Interview with Eric Serrano, MD
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Interview with Eric Serrano, M.D. (Part 1)
by Scott H. Mendelson
http://www.infinityfitness.com
I am joined today by world famous nutrition and supplementation expert Dr.
Eric Serrano MD. Dr. Serrano is well known amongst elite athletes and coaches
who seek his help for the most complicated cases. He also leads the Ohio State
University family practice in Columbus, Ohio where he helps people overcome
every day problems with unconventional tactics, which produce results! This man
turns miracles every day; he gets results when others say it is hopeless. Listen
to his advice and you will be armed with the information to succeed.
SHM: Dr. Serrano what are the latest and greatest methods you are using to
elicit fat loss progress that you are famous for?
ES: I am using periodization of nutrition and training simultaneously. A
combination of certain nutrition protocols matched with specific training has
resulted in very fast rates of fat loss for my patients and athletes.
SHM: So you are basically integrating the whole picture of training and
nutrition.
ES: Yes, in the past there has been a lot of discussion covering the
periodization of training, but no one talks about nutrition in this fashion and
that is a big mistake. The synergy created is very powerful and is necessary to
get the long-term results people are looking for. I find that a good diet or
perhaps training will work well alone for a while, but integrating the two is a
big step in the right direction for athletes, fitness enthusiasts and anyone
else who desires impressive results. This is important for gaining size,
improving strength/performance in addition to fat loss.
SHM: Can you provide an example of an integrated plan?
ES: This is a simple sample; I do not want people to use this plan without
considering their own specific needs. Lets take an athlete, who needs to lose x
amount of weight in 7-10- days. First of all we need to know the body type, what
kind of diet and training have been done before, medications, drugs etc. All of
this needs to be taken into consideration. This helps us establish a baseline
and from here we can make a plan.
For the purposes of the interview I will use you as an example. I know that
you are carbohydrate sensitive so I am going to keep your carbs low for a week,
which I consider a micro cycle. The training during this period will be high
volume, 12-15 reps with roughly 30 seconds rest between sets. 5-10 sets per
exercise, not taken to failure, but a heavy load must be used. Only 2 exercises
should be done per day and these must be compound movements such as squats, dead
lifts, benches etc.
SHM: Are you recommending compound movements because they burn more
calories?
ES: Yes they burn relatively more calories and activate beneficial hormones.
A 7 day period with low carbs will deplete glycogen and lower sugar levels.
These conditions make the body enter a fat burning stage. I will add glycogen to
the system with certain carbs over the 2-3 days following the first week to
prepare the muscles for intense exercise. A short carb loading period will keep
the body in a fat burning state.
SHM: So raising the carbs for a short period of time primes the system for
continued fat loss in a way?
ES: Yes it does, the question is how to do it since everyone is different in
this regard. Some people need up to 72 hours and others are as low as 6-18. The
frequency of these periods vary as well. Some people will do well with every
7-9’th day, every 5’th or even every 12’th. You must experiment and see what
works for an individual because this will depend on many factors.
SHM: I have heard you mention that traditional cardio will make some
people store fat in trouble spots. Why is this?
ES: Cardio can teach the body to save fat because you are burning fat
constantly. This can be counterproductive for fat loss. Only do cardio in
combination with weight training. Combining low carbs and traditional cardio
will burn fat in the muscles, but not subcutaneous fat, which is found in the
belly and legs.
SHM: What is the best way to do cardio?
ES: Interval sprints! I like your Metabolic Activation Cardio (MAC) LINK
program that you sent me. The system you use rotates the volume, sprint length
and rest periods in a strategic manner. You did a good job of evaluating the
research and people need to understand that a well thought out program must be
used to get the best results. While doing this type of work you are burning
glycogen, so muscles are forced to burn subcutaneous fat. The body will learn to
burn fat and not save it. There are many interval sprinting systems that I use
and they get progressively harder. They produce great results and take far less
time. Doing a couple short sessions a day like you recommend activates the
metabolism twice, which is very important for fat loss. This is a powerful tool
that people can use any time any where.
SHM: Is interval cardio more beneficial than traditional cardio from a
hormonal stand point?
ES: The more cardio you do: the lower testosterone levels will be. And
Cortisol will increase, which is responsible for thick abdominal fat and lower
body fat for women. High cortisol levels can also result from stress. You need
to check the stress levels to determine what the exact problem is. The increased
cortisol can be coming from physical or mental stress.
SHM: What hormones are increased by the workout you mentioned earlier? How
do the short rest periods affect hormones?
ES: The short rest increases growth hormone and the heavy loads increases
testosterone. You want to optimize the levels of both of those hormones when
possible. Growth Hormone is very important for fat loss. A medium carb, medium
fat, high protein diet is best for increasing T levels and this is very good for
performance.
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