minutes a day and burn fat for the rest of the day! Secondly, bursting releases exponentially more Human Growth Hormone and Testosterone into your body than traditional exercise. These hormones are the ones responsible for toning and creating muscle. Therefore the more HGH you release, the more fit and healthy you are.
Q. Why am I hearing so much about hormones when we are talking about a workout?
A. Because your hormones control your body’s ability to burn fat and to build lean muscle. You want to make sure that your body is releasing the right fat-burning, muscle-building hormones as opposed to hormones that will stress the body and prevent it from burning fat properly.
Q. What hormones are released in traditional cardio or aerobic exercise?
A. Cortisol, a stress hormone, is the primary hormone released during long duration, low intensity type workouts. This hormone decreases the immune system post-workout, and does not signal muscle building at all.
Q. What hormones are released with B•U•R•S•T Training?
A. Bursting releases significantly more Human Growth Hormone (HGH) and Testosterone into your body than traditional exercise. These are two very important muscle-building hormones.
Q: What is HGH and do I need it?
A: HGH or Human Growth Hormone, is responsible for decreased body fat, increased muscle mass, increased bone density, increased energy levels, improved skin tone and texture, increased sexual function, improved immune system function and has even been shown to slow signs of aging. Many professional athletes spend tens of thousands of dollars every year to have artificial HGH injected because it works! This is not recommended - primarily because it is not natural, but also because your body makes HGH every day, and has the ability to make exponentially more than you are currently, simply through bursting.
Q: Do my hormones really change with B•U•R•S•T Training?
A: Yes! Your hormones are changing every second of every day, always adapting to whatever kind of environment you create in your body through food, stress, exercise, sleep, etc. The sad reality is that most people's hormones are working against them because of the things that are done on a daily basis. When talking specifically about the exercise component of someone’s life, bursting shocks the body, much like jumping a car battery. This shock turns the fat burning and muscle toning/building hormones back "on."
Q. Why is lean muscle so important to weight loss?
A. Lean muscle is the key predictor of the metabolism. Without lean muscle, your metabolism will not function at optimal levels. Your goal, with any workout program, diet, or eating plan is to ensure that it is helping you to build lean muscle. Lean muscle mass will then re-charge your metabolism, thus turning on your body’s natural ability to burn.
Q. Can I build lean muscle with B•U•R•S•T Training?
A. Yes! Burst Training will help you build more lean muscle in a shorter amount of time than traditional cardio training because it releases a greater amount of HGH than cardio.
Q. Can I do B•U•R•S•T Training if I am injured or have health issues?
A. You should always consult your physician and receive his or her approval before beginning any exercise program. Research does show that there is significant benefit to performing bouts of high-intensity exercise, even for those with various health issues. Scientists have found that burst training produces an anti-inflammatory affect on the body. This means it can reduce the chance of heart disease much more than the long-duration cardio workouts, which produces a stress hormone called cortisol. Scientists also found that it is even safe for post heart bypass patients to do sprint training.
Q: Can I still participate in other types of exercise besides B•U•R•S•T?
A: Yes! Research has shown that bursting before other aerobic exercising will dramatically increase your results. Mixing 2-3 BURSTCore workouts into your current weekly aerobic routine will increase endurance and VO2 levels.
Q. Can I do this routine if I am overweight?
A. Always consult your physician before starting an exercise program. B•U•R•S•TCore™ is designed with many modifications if exercises are ever too difficult so that people of varying fitness levels can do every workout.
Q. Is there an age limit on who can do B•U•R•S•T Training?
A. No, burst training has been proven highly effective from the youngest to the oldest.
Q: Is it normal to increase in size before seeing any weight loss?
A: Initially some may feel as though they have increased in size. This is actually perfectly normal with any exercise routine. When you exercise, muscles are filled with blood, causing them to slightly swell, in order to deliver vital nutrients. As you continue to burst train, your muscles will tone, the swelling will subside, and the fat will come off.
Q. If the science shows that high-intensity B•U•R•S•T Training is better, then why don’t I hear about it more often?
A. What is better is not always popular. Since the 1990’s, exercise physiologists have studied burst training and have been singing the tune that it is the most effective form of exercise. Mainstream media, however, has not often reviewed the scientific research on this topic; but go instead to the fitness industry or to doctors as their sources. So although the general public may be unaware of the research on Burst Training, top trainers and conditioning coaches around the world have chosen it as the method of choice. The research and science will continue to make its way into mainstream, as it is already gaining media and web coverage.