Generally, gym users and enthusiasts all strive towards a similar goal: image improvement.  The goal might come in different phrases and words, such as “lose weight,” “tone up,” “get fitter, stronger…” as well as those who try to coat it with a subtle sense of humour: “I want to lose my Bingo Wings,” and the all famous, “lose my Love-Handles” phrase.  Say it how you will, but the end goal is that you want to lose fat and make your muscles more visible.  Some are happy with smaller muscles and some may wish to add size to their muscles, but make no mistake about it, everyone wants less fat and more visible, pleasant-to-the-eye muscle. 

So, let’s have a look at what’s happening out there; what are people doing to achieve this goal?  What do people believe will get them there?  From talking to people in the gym from athletes to regular gym users, here’s the top general belief on how to lose fat:

The ”C” Word:   Cardiovascular exercise.  Ask anyone in the gym how to lose fat and they’ll tell you to increase your Cardiovascular exercise.  They might even say do weights, followed by 20 minutes of Cardio to tap into your fat reserves.  They might say lift lighter weights for higher repetitions with less rest time to keep your heart rate higher to get that Cardio effect.  Say it how you want but people tend to think that the way to shift fat from your body is by doing some kind of Cardio.  This is incorrect and can even be classed as a myth.  First, let me make it clear that I’m not against Cardio; in fact I believe it is required in different forms for different people to maintain healthy Cardiovascular, Respiratory, Circulatory and Nervous systems.  However, Cardio exercises are not anywhere near as important in fat loss as people think.  It’s simple, after a 30-45 minute Cardio session on the Treadmill or Crosstrainer, 2 things happen that make you THINK you’ve lost weight.  1) You come off having worked up a tremendous amount of sweat, which combined with most peoples’ belief that the more you sweat the more weight you lose, makes you feel slimmer and 2) you get a surge of Endorphine (“feel-good” hormone) release which improves your mood and gives you that happy feeling.  Immediately you feel a step closer to that image in your head and you feel much better about yourself – all those insecurities are momentarily dispelled.  You think because the Crosstrainer reads out you’ve burnt 500 calories, you’re losing weight.

However, chances are that in reality you’re on a low calorie diet to supplement all this extra effort to lose weight/fat, you’re losing vital minerals and electrolytes through all the sweat and you’re increasing stress hormone (Cortisol) level in your body.  You’re malnourished, dehydrated and Catabolic (burning muscle tissue to fuel activity); and you’re happy about it!

If you go long periods without nutrition, your body will release Insulin and send it straight to the parts of your body with the most amount of fat.  For most people, that’s STOMACH, THIGHS, BUTTOCKS, BACK OF THE ARMS and HIPS.  Here’s the bad news: once Insulin surrounds that fat, whatever you eat will get stored as fat…around that part!  That’s you doing all that Cardio and eating less just to lose weight on the scale in the form of water and even muscle, but increasing your body fat!  YOU ARE TRICKING YOUR BODY INTO THIS STATE WITH LONG BOUTS OF CARDIO AND LONG GAPS BETWEEN MEALS.  Think about this next time you go longer than 3 hours without food or decide to skip Breakfast.

The solution to the Cardio myth:  ask yourself do you play a sport or do a job that requires you to be Cardiovascularly conditioned to the level you are training at?  Do you need to be able to run for 45 minutes?  If you play a sport then chances are that you do require this, in which case you should seek a sport specific conditioning program tailored to the demands of your sport.  If you are a fitness professional who needs to run with clients then chances are you need a certain level of Cardiovascular conditioning.  If you want to look amazing  lying down on a sun lounger on the beach in a bikini or swimwear, with a chiselled physique, what do you need hours and hours of Cardiovascular conditioning for? 

What you need is a diet consisting of a moderately healthy Protein level, Complex Carbohydrate timing and a higher than-you think level of healthy fats.  Good healthy fats come from things like Brazil Nuts, Almonds, Avocados, Fish etc.  You then need to ensure you are providing these nutrients to your body every 2-3 hours in small portions to keep your metabolism running steadily.  You need to be on a periodised strength building program which addresses muscular balance and function in a progressive fashion.  You need to challenge your Nervous system by adding new skills and challenges for your body to learn constantly.   By doing all these things you are changing the environment in your body at cellular and metabolic level to accommodate a better muscle to fat ratio.  These components working concurrently will trigger hormonal changes which in turn will change your body composition.  This is what burns fat off your body.  Burning high quantities of calories, skipping meals, increased Cardiovascular exercise and dieting doesn’t burn fat. 

So we now know that a program which is dependant on Cardiovascular exercise to lose fat is not effective to this specific goal.  Don’t let me tell you, see for yourself.  Monday evenings tend to be the busiest in most health clubs.   Get down to yours tonight and have a look at the type of shape people are in on the Crosstrainers, Treadmills and Bikes.  I’m referring to those that are on these machines for 20 plus minutes pedalling away at a monotonous pace.  Have a look at what kind of shape they’re in and it should hit home.

On the next blog post we’ll talk about the myth of the low-fat diet, and what you can do to build lean muscle that looks good!

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