Physics of Fat Loss (Should women run?)

Should Women Stop Running?

“I watch my friend Jessica running on the treadmill — day after day, year after year—like a madwoman, and going nowhere. Her body seems to get softer with every mile [...] actually, she’s gotten fatter,” proclaims fitness expert and Dangerously Hardcore blogger DH Kiefer in his recent article, Why Women Should Not Run.

The article, which pushes for the end of “solid-state cardio” — a fancy term for maintaining a consistent pace on a single machine, like a treadmill, for long periods of time — is causing quite a stir online, as well as with a few of my clients.  

 

In fact, I received this email just a few days ago:

"I’ve seen this article floating around (mostly on my crossfit friend’s fb pages) and I finally read it.  What are your thoughts on this?  I could see if all you did was 2+ hours of steady cardio a day, didn’t lift and didn’t eat right (starving yourself) that this could be bad but I can’t think that doing the occasional 3.5 hour bike ride once or twice a week is actually increasing fat storage.  Also, I do know some fit female runners and bikers but they are also very healthy eaters too.  What’s the deal, crossfit cult propaganda??"

Here's my response:

DH Kiefer is essentially correct, and it looks like he's done some great research, yet he fails to provide any real solutions to the problem.

I know a lot of people who are like Jessica, the article’s scapegoat, whose fitness program consists of medium pace, medium distance, medium heart rate cardio, periods of starvation, periods of gluttony, and no resistance training. And I agree: That’s a surefire recipe to slow down metabolism and increase body fat. As the article mentions, this type of training can also lead to hypothyroidism, a common condition among women especially.

To help explain my take on the subject, let’s do a quick break down fat and weight loss.

Let’s say one pound of fat contains an even 3500 calories worth of energy. If you want to lose one pound of fat in one week, you have to burn 500 calories more per day than you eat. Simple enough, right?

But the way you burn off that pound is crucial, especially over the long term. If you eat less and do solid-state cardio for extended periods of time, your body will actually reduce its Base Metabolic Rate (how much energy it takes for you to live while resting) in response to your decreased calorie intake and increased activity, or Active Metabolic Expenditure (AME).

This is a basic function of human survival. It’s essential for your body to conserve energy, or fat, when expenditure is high and resources are lacking.

Though Mr. Kiefer and I would agree on this issue, I disagree with his prescription to terminate all solid-state cardio. As my client mentioned, there are many avid runners and bikers who regularly incorporate solid-state cardio into their lifestyle, and many show no signs of hypothyroidism. It’s important to note that a person’s genes also play a role in how our bodies regulate metabolism, so it’s difficult to paint the issue with a broad stroke.

For these reasons, I believe these tactics make for a better course of action than simply ending your cardio:

1. Eat well and eat regularly.  Make sure to eat every 2-3 hours. This helps regulate your insulin levels and keeps your metabolism purring along like a well-oiled machine. But don’t just eat any food; eat the right food. Want to know what the right foods are? The Explore Fitness Summer Shape Up Challenge would be a great start. The competition includes 4 nutrition seminars and a trip to the grocery store: http://explorefitness.com/summer_shape_up.html

2. Pick up heavy things, then put them back down. Functional lifting produces an endocrine (hormonal) response that helps you to build muscle. This muscle-building process increases your metabolism and helps you burn fat throughout the day. Think of lifting as an investment that earns, even when you're not working.

SPECIAL NOTE FOR THE LADIES: You won't get huge from lifting weights. That’s a myth. People with massive muscles work out for hours and take all sorts of dangerous steroids and weird supplements to look like that. Yes you will notice growth in your muscles, but this won't make you look weird (it will make you look and feel hot). 

3. Do workouts that increase Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC). EPOC is a process in your blood where oxygen is depleted during exercise, then replenished after your workout. This “afterburn” effect elevates your metabolism and improves your body's capacity to utilize oxygen and burn fat. Workouts that boost your EPOC include: Tabata, High Intensity Interval Training, CrossFit, and many other great workouts you can find, and join, here: http://explorefitness.com/programs.html.

4. Something > Nothing! Mr. Kiefer’s argument that traditional, solid-state "cardio" is less effective than HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) is correct, but women shouldn’t feel like they have to jettison running and other activities altogether. If you’re trying to lose fat, try balancing your longs runs and rides with higher intensity cardiovascular workouts, and work in the weights (see #2 above). The fact that you’re doing some sort of physical activity is a benefit to your health, no matter what anybody says. Just be sensible and try to add more diversity to your workouts whenever you can.

Hope that helps clear things up a little. If it doesn’t, shoot me a message at nate@explorefitness.com.

In good health,

Nate Lawrence

CPT - CES - CSCS

explorefitness.com