We
asked exercise physiologist Michele Olson to design a plan that would
offer the biggest metabolic boost in the shortest time. Oh, and it had
to feel good, too. Enter METabata
Mary
Lee Yelverton is quickly realizing that working out in an
exercise-science lab is nothing like working out at a gym. For one
thing, there's no music. The metallic tick of a metronome keeping her on
track -- tick, squat down, tick, rise up -- is the only sound she can
make out above the whoosh of her own breathing. Instead of windows and a
watercooler, anatomy posters line the walls, and Yelverton is being
monitored by a grad student crunching data at a nearby computer.
Finally, there's the hazmat-like mask over her nose and mouth, connected
via yards of white tubing to an apparatus that looks like a crash cart
you'd see in a hospital. It would have drawn more than a few stares at
boot camp, but at the Auburn Montgomery Human Performance Lab in
Montgomery, AL, the Breaking Bad-with-hand-weights look is as normal as
Lulu leggings at yoga.
"It's
a metabolic cart, and it measures your intake of oxygen and output of
carbon dioxide to determine how many calories you're actually burning,"
explained Michele Olson, PhD, an exercise physiologist and lead
researcher at the lab, when Yelverton, 46, arrived that morning.
Yelverton knew that Dr. Olson often conducts unique fitness experiments
in her lab -- like pitting exercises against each other to see which one
is truly tops for sculpting a strong core -- so she knew the routine
could be groundbreaking. Still, she wasn't quite sure what to expect.
When she agreed to be one of Olson's first guinea pigs, all the
researcher had told her about the new routine was that it would be
enticingly short, intense enough to spark a powerful metabolism burst,
and yet enjoyable enough to want to do again. What could go wrong?
Inside
the lab, things had started off normally enough. Olson had her fill out
a questionnaire about her mood (tense, after a crazy morning getting
her two teenage girls off to school). Then, while monitoring Yelverton's
resting metabolic rate, the fit, 53-year-old researcher chatted about
afterburn as casually as if it were the weather. "It's this supercool
state that causes your body to continue burning calories at a higher
rate for minutes to hours after your workout," Olson said. "But you
really have to push to reach it."
Thanks
to Olson, Yelverton is in the best shape of her life. (The back pain
she struggled with in her 30s disappeared soon after she joined Olson's
classes at a local gym.) But this routine feels different, and not just
because of the strange mask. After just 6 minutes, Yelverton is pretty
sure all the calories from her breakfast have been torched.
"You're almost there," Olson coaches. "Focus on your form."
Yelverton
nods, widening her stance for a lunge. Two minutes from now, you'll be
done for the day, she tells herself. You can do this.
As
fitness fads go, tough, brief workouts can be a tricky sell. Yet
CrossFit has built its brand on quick but killer workouts of the day,
and any trainer or gym worth your cash teaches a version of
high-intensity interval training (HIIT). By now, the shorter the
workout, the more buzz it generates. The Scientific 7-Minute Workout
took off last year after its appearance in the American College of
Sports Medicine's Health & Fitness Journal caught the attention of
the New York Times, while the Tabata Protocol (a 4-minute HIIT regimen
named after Japanese professor Izumi Tabata, PhD, who helped develop it
in the late '90s) is now an international phenomenon.
The
problem is that Tabata and many of its ilk are far from a walk in the
park. While a single Tabata session -- alternating between 20 seconds of
max effort and 10 seconds of rest for 8 cycles -- can double your
metabolic rate, it can be so unpleasant that it hardly seems worth the
work. When Olson compared HIIT with continuous cardio, she found that
HIIT lifted moods better than continuous cardio only up to a point. "If a
workout is too extreme, it can actually create anxiety, leaving you
feeling worse than before," she says. "When participants performed a
bout of intense exercise to exhaustion, their mood states dipped."
Olson's
idea of creating a routine with a killer burn but not the kill-me-now
feeling began to form when she taught Tabata; many moderately fit
students, she noticed, weren't getting through the 4 minutes. After the
Scientific 7-Minute Workout landed, her vision for METabata -- a hybrid
routine that combines metabolic resistance training and Tabata-style
cardio bursts into a single workout -- started to gel. "The Scientific
7-Minute Workout is a great metabolic resistance training routine, but
it didn't include enough cardio bursts to really fan the flames of
metabolism," she says. "Plus, it was based on applied science. It was
never actually tested in a lab."
If
METabata could serve as a happier Tabata -- providing a really great
metabolic bang without pushing you so hard that you'd feel worn out the
rest of the day -- Olson knew it would have a lot of potential. Research
continues to show that HIIT offers extraordinary benefits: It's as
effective as more moderate (and time-consuming) exercise when it comes
to trimming fat and improving insulin resistance, all while delivering a
bigger metabolic lift.
And
when a routine is smart, people will keep it up. According to a 2012
study published in the journal Sports Medicine, heart disease patients
who were put on a HIIT routine were more likely to stick with it than
patients told to do continuous cardio. "You get short breaks during
HIIT, which may give you that extra spunk to get through the next
interval, creating an amped-up sense of accomplishment and making the
overall workout feel more satisfying," says Olson.
Wanting
her METabata workout to stay near the 7-minute mark, Olson experimented
with different moves until she found a combination she liked, requiring
6 minutes 40 seconds of hard effort, with 10 seconds after each move to
quickly set up for the next exercise. Then she rounded up Yelverton and
19 other women with a mean age of 42 (the oldest was 61; the youngest,
25). For 2 months, Olson ran them through the same protocol, gauging
their preworkout moods and resting metabolic rates, having them do the
workout, testing their metabolic rates for 30 more minutes, and then
asking them about their postworkout moods.
The
results, given that the whole workout lasts 480 seconds, are
astounding. Her testers burned an average of 85 calories during the
workout and another 65 in afterburn, for a total of 150. (To put that in
perspective: You'd have to walk for half an hour to hit that number.)
They also increased their metabolic rates by 85% for 30 minutes
following the workout -- almost the same boost as after a Tabata
routine. Most important, says Olson: "Our participants experienced a
significant decrease in negative mood factors and felt a greater sense
of total well-being."
The
workout over, Yelverton lies down so Olson can measure her metabolic
rate. Yelverton's legs are burning. Her heart is hammering against her
chest. But, she says, she feels pretty good.
Inside
her body, meanwhile, Olson's METabata workout has initiated a powerful
chain reaction. Its intensity triggered the release of extra adrenaline,
a sort of espresso shot for her heart, which allowed her muscles to
demand more of the oxygen-rich blood they need to convert food energy
into ATP (adenosine triphosphate), their cellular bonfire. Even though
she's at rest, her body continues to use oxygen at a higher rate, and it
will take her metabolism another few hours to return to baseline.
"Basically,"
Olson explains, "you've turned your body into an oxygen-, fat-, and
carb-incinerating machine, which makes up for the fact that you
exercised for only a few minutes."
A short time later, as her breathing slowly returns to normal, Yelverton feels her mood and energy lift.
"So, what did you think?" Olson asks her.
Yelverton
smiles and shakes her head, wiping a bit of sweat from her forehead.
"It was tough, but it's over fast," she says. "I'd definitely do it
again. In fact, can you write it down for me?"
8-MINUTE CALORIE BURN AT A GLANCE - Weight training: 30 calories
- Power yoga: 34 calories
- Walking: 37 calories
- Swimming: 50 calories
- Jogging: 59 calories
- Running: 70 calories
- Spinning: 72 calories
- METabata: 85 calories -- plus, you'll torch another 65 in afterburn
Your
metabolism spends most of its time idling at a slow burn of roughly 1.2
calories per minute. One session of METabata spikes it by 85% and can
keep it elevated for the next few hours. How's that for just 8 minutes
of effort?
Your 8-Minute METabata Workout
What you'll need:
A set of hand weights -- our test panelists used 8 to 10 pounds, but
start low and work your way up -- and a timer. We like the Seconds Pro
app ($4.99; iTunes App Store).
How to do it:
Warm up with 2 minutes of easy walking or marching in place, then do
the METabata circuit, quickly moving from one move to the next. (It
should take you about 10 seconds to set up for each exercise.) "Ideally,
you should be able to get in 30 to 32 reps during each 6o-second
resistance move and 18 to 20 reps for the 20-second cardio bursts," says
exercise physiologist Michele Olson, PhD. "But form comes before speed.
To get the calorie burn and benefit of this workout, you need to
perform a complete range of motion for each exercise." If you have a few
extra minutes, end with some easy stretching. Your muscles will be
warm, so it's the perfect time to work on flexibility.
1. Squat with Overhead Pass Targets: legs, butt, and shoulders
Stand
with feet slightly more than hip-width apart, holding 1 weight in right
hand directly in front of right shoulder, elbow bent. Lower into a
squat, keeping knees behind toes and chest lifted, right elbow hovering a
few inches above right knee (a). Straighten legs and extend arms
overhead, passing dumbbell to left hand (b), and immediately lower into
another squat, lowering weight and bringing left elbow a few inches
above left knee (c). Continue alternating sides for 60 seconds.
2. Tabata Burst: Squat Jack Targets: legs, butt, and shoulders
Stand
with feet together and arms extended overhead, holding 1 weight
horizontally with both hands (a). Jump feet out and lower into a squat,
bending elbows and lowering weight to chest height (b). Straighten legs
and jump feet back together, extending arms and weight overhead.
Continue for 20 seconds.
3. Push-Up Targets: arms, shoulders, and core
Start
in push-up position, feet hip-width apart and hands slightly outside of
shoulders (a). (Modify by keeping knees on floor.) Bend elbows,
lowering body until chest nearly touches floor (b). Pause, then
straighten arms to push body back to starting position. Continue for 60
seconds.
4. Tabata Burst: Row Jump Targets: thighs, butt, and upper back
Stand
with feet together, holding 1 weight vertically at chest height, both
hands grasping top end and elbows bent out to sides (a). Jump feet out
and lower into a squat, straightening arms and lowering weight toward
floor (b). Straighten legs and jump feet back together, raising weight
to chest height, elbows bent out to sides. Continue for 20 seconds.
5. Back Row with Leg Tap Targets: butt, back, and shoulders
Stand
with left leg 1 to 2 feet in front of right leg, left knee slightly
bent and right heel lifted. Lean forward slightly, keeping spine long,
holding a weight in each hand beside left knee, with arms straight (a).
Keeping core engaged, tap ball of right foot next to left foot, bending
elbows straight back and pinching shoulder blades together while pulling
weights up alongside torso (b). Tap right foot back and lower arms,
returning to starting position. Continue for 30 seconds. Immediately
repeat on opposite side for another 30 seconds, tapping left foot next
to right foot.
6. Tabata Burst: Squat Jack
Repeat move 2 (p. 101) for 20 seconds.
7. Chop Lunge Targets: thighs, butt, shoulders, and core
Stand
with right foot about 3 feet in front of left foot, holding 1 weight
with both hands beside right inner thigh (a). Lower into a lunge,
keeping right knee over ankle and left knee pointing straight down,
while sweeping weight up and across body, ending with arms extended and
weight over right shoulder (b). Straighten legs and lower weight to
starting position. Continue for 30 seconds. Immediately repeat on
opposite side for another 30 seconds.
8. Tabata Burst: Row Jump
Repeat move 4 (opposite) for 20 seconds.
9. Pilates Double-Leg Stretch Targets: core
Lie
on back, hugging knees to chest, hands resting lightly on shins. Curl
head, neck, and shoulders off floor (a). Keeping core engaged,
straighten and lift legs about 45 degrees from floor while extending
arms overhead next to ears (b). Pause, then pull knees back to chest
while sweeping arms out to sides to return hands to shins. Continue for
6o seconds.
10. Tabata Burst: Squat Jack Repeat move 2 (p. 101) for 20 seconds.
That's it! You just burned some serious calories.
The
20-second Tabata-style bursts in this workout incinerate belly fat.
They can also lower triglycerides and improve blood sugar, reducing your
risks of diabetes and heart disease.
Bone
loss accelerates rapidly as you near and reach menopause, but the light
hopping in this workout places vertical stress on your skeleton, which
can improve bone density.
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