Time Magazine put an article out called "Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin". The article was a slap in the face to fitness professionals across the world. The author had no right to voice his opinion like that, and causing everyone to think differently about exercise.
If he wanted to be more accurate, perhaps Mr. Cloud should have considered the title “Why Exercise Alone Won’t Make You Thin.” I hold steadfast to my mantra that you cannot out-exercise bad nutrition. Good nutrition is by far the most important factor when it comes to losing weight. In a complete weight loss plan, putting the right foods in your body will get you 60 percent closer to your goal, followed by about 20 percent with exercise and the rest lies with rest and recovery.
That being said, exercise still plays a vital role in achieving your desirable weight and figure. Let’s take a look at the points Mr. Cloud made in his article, in which he makes the argument that exercise is obsolete, and begin to dissect the myths behind them.
1. I exercise all the time and still have belly flab. Just because exercise only makes up about a fifth of your total weight-loss plan does not diminish its relevancy in your overall health. When it comes to weight loss, it is possible to lose weight without exercise, but without it, you will continue to find pockets of fat in undesirable places. The key to seeing the results you want, however, is paying careful attention to the type of exercise you engage in.
Perhaps Mr. Cloud was having “belly flab” issues because of his workout plan. According to the article, the bulk of his workouts consisted of cardio. Cardio or aerobic training is good for increasing your heart’s health, but the benefits for general weight loss pretty much stop there for several reasons.
First of all, a total cardio workout is inefficient because it takes a long time to perform. To experience the benefits of both heart health and fat loss, experts recommend engaging in a minimum 30 minutes of cardio exercise of day, usually more.
A second thing few people realize is that while you burn fat while doing a cardio workout, the fat burning stops the minute your exercise does. In order to be a fat-incinerating machine – burning fat all day long, even while you sleep – you have to add variety to your workout.
Also, those who engage solely in cardio exercise usually plateau at a certain pace and intensity. While this is ok when mixed in with a strengthening routine, it alone will not get the job done.
The final, and perhaps most important, reason why an exclusively cardio training program will hinder your weight loss is it’s connection to your metabolism. When you engage only in cardio training, your muscles over time will shrink. Think about the marathon runner who has small muscles, but can run fast. When you start out on a cardiovascular routine at first your muscles might grow due to the new stress the body is undertaking. However, over time they will get used to the motion, increasing the efficiency of the cardio method of choice, but growing smaller and weaker. Among the things that affect your metabolism is lean muscle tissue. So while your muscle size decreases, so does your metabolism. Training to keep your metabolism high – that is, working to keep lean muscle tissue – can help you burn fat throughout the whole day, not just during your workouts.
What Mr. Cloud needs to keep in mind, if you’re basing your training on slow, steady exercise then excess body fat is something you need to get used to because you are slowing your metabolism and the exercise is not intense enough to shape and sculpt your body to look like you want it to.
2. Exercise makes me hungrier. If I eat more, I won’t lose weight.
Exercise does have a tendency to increase your appetite, but the food you eat to satisfy that hunger doesn’t have to be junk. Nutrition and exercise are a lifestyle that should be a priority in your life every day, not just certain times of the year.
Exercising should make you hungrier throughout the day because it increases your metabolism. With a fast metabolism, you should be hungry every two to four hours. If this isn’t the case you have a slow metabolism and you can see your weight loss goals to the door.
In order to take full advantage of a working metabolism, you have to treat it like a muscle – training it to function at optimal levels. Over or under training will result in excess weight, even when exercising regularly.
So take a look at your eating habits Do you skip breakfast? Do you workout in the morning, but skip a snack beforehand? Do you stick to three square meals a day? Do you cut back on eating good foods because a fad diet says so? Do you snack on junk after your workout saying to yourself “I’ve earned it”? If you answer yes to any of these questions, it’s time to get yourself on track.
While you have to cut the crap out of your diet, under eating will shut your metabolism down. Once you stop dieting, your body will put the weight back on just as fast as it came off and usually add to it. Plus, while losing weight during a diet, your body goes into overdrive, causing your health, organs and vitality to deteriorate.
To keep your metabolic rate in check, eat at minimum five times a day, spread equally throughout the day. Instead of loading up on junk food full of fat, salt or sugar, which leave you feeling empty and craving more “bad” foods, focus on eating high-volume foods, such as vegetables, fruit, lean protein and high fiber foods. High volume foods have fewer calories and fill you up until your next meal.
3. I don’t have time to work out 60 to 90 minutes a day. The good news is you don’t have to. Actually, you should avoid working out that long each day. Unless you are specially training for a competition, like body-building or a marathon, ignore the magazines that are telling you to engage in hour-long workout sessions. I followed these routines for years, and it got me nowhere. The average person looking to lose weight should be working out 20 to 45 minutes a day and is much to busy for any more than that.
When your workouts are short they also need to be intense. I’m talking Hulk Hogan “hulking up” intensity. It’s the amount of punch you pack into each minute of your workout – not the number of minutes – that determines your results.
This kind of exercise includes intervals and weight training, whole body exercises, and strength and conditioning exercises all combined into one, focusing on more than one body part at a time. These types of exercises get the most muscles involved. The more muscles used means you will be burning more calories, building more lean muscle and burning more fat. And remember you shouldn't be able to talk to your buddy when your workouts are at a high enough intensity. These exercises are harder and that’s what produces results.
We’ll continue tackling the exercise argument against Time’s exercise myths next week. In the meantime, keep your workouts strong.
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