Running to get in shape?

An article in today's Monroe News-Star really bothered me. The article talks about a man who was severely overweight and had high cholesterol. In his attempt to lower his cholesterol and lose weight, he began to cut out junk food and sodas. I have no problem with this. However his exercise program consisted of strictly jogging.

As we know, jogging and long, slow, boring cardio is not the answer to weight loss. What he should be doing is weight training combined with interval training to promote the growth of lean muscle and decrease in body fat. Lean muscle burns more calories than fat. So, the more you have, the more calories your body will burn. Traditional cardio workouts do nothing to promote the growth of muscle. Check out my previous post on the ill effects of long slow cardio.

The man mentioned in the article did complete a marathon recently in just under 5 hours. I think about all the time he spent training for and completing this marathon. I can't help but think how much better shape he would be in and how much less time he would have spent exercising if he had only been performing 30-45 minute weight lifting and interval training sessions 3 times per week.

He will also probably need to be concerned with the pounding and wear and tear his joints have gone through due to all the long hours of continuous and repetitive jogging. This can lead to many injuries especially for overweight people. Think about this statistic: Every pound you are overweight adds an extra 4 lbs. of pressure to your joints when jogging or running.

If you are considering beggining a jogging program, remember you should never run to get in shape. You should get in shape to run. Lifting weights and interval training is such a more effective and safer method of improving one's fitness.

Kyle

What's wrong with health & p.e. classes in America?

When I walk through the gym at the high school I work at, it sickens me to see what takes place in these p.e. classes. The teacher rolls out a basketball & the kids choose teams & play basketball for 50 minutes. Or the teacher is a coach and is too busy talking about their upcoming game to even make the kids dress out and participate in any sort of physical activity. Then in health class we have overweight, tobacco chewing coaches who complain about how stupid the curriculum is that teaches kids about health and the importance of good health. Is there any wonder that Americans are so fat & out of shape?

I would like to see every school system reassign every health & p.e. teacher that doesn't believe in what they are teaching and doesn't display good, healthy habits in their own life. Our country is a result of what we are teaching in these classes, and that is a shame.

We need to be teaching kids how to eat healthy & how to properly exercise for weight loss & general overall fitness. Most kids don't know the first thing about weight training, & weight training is the key to weight loss & overall improved fitness. Walking laps around a track, which is another habit of the PE teachers at my school, does nothing to teach kids how to build muscle and lose fat. Weight training can not only build lean muscle & burn fat, but it can also improve your cardiovascular sysytem if done properly. Walking laps around a track does nothing but burn about 50 calories for someone.

It's great that some kids enjoy playing basketball for 50 minutes every day. But by the time they are 40 & 50 years old, these people probably won't be able to play basketball competetively. However, I guarantee that they can perform strength training exercises for 30 minutes 3 times per week. This strength training will do more to improve their cholesterol, blood pressure, & bone density than any walking or running program.

Now I have to get off my soap box and go do some chinups and pushups.
Kyle

Lifestyles don't lie.

I can't tell you how many times I have heard people say that they eat really well and exercise consistently and yet their waistline keeps getting bigger and bigger. YEAH RIGHT! That's why they look the same as they did last year and the year before that and the year before that. The power of the mind is amazing. People actually convince themselves that they are healthy or are taking the steps to get healthy. But in actuality they are only lying to themselves. Lifestyles don't lie. There is a reason most overweight people are overweight and most fit people are in great shape. It is their lifestyle. You will get the results of your actions, good or bad. Eat terrible=Look and feel terrible. Eat good=Look and feel good.

One tip I highly recommend is journaling what you eat and your exercise. This will let you know exactly how good or bad you eat, and how good or bad your exercise program is working. Give this tip a try for 1 week and see what improvements you need to make.

Until next time,
Kyle