No Pink Dumbells

Last year I had come across an article in a magazine about the mistakes people make when they exercise. I had been spending a lot of time doing aerobic activity but I didn't do anything with weights. I didn't' do the routines that I did when I was younger, lunges and squats, etc. I was trying to do it this time solely through aerobic activity and I wasn't getting anywhere. I would watch friends loose weight through treadmills and walking, while I wasn't making any progress using the same methods. This article reminded me I was going about it all wrong. It was a very nice article that was diplomatic in it's delivery and to the point. I know I tore it out, but I can't find it. Recently, I came across this online article by Tony Gentilcore called 4 Things Your Girlfriend Should Know. Tony is not as diplomatic or to the point and his language can be quite offensive. He is making the same point of the article I had previously read. Here are some key points that stand out to me.

When it comes to general fitness and body compositional goals, most females want and/or need the following:
1. Decreased body fat
2. Increased strength
3. Improved daily/athletic function
4. Increased bone density
5. Increased flexibility

Tony explains the best way to decrease body fat is not through yoga or aerobics. He argues that these methods do not provide resistance sufficient enough to increase or preserve lean body mass (LBM), which is directly correlated with metabolism and thus the rate at which you burn calories. He agrees that beginners might see transient increases in LBM in the beginning, but that's mainly because most women who go from doing nothing to participating in yoga classes are so de-conditioned that their body weight elicits enough of a stimulus to cause a slight change.

Rather than yoga or aerobics, Tony recommends resistance training. Numerous studies have shown that resistance training elevates EPOC (Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption) for upwards of 24 to 48 hours after you're done training.

As Vladimir Zatsiorsky states in his book, Science and Practice of Strength Training, muscular strength is defined as "the ability to overcome or counteract external resistance by muscular effort; also, the ability to generate maximum external force." (1) In order to generate maximum force (get stronger), a trainee needs to incorporate one of three methods:

1. Maximum Effort Method: Lifting a maximum load (exercising against maximum resistance).

2. Repeated Effort Method: Lifting non-maximal load to failure (albeit still taking into consideration the rule of progressive overload. Relying on one's body weight will only take you so far).

3. Dynamic Effort Method: Lifting a non-maximal load with the highest attainable speed.

Regardless of one's training history or lifestyle, it's clear that the activities chosen to increase bone density need to be progressive and weight bearing in nature.

There are two types of muscle tone: myogenic and neurogenic. The former refers to your muscle tone at rest; the latter refers to muscle tone that's expressed when muscular contractions occur.

Low(er) rep training increases the sensitivity of various motor units resulting in increased neurogenic tone. On the other hand, myogenic tone is correlated with the overall density of your muscles (specifically the contractile proteins myosin and actin) and is vastly improved by lifting heavier weights.

If you train light, you'll keep enough muscle to be able to continue to train light. But given this doesn't take a lot, from a relative and individual standpoint (i.e. it takes more muscle to lift a weight that limits you to 8 reps than it does to lift a weight that limits you to 20) you'll keep what you need to accomplish these generally 'easier' tasks. The key to a lean, hard body is a nice balance between nutrition, cardio, and low rep, heavy weight training. What builds muscle is what keeps muscle."

Tony warns that you will not get "big and bulky" just because you're doing squats and deadlifts. That statement is akin to me saying, "Eh, I don't want to do any sprints today because I don't want to win the 100m gold medal next week." Getting big and bulky isn't easy, just like winning the 100m gold medal isn't easy.

Steady state cardio/aerobics isn't the most efficient way to burn body fat.

1)Steady state cardio doesn't elevate EPOC all that much, which again is one of the main factors in fat loss. Sure, one hour of steady state cardio will probably burn more calories than one hour of resistance training, but it's the calories you burn in the other 23 hours outside of the gym that really matter.

Essentially, once you're done doing steady state cardio, you're done burning calories. However, with resistance training and/or with high intensity interval training (HIIT), your body's metabolism will be elevated for upwards of 24 to 48 hours. Thus, you'll burn a ton more calories.

2)Speaking of metabolism, yours is in direct correlation with how much LBM (lean body mass) you have. The more LBM you have, the higher your metabolism. Given that long duration, steady state cardio actually eats away muscle; you're shooting yourself in the foot in that regard.

3)The "fat burning zone" doesn't exist. It's true that your body will burn a greater percentage of fat at lower intensities; however, the total calories being burned is so small that it doesn't even really matter. Again, it all comes down to EPOC.

4)As Alwyn Cosgrove has pointed out on numerous occasions, your body adapts very well to cardiovascular exercise (in this case, steady state cardio). This is a bad thing. As you get more efficient at running a certain distance, the work required to complete that distance will become less and less as you get fitter.

To improve, you have to go further in order to burn the same amount of calories. What once took you 30 minutes to burn "X" amount of calories, now takes you 45 minutes. Doesn't sound too efficient in my book.

5)A great analogy I like to use is comparing a marathon runner to a sprinter. Marathon runners do a ton of long distance, steady state work, and yet still average anywhere from 11 to 14% body fat (still somewhat lean, but not very muscular at all. Many of them still have the "skinny-fat" look).

On the other hand, sprinters do anywhere from 10 to 120 seconds of "work" and yet average 6 to 8% body fat. Just goes to show that short, intense bursts of energy (anaerobic work) is generally far superior to longer, less intense bursts of energy (aerobic) when taking body composition into consideration.

6)The majority of your fat loss should come via diet, not copious amounts of steady state cardio/aerobics. From a time efficiency standpoint, which makes more sense? Not eating that bowl of cereal at night (300-500 calories) or spending 60 minutes on a treadmill to burn that same 300-500 calories every single day?

7)Steady state cardio/aerobics does little to change how your body looks. Sure, you may lose 20 pounds, but you'll still be the same "shape." You won't look leaner, only smaller (not to mention weaker).

8)Lets be honest, do you really enjoy spending 45-60 minutes on one piece of equipment?

Ladies are four times more likely to have an ACL tear compared to men. Get off the leg extension and leg curl machines and train your posterior chain more! Perform various deadlifts, box squats, Anderson squats, pull-throughs, glute-ham raises, one-legged back extensions, and lots of single leg work.

Tony Gentilcore is a certified strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS) and personal trainer (CPT) through the NSCA.