The EXIT Strategy
Extreme Interval Training (EXIT) Strategy.
It started as a text, “I’m thinking about swinging the kettlebell 25 times, then jumping in the harbor. Maybe five rounds?” The answer was, “Yeah! Good idea!”
You can see that we were meant for each other.
We keep edging down this road of some environmental challenge added to training, to enhance its benefits. Fortunately, we agree on some basic values, as we read more about people doing this around the world:
We’re not interested in dying (been there, done that). There are some extreme trainers that are doing things underwater that are particularly dangerous—we agree we want to steer clear of that sort of thing.
We’re not interested in injuring ourselves (Injury rates are pretty high for extreme obstacle course racing, for instance). The point is to stay healthy and strong.
We are very interested in how an environmental stress (applied safely) can enhance training adaptations.
So, we’re doing some bare-chested running in the cold, and some interval training that includes cold water exposure. The idea is that you tap into the wondrous properties of brown adipose tissue (BAT) or brown fat, as many refer to it. We touched on this in a previous article, but let’s take a closer look.
The Mysterious Case of Brown Adipose Tissue (BAT)
We were all born with it. It was Mother Nature’s way of helping us to survive the cold. But until quite recently, scientists believed that any BAT in adults was just a pretty much useless carry over from our time as babies. It turns out that it is a thermogenic organ chock-full of mitochondria, and it’s involved in energy expenditure. It is also a powerful tool in regulating glucose in the blood and returning insulin sensitivity to the body. And there is no better way to access it than by using cold exposure and exercise at the same time. Valgas da Silva, et al., in their 2019 study “Cold and Exercise: Therapeutic Tools to Activate Brown Adipose Tissue and Combat Obesity,” conclude that cold and exercise together is a powerful tool to fight metabolic diseases like Type 2 Diabetes and obesity. Their conclusion is basically that yes, it works—but very few people are willing to expose themselves to the cold. Here is a link to the study, if you want to read more:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6466122/
The mysterious thing is, nobody understands the exact mechanisms at work in BAT. There is a lot more research underway. But we do know that it basically grabs white fat and burns it as energy. Both exercise and the cold also generate more mitochondria—the energy makers in our cells. So this combination of cold and exercise is basically like a way of supercharging a workout. It is a secret that is spreading through the world of elite athletes, including Olympians, none of whom want to share their secret training habits, so that they maintain an edge over their competitors.
Please proceed to your nearest EXIT
While there is still more research to do to scientifically explain the benefits of exercising in the cold, we can tell you from our own experiences that it works. We have both experienced a “leaning out” since combining exercise and cold exposure. And usually you can look to elite sports for the latest and greatest training methods, that later trickle down to scientific research, and even later, the general public. If you are trying to lose weight, try exercising in the cold. If you’re trying to gain a mental edge in your sport of choice, also give cold exposure a try.
During our EXIT experiments, we have noticed an even greater “rush” afterward, than can be achieved with just exercise alone. When exercising outside in cold temperatures, there is also the feeling that you have met nature head-on and survived.
So get out there and give some environmental conditioning a try!
Get cold, get happy, get healthy, get strong,
Scott & Lennart