The latest research has revealed that hormones play an important role in weight loss.  Exercise releases hormones into the body that greatly affect the body’s ability to burn or store fat, as well as losing weight and gaining lean muscle mass.  It is vital to ensure that the 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.  Let’s examine which hormones are released during various types of exercise.

First, let’s take a look at low-intensity, long-duration cardio training. Cortisol, a stress hormone, is the primary hormone released during cardio type workouts. In excess, this hormone has several detrimental effects on the body. Too much cortisol is catabolic, breaking down the muscles, and is also destructive to the metabolism. It decreases the immune system post-workout and does not signal muscle building at all. So although long periods of time may be spent trying to build lean muscle and get in shape, cortisol is counteracting these efforts.

Resistance, or weight training, primarily releases human growth hormone (HGH) and testosterone. These two hormones are vital to building lean muscle mass.  HGH is also responsible for decreased body fat, 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 on artificial forms of HGH for its muscle-building and anti-aging properties.

If HGH is essential to building lean muscle, then why is the average person not seeing a greater and quicker return from hours spent participating in resistance or weight training? The answer lies in a little known fact about HGH: this powerful, muscle-building hormone is released directly proportional to how intensely you work out. Most people who weight train are taught to do so at a very slow, steady pace. While there is great value in this type of training and it does release some HGH, the results are often slower, leading to frustration in many who are looking to tone up and get leaner.

This brings us to our third type of training, burst training.  Burst training is a short-duration, high-intensity type of exercise that combines both cardio and resistance into one workout. Similar to resistance training, burst training causes the body to respond by releasing human growth hormone and testosterone.  However, because burst training is performed at a more intense pace, exponentially more HGH is released into the body, allowing it to build more lean muscle and burn more fat (1-2). Artificial forms of HGH are unnecessary when you understand that the body makes HGH every day and has the ability to make significantly more than you are now, simply through bursting.

Understanding this simple process may also help you better understand how burst training releases hormones that enable the body to respond at optimal levels to burn fat.  The more HGH you have, the more lean muscle you will build.  The more lean muscle you have, the higher your metabolism is.  The higher your metabolism, the more fat you burn.

The fat-burning process begins when you start to burst. Research and science prove it is the greatest way to release muscle-building hormones which signal fat burning.