Nitric Oxide dump

Do you have three or four minutes, one to three times a day, to devote to your health? By using that time to engage in one of the best high-intensity exercises out there — the Nitric Oxide Dump — you can improve your mitochondrial health, slowing down age-related muscle decline. The fact is, if you live in the U.S. and work full time, you sit an average of 13 hours a day, then sleep for an average of eight.1 This means you’re sedentary 21 hours of the day!

Your body wasn’t designed for that. It functions best when you’re active more so than not, and by breaking up your day with bursts of activity, you can reap great rewards. Take nitric oxide (NO), a soluble gas stored in the lining of your blood vessels, called the endothelium. NO is produced inside your endothelial cells from the amino acid L-arginine, where it acts as an important signaling molecule throughout your body.

Along with promoting healthy endothelial function and heart health, NO supports healthy blood flow by helping your veins and arteries dilate. This, in turn, allows vital oxygen and nutrients to flow freely throughout your body. NO also plays a protective role in your mitochondrial health, the energy storehouse of your cells, responsible for the utilization of energy for all metabolic functions.

Even your skeletal muscle, which is made up of only about 1 percent to 2 percent mitochondria, depend on these energy powerhouses to fuel your daily movements. When you exercise and your muscles ache, it’s because you’ve run out of oxygen, which your body compensates for by releasing NO (to dilate your blood vessels making it easier for oxygen to be delivered).

This process fuels muscle development, but here’s the secret that’s not widely known: When you exercise, it takes only about 90 seconds for your blood vessels to run out of stored nitric oxide and begin the process of making more. “So working each major muscle group out for 90 seconds,” says Dr. Zach Bush, “gives you the most efficient workout to tone and build muscles.”2 Bush developed the Nitric Oxide Dump workout, which is specially designed to stimulate the release of NO for muscle growth and much more.

Why Three to Four Minutes, Three Times a Day Is Ideal

It may sound too good to be true, but less really is more when you know how to harness your body’s NO-generating powers. Short bursts of high-intensity activity are best, and in the case of NO it’s important to wait at least two hours between sessions because that’s how long it takes for nitric oxide to synthesize in your body for subsequent release.

“Your body has the ability to regenerate nitric oxide every couple of hours, giving you the opportunity to release it multiple times a day,” Bush says. “What that means is the most effective way to increase your muscle function is to work out very briefly every few hours.”3What’s more, the Nitric Oxide Dump workout incorporates the 16 largest muscle groups in your body, making it a full-body workout.

And unlike some of the other ways to stimulate the release of NO, like going out in the sun, this workout isn’t dependent on the weather or time of day. You can do it virtually anywhere, and it’s appropriate for all fitness levels. Remember, the Nitric Oxide Dump is a form of high-intensity interval training (HIIT), which research has shown to offer greater fitness and health gains in a fraction of the time compared to typical moderate or low-intensity gym workouts. For example:

• HIIT reduces arterial stiffness and resting heart rate in people with Type 2 diabetes and may reduce the burden of cardiovascular complications in people with this condition4
• HIIT significantly improves metabolic health in older adults by improving insulin sensitivity and reducing age-related risk factors for cardiometabolic disease5
• A meta-analysis of 39 studies found “HIIT is a time-efficient strategy to decrease fat-mass deposits, including those of abdominal and visceral fat mass”6
• In a study of overweight and obese adults, HIIT and moderate-intensity continuous training led to similar improvements in body composition over 10 weeks, but HIIT required about 40 percent less training time to receive those benefits7

The Nitric Oxide Dump workout is particularly beneficial because, by stimulating the release of NO, it also improves your immune function and stimulates the thinning of your blood and decreases its viscosity, which in turn decreases platelet aggregation. The latter may discourage the development of blood clots that may cause a heart attack or stroke. As you age, your NO production decreases, so doing this quick, simple workout is one way to fight back against the hands of time.

The Four-Minute Nitric Oxide Dump Workout

You can see Bush’s version at the top of the article and mine lower down. While the primary movements are the same, make sure you're breathing through your nose and not your mouth, as your nose regulates more than 30 physical processes, including the release of NO.

There are only four movements to learn for this workout. Start with four sets of 10 repetitions, moving to 20 repetitions as your fitness level increases. You can also add in weights (I use 8 pound weights) as you progress, but most people will want to start without weights initially.

You can do this workout three times a day, with a minimum of two hours between each workout. However, if you are in recovery mode and have not slept well or had a hard workout it is fine to skip it. Form is everything, so be sure you carry out each movement correctly, even if you need to go at a slower pace at first.

Squats (10)

• Begin by standing with your feet hip-width apart, feet parallel, toes pointing forward and the weight of your body distributed evenly between your heels and the ball of your foot.
• Perform 10 squats in rapid sequence, keeping your quadriceps engaged. Your butt should move back as though you’re going to sit in a chair while your arms move forward for balance. You can do a shallower squat if you have knee or back pain.

Alternating Arm Raises (10)

• Alternate swinging your arms at a 90-degree angle
• Keep your form tight and your muscles controlled, avoiding swinging your arms too high or too low

This will work a number of muscles in your deltoids, which are the rounded, triangular-shaped muscles on the uppermost part of your arm and the top of your shoulder.

Non-Jumping Jacks (10)

• Begin standing straight with your arms down, fists touching in front of your pelvis.
• Use a broad rotation, circle your arms upward on each side to touch your fists over your head.
• Circle back down to hit your fists at the bottom and repeat 10 times.

If you have shoulder problems with your rotator cuffs, try this variation instead:

• Start with your hands at a prayer position in front of your chest.
• Keep your hands pressed together lightly as you extend them above your head.
• Circle your arms out to the sides to release before bringing them back to the prayer position. Repeat 10 times.

Shoulder Presses (10)

• Bring fists above your shoulders on either side of your head, elbows bent.
• Extend your arms straight above your head.
• Return to position with fists just over your shoulders and repeat 10 times.

When you’re done, you should feel your fingertips tingling, and this is a great sign because it means nitric oxide is freely flowing through your body. For quick reference, the below infographic gives you all the details on how to perform the Nitric Oxide Dump workout.

Are There Other Ways to Increase Nitric Oxide?

You lose 10 percent of your body's ability to make nitric oxide for every decade of life, which is why it’s important to take steps to increase your nitric oxide production, especially as you age. One way to do this is by eating beets, as the naturally occurring nitrates in beets are converted into NO in your body. Raw beets may boost stamina during exercise by as much as 16 percent,8 while concentrated beet juice led to improvements in people suffering from heart failure,9 both courtesy of increased NO.

The caveat with beets is they’re high in sugar, which is why I recommend them only in limited amounts or in fermented form. Fermenting your beets rather than eating them raw gives you all the health-boosting benefits of raw beets without the concerns of high sugar content, as the beneficial bacteria created during fermentation consume most of the naturally occurring sugars.

Dark leafy greens are another good source of naturally occurring nitrates that are converted into NO in your body. Leafy greens actually contain even more nitrates per serving than beets, with arugula taking the No. 1 spot among vegetables, followed by rhubarb. Eating garlic may also help, as although it’s low in nitrates, it helps boost NO production by increasing nitric oxide synthase (NOS), which converts L-arginine to NO in the presence of cofactors such as vitamins B2 and B3.10

As mentioned, beyond your diet you can also increase NO by getting out in the sun, as when UVA from sunlight touches your skin, nitric oxide is released into your bloodstream.11,12 Certain supplements, like olive extract and bitter melon, as well as acupuncture,13 may also enhance your body’s generation of NO, as may using a sauna14 or even taking a hot bath.15 However, these aren’t a replacement for the Nitric Oxide Dump workout.

HIIT Is Important for Mitochondrial Health

Yet another reason why the Nitric Oxide Dump workout, and HIIT in general, is so important is because it makes your mitochondria work harder. As such, they create more free radicals, which signal your body to create more mitochondria (mitochondrial biogenesis) to keep up with the heightened energy requirement. One study found that exercise training reversed or lessened age-associated declines in mitochondrial mass, “improving mitochondrial protein quality control and biogenesis."16

Exercise also stimulates autophagy, helping to remove damaged mitochondria. This is important, since mitochondrial damage can trigger genetic mutations that can contribute to cancer, so optimizing the health of your mitochondria is a key component of cancer prevention. In fact, mitochondrial dysfunction is at the core of virtually all diseases. Exercise stimulates adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK), your metabolic master switch, and SIRT1, which prevents disease by recharging your mitochondria.

This secondarily inhibits mTOR that is involved in aging and cancer and in turn stimulates mitochondrial biogenesis and mitophagy, both of which are deadly to cancer. It’s quite incredible how many beneficial processes are set into motion by a workout that takes just four minutes, and it should serve as powerful motivation to give it a try today and continue with this health-giving activity year-round.

The Nitric Oxide Dump

Four-minute workouts done several times a day — as many times a day as you want (within reason) for maximum benefit — are a new concept for fitness that's designed to use nitric oxide for muscle growth. Dr. Zach Bush, whose triple-board certification includes expertise in internal medicine, endocrinology and metabolism, says his four-minute workout is efficient anaerobically and the more you do it, the better it works. He developed the Nitric Oxide Dump workout; I demonstrate a modified version further down this article.

While intended to be done about three times a day, you'll want to wait for at least two hours in between sessions, because that's how long it takes for nitric oxide to synthesize in your body for subsequent release and optimal benefit. It's hard to believe, but in those few minutes, you can get the same benefits as if you'd worked out in the gym for an hour.

This short series of exercises could be called a new version of high-intensity interval training. It's designed to stimulate the release of nitric oxide, which is actually a soluble gas and free radical stored in the lining or endothelium of your blood vessels that can catalyze and promote health.

One reason it's not wise to indiscriminately take high doses of antioxidants is because you do need some free radicals. Nitric oxide is one that causes your blood vessels to expand and dilate, which can lower your blood pressure. It also improves your immune function, stimulates the thinning of your blood and decreases its viscosity, which in turn decreases platelet aggregation.

When your platelets are sticky, it can cause the development of a blood clot, which could then cause a heart attack or stroke, two very common causes of death. In addition, another benefit of nitric oxide is that it's a powerful anabolic stimulus that can help you increase lean body mass. One reason this is considered so important is that when you increase muscle mass, you're able to burn more fat.

Nitric Oxide, a 'Communication' Molecule

Nitric oxide is a molecule your body makes that feeds your muscles, so when you run out of oxygen when you begin exercising, your muscles start to ache, Bush explains. When nitric oxide is released to make up for it, it moves through your bloodstream, your blood vessels dilate to deliver more oxygen and nutrients, and that's how your muscles develop. According to Bush:

"Our blood vessels actually only store about 90 seconds' worth of nitric oxide before they need to manufacture more, so working each major muscle group out for 90 seconds gives you the most efficient workout to tone and build muscles.

The body has the ability to regenerate nitric oxide every couple of hours, giving you the opportunity to release it multiple times a day. What that means is the most effective way to increase your muscle function is to work out very briefly every few hours."1

In that four minutes, you work 16 of the largest muscles groups in your body. Bush calls it one of the best ways to start toning your body's systems, plus it's free and so easy nearly anyone can do it. Another convenient part of the concept is that you really can complete a quick workout multiple times per day. You can do it whether you're on vacation, at work or at home, plus it doesn't matter what you're wearing, provided you can move freely.

The Nitric Oxide 'Dump' — A Very Efficient Workout Strategy

What these short workouts do is increase the opportunity for muscle to build, Bush says, adding, "The cool thing is that you rebuild that nitric oxide every couple of hours." If it's released three times a day, you have the added benefit of your muscles deciding when it's time to grow, feed and breathe. A typical four-minute workout entails three sets of 10 repetitions or "reps," but you can eventually work toward increasing it to 20.

Hand weights aren't necessary or even recommended at first, although you can also work toward using them later if you'd like. By focusing on form and speed, you run out of oxygen at your large muscle groups at the joints. It's a new level of fitness, but form is important and only once you've mastered form should your pace increase over time.

Here's the drill for each of these movements. Again, start with three sets of 10 repetitions. As you feel comfortable, move to 20 repetitions with each exercise. At the end, you'll have completed 240 movements. Here's an important stipulation, however: As you're exercising, don't breathe through your mouth. Keep your mouth closed and breathe only through your nose.

Squats: Legs — Glutes, Hamstrings, Quads, Calves — and Abs

"A good squat is your butt going back and looking like it's going to sit in a chair. It's not just a simple knee bend," Bush explains. Further, your arms have to be held forward in front of you to maintain balance, especially as your weight shifts backward; first you "sit down," then you straighten back up again.

To help you do that, your feet should also be placed as far apart as your shoulders, and if it bothers your knees or back, you just make the movements more shallow. You'll get the same activation in your quadriceps. The goal is to keep that muscle engaged, but your speed is actually more important than the depth of your squat.

• Begin by standing with your feet hip-width apart, feet parallel, toes pointing forward and the weight of your body distributed evenly between your heels and the ball of your foot.
• Perform 10 squats in rapid sequence, keeping your quadriceps engaged.

If you have knee problems that make squats problematic, get into the seated position by placing your back flat against a wall for 30 to 60 seconds or until your thighs begin to ache. Bush's video, above, shows you how to do it.

Tin Soldier: Shoulders — Deltoids and Triceps

To start, swing your arms at a simple 90-degree angle, which helps work a number of muscles in your deltoids, which are the rounded, triangular-shaped muscles on the uppermost part of your arm and the top of your shoulder (hence, the name "deltoids" after the Greek letter delta, which is shaped like an equilateral triangle2 ).

In fact, the arm swings from your waist, alternately right and left, go in front of you to shoulder height and encompass other muscles in your shoulders and back. Your hands should make loose fists and be pointed downward. In addition, it's important to keep your form tight and maintain muscle control rather than just flapping your arms up and down, Bush says.

• Alternately, achieve 90-degree elevation in each arm.
• Begin standing straight with your arms at your sides. Lift your right arm in front of you to a 90-degree elevation, then swiftly drop it back down to your side while raising your left arm, also to a 90-degree elevation.
• Alternate left and right, repeating 10 times each side.

Snow Angel: Back — Lats, Traps, Deltoids, Rotator Cuffs

This part of the workout is basically a jumping jack without the jump to work your latissimus dorsi muscles (lats), whose name means "broadest muscle of the back,"3 and trapezius muscles (traps), the large muscle that extends from the back of your head down your neck and into your upper back. Again, make sure you don't get sloppy, but "click" your fists together both at the bottom and again at the top to get the full range of motion and the full benefit of the workout in your shoulders.

A modification if you have shoulder problems is to simply move in the opposite direction: Start at the center, hands clasped in a prayer position in front of your face, reach up in the center over your head and bring your arms downward on each side. "It's almost like you're doing the breast stroke. It's amazing; even if you have frozen shoulder how that can break things loose and loosen it up," Bush explains.

• Begin standing straight with your arms down, fists touching in front of your pelvis.
• Use a broad rotation, circle your arms upward on each side to touch your fists over your head.
• Circle back down to hit fists at the bottom and repeat 10 times.

If you have shoulder problems with your rotator cuffs, try this variation instead:

• Start with hands at a prayer position in front of your chest.
• Keep hands pressed together lightly as you extend them above your head.
• Circle your arms out to the sides to release before bringing them back to the prayer position. Repeat 10 times.

Military Press: Shoulders and Arms — Traps, Neck, Deltoids, Triceps

You could call this next exercise the "invisible pullup."

• Bring fists above your shoulder to either side of your head, elbows bent.
• Extend arms straight above your head.
• Return to position with fists just over your shoulders and repeat 10 times.

Then, without breaking your tempo, return to start the second exercise set in the same sequence: Squats, tin soldiers, snow angels and military presses, until you complete three sets. Bush notes that at the end of the four-minute exercise, it's important to mentally regroupto allow your body to catch up to the enormous increase in blood flow. What you're feeling is the liberation of nitric oxide.

"Resting with your hands at your sides, close your eyes and experience the sensation in your extremities. You may feel tingling or sense increased blood flow as all your blood vessels dilate, delivering oxygen and fuel for optimal health.

Relax, shake it out and feel your fingertips. You'll feel a little tingling and a little puffy over the next 20 seconds. That's the nitric oxide effect. You're dilating all those blood vessels, oxygenating everything from your brain to your kidneys and everything else in your body, and you're building muscle for the next couple of hours."4

If you repeat that three times a day, you'll find a change in your metabolism and muscle capacity so you can strengthen and maintain that lean muscle, Bush adds. It essentially changes the number of calories you burn even while you're sitting still. It's an exciting shift in our concept of exercise.

As mentioned, the Nitric Oxide Dump, when done correctly, entails starting at 10 reps and working up to 20, paying attention to your form, and completing the sequence two or three times a day, every day. You can do it no matter where you go — I even do it at the airport as I'm waiting for my luggage. You may look a little odd, but remember, it's an extremely effective workout and totally free, and best of all, it will help you take control of your health.

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Dump your Nitric Oxide

Two Key Strategies to Help Your Fitness Soar in 2017

I still believe HIIT is the most effective and efficient way to reach your fitness goals, but I've further fine-tuned my approach and now use an even shorter routine that I believe is just as effective while being far safer, especially if you're older or just starting out. Below, I'll discuss this new technique, which I refer to as "the nitric oxide dump."

The scientific literature also clearly shows that sitting for extended periods is a major, independent risk factor for chronic disease, even if you exercise regularly, so daily non-exercise movement is likely one of the most important fitness strategies for many — especially if you're currently not exercising on a regular basis.

The reason for this is because sitting blocks a number of insulin-mediated systems, including muscular and cellular pathways that process blood sugar, triglycerides and cholesterol. Standing up — bearing your own body weight on your legs — activates all of these systems at the molecular level. I'll review this below as well.

Exercise Benefits Both Your Body and Your Brain

A number of biological effects occur when you exercise. This includes changes in your muscles, lungs, heart, joints and bones, all of which help keep your body as youthful as possible. Weight-bearing exercise, for example, is one of the most effective remedies against osteoporosis, which is why strength training is so important for the elderly.

Exercise also helps keep your brain in good working order. There are in fact intriguing links between muscle growth and brain regeneration, also known as neurogenesis, which helps slow down or ward off cognitive loss.

Non-Exercise Movement Is Foundational for Optimal Health

All of that said, before you even begin to consider putting together a regular exercise program, take stock of how much you move throughout each day. Do you sit down during work and commuting and then spend most of the evening on the couch? More than 10,000 studies now show sitting takes a significant toll on your health, even if you exercise regularly.

The evidence is quite clear on this: An hour or two of exercise each week simply isn't enough to outweigh the damage incurred by sitting down for 10 hours or more each day. If you think about it, the reason we need exercise at all is to compensate for our modern lifestyles, where inactivity is the norm. Our ancestors didn't have to "exercise" because they rarely sat down. They moved all day long, and research shows this near-continuous movement is absolutely key for biological functioning.

So, non-exercise movement is now recognized as a foundational piece for optimal health — even more so than a regimented fitness routine. Ideally, you'd do them both, but if you're currently sedentary, I recommend you simply start by sitting less. A fitness tracker can be a helpful tool. I recommend getting at least 7,000 to 10,000 steps each day, and limit sitting to less than three hours. I personally sit less than 30 minutes most days and walk an average of 15,000 steps a day.

Recent research6 into the effects of exercise on diabetes in particular really stresses the importance of increasing the FREQUENCY of movement. Research also shows that chronic sitting is particularly hazardous for diabetics.

One such study7 found that taking a 10-minute walk after each meal provided greater blood sugar control in diabetics than 30 minutes of exercise done once a day, lowering post-meal blood sugar levels by 22 percent. So, merely increasing the frequency of your movement is a simple way to maximize the benefits you get from the time spent.

This is the nitric oxide (NO) dump exercise developed by Dr. Zach Bush. NO is an extremely important part of biochemical regulation, and understanding and controlling its formation has the potential for profound influences on your health. Most notably, NO:

• Protects your heart by relaxing your blood vessels and lowering your blood pressure
• Stimulates your brain
• Kills bacteria and defends against tumor cells
• Helps maintain homeostasis in your body

For a demonstration, see the video above. If you have previously watched this video, please review it again as I recently updated it to correct a couple of errors and omissions that sneaked into my previous video. A key component I forgot in my earlier video is to make sure you're breathing through your nose and not your mouth. Your nose actually regulates more than 30 physical processes, including the release of NO, and of course serves to filter the air you breathe.

Compared to a regular HIIT protocol, the NO dump exercise is a far gentler strategy that can be done by just about anyone, regardless of your current level of fitness or age. You'd be hard-pressed to injure yourself doing this. Since you're just using your body to perform simple knee bends and arm lifts, the exercise is more or less automatically customized to your current level of ability.

Yet, despite its simplicity, I'm convinced you'll still obtain most of the benefits you get from HIIT. While I demonstrate 20 reps in the above video, it is best to start at 10 reps and gradually work your way up to 20. Remember, don't do this more than every two hours, as it takes that long for the NO to be generated from eNOS (endothelial nitric oxide synthase).

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