The Scientific Research…
Any old type of exercise will burn calories. And pretty much any type of movement is healthy for you to do. But only certain forms of exercise have been scientifically proven to literally force your body to change, adapt and turn on your fat-burning potential.
Metabolic Prime is one of those programs.
It works because it releases a cascade of the fat-burning, muscle-shaping molecules called “metabolic priming activators” or MPAs.
MPAs are cellular signaling particles. They’re like microscopic commanders that send anti-aging instructions to every part of your body.
You can think of MPAs as metabolic drill sergeants… barking orders to your brain, muscles, and internal organs, commanding your body to work in the background, as if your metabolism was on autopilot.
Five of these metabolic drill sergeants pretty much run the show when it comes to fat burning and muscle sculpting. Here they are…
MPA #1: IL-15—The Holy Grail of Body-Shaping
IL-15 burns fat and increases muscle and bone density at the same time. This is notoriously difficult to do in the world of exercise physiology.
The body likes to build tissues or break them down. It doesn’t like to do both at the same time. Metabolic Prime achieves this effect while few other workouts can.
MPA #2: Nitric Oxide—The Surge Commander
Nitric oxide reopens your blood vessels (which close down when you exercise) so your circulation surges to every vital organ. Interesting note for the guys: It’s the substance released by those “little blue pills”.
MPA #3: Lactic Acid—The Youth-Hormone Activator
The importance of lactic acid has, until recently, been unknown. Not only does it buffer the acidic effects created in the cellular environment by exercise, but it also signals the male brain to secrete more hardening and strengthening testosterone… and in the ladies, more fat-burning and age-defying HGH.
It’s hard to overstate just how critical this MPA is.
MPA #4: IL-6 (Modified!)—The Fat Cell Liberator
In its original form IL-6 is actually an inflammatory molecule. Interestingly it is “transformed” by your other MPAs from a deadly inflammatory compounds into a fat cell liberator, releasing your stored fat on contact so your body can use it for fuel.
In recent exercise research, many are citing the modified form of IL-6 as the key that drives all of the health benefits of exercise. It has been shown to support the brain, heart, lungs, and more.
MPA #5: IL-8—The Blood Vessel Savior
IL-8 is responsible for resurrecting and creating new blood vessels. This leads to more lean muscle, more life-giving oxygen, and greater nutrient distribution throughout your body.
More lean muscle means more mitochondria, which are the little fat-burning furnaces inside each and every one of your cells. Another benefit to this little molecule is that it’s anti-inflammatory and helps your heart and your lungs.
The massive release of MPAs you get during the Metabolic Prime workouts is one of the reasons this system blows traditional approaches away.
However, there is another revolution in exercise technology built into Metabolic Prime that allows you to tailor the workouts specifically to your personal needs. And this really takes these workouts to the next level…
How Rest-Based Training Works…
You may be familiar with some of these concepts through a training technique called interval training.12 This technique has been growing in popularity because it is so much more effective compared to traditional exercise.
It’s more impactful because it makes use of some of the same physiological changes the Metabolic Prime does.
But it is not scalable to the individual. This style of training can definitely generate the aftershock, but it suffers two major downsides:
- It is too hard for most (and not hard enough for a few).
- It is not individualized to your unique metabolism.
That is where rest-based training comes in. Sounds like an oxymoron right? Typically, rest and work are thought of as opposites. They aren’t. They are actually synergistic.
Think of an elite sprinter who runs a 100-meter dash at top speed. Now imagine telling him or her to run the race at the same intensity again as soon as they complete the race. It would be physiologically impossible wouldn’t it?
The sprinter would not be able to muster the same intensity physiologically, or psychologically, until he or she took some rest. At that point, they not only could run the race again, but could come close to matching the same intensity.
Quality rest leads to quality work, and quality work requires quality rest.
This was explained in a January 2011 study published in the journal Psychophysiology.13 Researchers wanted to see how traditional interval training (where work-to-rest ratios were set) compared to self-paced interval exercise (where work and rest intervals were self-defined). Three different methods of gauging exercise intensity and recovery were used in this study:
- Heart rate recovery intervals: Exercisers resumed exercise when the heart rate returned to 130 beats per minute.
- Defined rest intervals: Exercisers resumed exercise after the rest period equaled the work period. A 1:1 work to rest interval ratio.
- Self-paced intervals: Exercisers resumed exercise when they felt “ready.”
The self-paced interval group performed slightly better, was shown to have worked just as hard and finished the session slightly faster than the traditional interval group. The heart-rate recovery interval group had the lowest intensity levels.
Interval training is all about maximizing the work-to-rest ratio to maximize performance and intensity. Self-paced or rest-based interval training was able to accomplish a better outcome.
Research has also shown rest-based or self-paced exercise is psychologically easier.14,15,16,17,18 The common notion that letting people self-select their exercise intensity and rest periods will result in less effective workouts is wrong. It actually makes the workouts more effective and more psychologically pleasing.
We call rest-based training “interval training on steroids,” because it gives you all the metabolic benefits of traditional interval training, but allows you to work even harder than you would otherwise since you are in complete control.
Prioritizing rest over work is what allows this metabolic effect to happen.
Harder work leads to more fat calories burned during exercise and a greater Metabolic Prime. And quality rest is required to produce quality work. It is win-win for the metabolism.
