How To Use Nutrition To Get The Most Out Of HIIT

By Russ Hollywood


In gyms around the world nowadays, HIIT is everywhere. But if you are trying to learn how to build muscle and drop unwanted body fat using this method you need to pay particular attention to one area which most gym users overlook.

Nutrition is a key factor in improving your results from any high intensity workout program. The pre-workout period is an area where most people have no idea how to get the best nutrients for their muscles, so this is what we will be focusing on today.

If you can take the necessary steps to provide your muscles with the right fuel for each session then you will in turn increase your overall results by almost 30%, according to the latest scientific studies on the topic. []

The first thing you must do to get the right nutrients before a hard workout is look at which energy source you'll be using in your session. While long, steady-state cardiovascular workouts tend to slowly chip away at your body's fat storage, intervals do not do this. Instead, they mainly use your glycogen (carb) stores.

If you have done your research you will already know that the major benefits of high intensity interval training take place outside of the gym, during the recovery period after your workout. This process, known as EPOC, is where your body tries to protect what's left of it's carbohydrate reserves and focuses on burning body fat for the fuel it needs in order to function properly. Carbs are your body's primary energy source, so when you have burnt through most of your body's reserves it's going to work hard to protect what little it has left, switching the focus on other nutrients instead. This magical post-workout effect can last a whopping 14 hours if you get it right.

So, the key thing we want to achieve is to help you burn through your body's excess carbohydrate stores while you are working out in the gym. For this very reason, consuming a high carbohydrate meal before a workout would make very little sense.

Does this mean you should train on an empty stomach?

Actually, no it's not. While it is more effective than training after a carb heavy meal, there is an ever more superior method. Research shows that consuming a good source of protein before a workout increases both fat loss and muscle retention even further. Remember, in the absence of enough carbs to handle your workout there is a chance your body will turn to protein as a fuel source. By consuming a whey protein shake before a workout you buffer your body's supply and hang onto your hard earned muscle tissue.

One other minor mistake many people make is to go with BCAA supplements after a session. Recent studies confirm that consuming Essential Amino Acids (EAA's) instead of BCAA's will increase results further. While any branched chain amino acids supplement will provide you with three of the key amino acids for building lean muscle tissue, they neglect the others. Amino acids function as a team, therefore taking EAA's would be much more functional.

Furthermore, consuming your serving pre-workout as opposed to post-workout has been shown to increase muscle uptake by around 27%. Combined with a whey protein shake, you'll be able to protect your body from any lean tissue breakdown and fight off any feelings of hunger while performing high intensity training and burning through those carbohydrate reserves.

The topic of HIIT is as popular now as it has ever been in the past, but learning how to build muscle or lose weight with this approach often comes down to your nutrition plan surrounding those tough workouts. Now you have the key scientific research on the crucial pre-workout period, you'll be able to take your own results one step further.




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