Pulse: Generate GH with GBC

So, from earlier in the Pulse series, we know that you have to generate GH (Growth Hormone) to create fat loss. I'm going to detail here the best way that I know of to release GH when weight training--something called GBC (German Body Composition) by Charles Poliquin.

Here's the short version:

1) Super set all exercises. For instance, do a set of a lower body exercise, and follow it up with an upper body exercise.

2) Keep rep ranges, in general, between 8 and 12 (although you may want to do some sets of 15-20).

3) Rest only 30 to 60 seconds between sets. If your first movement in an upper/lower body superset is squats, you might want to rest 60 seconds before attempting your second movement. However, if your first exercise is a fairly "easy" exercise, like leg extensions, you might only wish to wait 30 seconds before doing the second part of the superset.

4) Do a different Body Comp workout each day, doing three or four workouts a week. (Charles' actual program involves 12 separate workouts, done in succession. After the 12 workouts are completed, you simply start with the first one again. This whole "cycle" can be done up to three times, depending on how much fat you want to dump.)

5) Work larger muscle groups, such as quads, back, and chest, earlier in the workout.

6) Try to keep a balance between all body parts so that none are neglected.

From TC Luoma's How to Deep-six Holiday Fat.

There's a sample workout in that article. For another sample, click here.

For more on this topic, read an article by Charles Poliquin on Advanced GBC, or check out his book on the same topic (Manly Weight Loss: For Men Who Hate Aerobics and Carrot-Stick Diets, Finally, a Weight-Loss Program That Melts the Fat and Spares the Muscle) that explains it in much more thorough detail.

Our take-home point today is simple: to lose fat, incorporate short rest intervals (30-60 seconds) in your weight training.

Coming up in the Pulse series, how to conduct your "aerobics" sessions in order to release more GH, how to release GH by fasting, and how to put all of this together.

Pulse: Growth Hormone Basics

There's a slight difference between what Gary Taubes says and what Brad Pilon says: Taubes says that the main precondition for fat loss is to lower insulin levels. He does say that you need some other hormonal responses, but that basically everything else is antagonistic to insulin, including growth hormone, adrenaline, noradrenaline, and glucagon.

Pilon says that you can actually suppress fat loss by suppressing GH levels, which I'm not sure about-I'm still doing the research. It is clear that having a high GH level reduces muscle breakdown and inhibits free fatty acids from going back into the fat cells, as well as encouraging the use of free fatty acids for energy.

Basically, what this means is, a low insulin level "opens the fat cells up" and a high GH level will protect your muscle from being burned while encouraging fat to come out of the open fat cells and be burned for energy. This is a great turn of events for fat loss.

So how do you increase GH levels in ways that we can manipulate in our own bodies (without a prescription)?

1. Fasting
2. High protein meals
3. Exercise
4. Sleep

Things are just getting interesting now that we know how to cut calories, control insulin, and increase GH. Stay tuned: we're going to start putting this knowledge into practice.

Pulse: the Basics

I decided to make a series out of the post I've been working on--it's called "Pulse" and I'll let Brad Pilon kick it off.



Take home points:

1. Insulin levels must be low for fat loss to occur
2. Growth hormone must be released for fat loss to occur


Brad implies but does not explicitly state a few things here. The first is that calories out must be greater than calories in. The second point is that fasting drops insulin levels, raises GH levels, and cuts calories.

I'll be back tomorrow with more.