By Dr. Giovanni Peri
Aerobic training often takes on quite erroneous connotations, it has always been related to the fundamental activity for weight loss and to the activity to be avoided for the purpose of increasing muscle mass.
With this article we will focus on the positive correlation between aerobic and anaerobic activity. The intent is to provide that extra something that is hardly stated with such frankness. I am referring in particular to those who practice bodybuilding training or more simply to anyone who wants to OPTIMIZE the work of increasing muscle mass.
Yes, that's right: aerobic training can "optimize" the work destined for hypertrophy, but let's see how and why.
When asked how to increase muscle mass, the answers could be:
- I have to train my muscles!
- I have to do an anaerobic training!
- I have to work at 70/80% of the ceiling
- I have to increase the caloric intake
- I have to recover between sessions
Quite right, all obvious answers ..
But the answer that is often heard in the background is the following:
- I must avoid aerobic activity in the most absolute way except for a short warm-up and cool-down phase.
But no! I am not referring to the aerobic warm-up activity nor to the regeneration activity!
The problem unfortunately lies in the obvious, behind what is obvious there is often something even more obvious.
By asking another question about which muscle or what exercises need to be performed to "make mass" the answers would be:
Obviously we have to do the squat, the bench and the deadlifts. Ok just right, to increase muscle mass you have to do mainly multiarticular exercises, but asking the question which is the most important muscle to train ... The big buttock the big buttock because it is the most powerful muscle of the body !!
Dear friends, the most important muscle of the body is the HEART . Yes, for those who do not remember it, the heart is an involuntary muscle. It supports us and works tirelessly throughout our lives and for this reason alone it deserves a little more attention.
Unfortunately it is true that those who follow workouts aimed at increasing muscle mass hardly hear themselves told to train their cardiovascular endurance, which is why the intent of the article is to provide that extra piece, unfortunately largely ignored but which instead can considerably increase performance and results.
Let's start with a simple concept - like any other muscle, even the heart undergoing training undergoes changes / adaptations over time based on the stimulus that is given to it .
Among the physiological changes induced by cardiorespiratory resistance training are the following:
| INCREASES | DECREASES |
| - Volume of the heart - VO2max - Volume of the lungs - Size of slow-twitch muscle fibers - Mitochondria (in number and size) - Reserves of intramuscular triglycerides - Strength in bones, tendons and ligaments - Acclimatization to heat - [..] | - Heart rate at rest - Heart rate during submaximal exercises - Blood pressure - Body fat - Cholesterol - [..] |
[NB: Some studies show the possibility of obtaining benefits similar to those of aerobic training through weight training systems such as circuit training and pha].
First of all, it is clear that all the previous variations lead to a general psycho-physical improvement that is not at all indifferent and PREVENT many metabolic pathologies (hypertension, diabetes, obesity).
If those who at times, due to the aforementioned pathologies, are "forced" by the doctor to practice physical activity, those who already practice physical activity for various other reasons should not consider prevention as an "optional". But rightly for those who train for aesthetic purposes, the health improvement is "only" a secondary effect. So rest assured, keep training for the aesthetics that certainly does not hurt, it is better than SEDENTARITY and brings benefits also in healthy terms.
But let's see what the aforementioned variations mean in simpler terms and with reference to anaerobic training.
Improvements in the cardiovascular system in general mean:
lower lactate production → higher recovery capacity → greater fatigue tolerance / intensity → MORE POSSIBILITY OF MUSCULAR DEVELOPMENT
deepen:
The higher the resistance performance capacity, the lower the lactate produced.
With the same muscular commitment, an aerobically trained subject will therefore increase the threshold of anaerobic achievement. Heartbeats will be lower even in anaerobic work, so with less lactate production, you will have greater tolerance to fatigue, therefore you will have more ease in continuing with the anaerobic training itself and you can increase the infamous intensity, so dear to the body builder who looks for hypertrophy and white fiber training at all costs. In this way the subject will recover more quickly and if he wants he will be able to increase the frequency of the training of which another common NATURAL will unfortunately have to reduce.
A common mortal NATURAL can also "DIVERTIRSI" preening itself in lifting higher loads than the natural cousin not conditioned aerobically.
But when and how to insert aerobic training if the main goal is hypertrophy?
It is said that to build a fortress one must first lay a solid foundation.
The foundations in this case represent cardiovascular conditioning.
Fortitude is the construction of real muscle mass.
So the best time is long before the start of specific training for hypertrophy.
- Whoever approaches the world of weight training for the first time, with the primary goal of hypertrophic stimulation, should foresee at least 2/3 initial months with a purely aerobic imprint, even at high intensity (obviously with progressiveness and / or taking into account their own sports background).
- Anyone who has been training for years should at the very least provide an initial aerobic conditioning or reconditioning mesocycle, and then move on to anaerobic training and a progressive decrease in aerobic work after a few months to reduce it to the classic warm-up / cool-down depending on the objectives, therefore of the muscle volume to be reached.
- Anyone who has always trained anaerobically (and perhaps noticed a drop in performance or an almost insurmountable stall) would do well to "reset" the motor for a moment and set aside for a while the intense work with weights to switch to a good cardiovascular conditioning, your heart (and your mind) will thank you and then your performances too!
Let's deepen a concept that should not be missed.
According to the PRINCIPLE OF SPECIFICITY or ADAPTATION TO SPECIFIC REQUESTS: I have to train for the result I want to achieve. So if I have to improve in the high jump I will have to jump, if I have to train for judo I will have to fight and so on for any other sport. So also for the increase of the muscular mass I will have to train with that specific objective, therefore the aerobic activity will have to be adequately programmed but it will not want to be the hinge of the specific objective.
It is also important to open a parenthesis for those who practice only anaerobic activity. These types of training often subject MANOVRA DI VALSALVA, this maneuver increases the pressure considerably. In the long run even a healthy subject could notice the difference (unfortunately in negative) on the effects of arterial pressure, and notice the classic breathlessness in case it lends itself to the performance of more aerobic activities. Moreover, if it is true that anaerobic training increases the thickness of the heart wall as an adaptation response, it is not equally true that by increasing the wall to the maximum and reducing the chamber to a minimum, anaerobic efficiency is increased. The heart will in fact necessarily have to increase its frequency in order to pump more blood, subjecting itself in the long term to considerable stress.
Considering a moment the physiology, moreover, it is known that in percentage the greatest use of fats for the purposes of energy production of ATP takes place in aerobic mode, those who are also trained aerobically - being able to increase the intensity - will be even more efficient in using the fats themselves even during anaerobic training. where the main energy substrate is given by carbohydrates, with the possibility also to reduce the classic loading and unloading cycles of carbohydrates typical of the body builder's work. Among other things, in aerobic work, not even the myth about the possibility of using muscle proteins for energy purposes can be considered, at least unless you train in conditions of poor nutrition or for too long times without reintegration.
Of course: the cardiovascular conditioning and / or the insertion of an aerobic imprint mesocycle is only one of the optimization parameters of a good protocol that trains the work of hypertrophy, the parameters to consider are many: among these we must NEVER forget about the principle of individual differences.
In summary, aerobic activity determines an important cardiovascular conditioning through which it is possible to increase the efficiency of anaerobic work; it can therefore optimize the work of hypertrophy and act as a preventive measure, BUT cannot be considered as the fundamental activity for the purpose of weight loss .
To lose 1 kg of GREASE (not lean mass or water) through aerobic activity only, a moderately trained person, with a frequency of about 3 training sessions per week, at medium intensity and in "optimal conditions", would take at least a year! But that's another story.
