 |
||
 I was having a conversation with a friend who has been working hard at “losing weight.” I was told by my friend that they had experienced a 10 pound weight loss since joining the gym 50 days ago. The problem is that they cannot seem to lose any more fat at this point and were baffled as to why. ”So did you get your body fat measured when you first joined the gym?” I inquired. ”Yes, that was almost 2 months ago.” replied my friend. ”So go in and get tested again to see where you stand.” I commented. My friend did just that, going in for another body fat analysis only to find that they were still at 23% body fat. With great discouragement, my friend informed me that they could not understand how this was possible since they had obviously dropped 10 pounds on the scale. ”Think! What have you lost?” I prompted. My friend thought about my comment and claimed to not understand. ”You used to weigh 175 pounds and now you weigh 165 pounds. You’ve lost lean body mass for the most part!” I proclaimed. My friend could not believe it. There was a look of shock on the face. I did the math and here is what I found. At 175 pounds and 23% body fat, my friend had 135 pounds of lean body mass and 40 pounds of fat. After working hard at losing weight for 50 days, my friend was at 165 pounds and 23% body fat. This translates into 127 pounds of lean body mass and 38 pounds of fat. My friend has lost 8 pounds of lean body mass. Why? The problem is that all my friend did was cardio. There was absolutely no weight training involved at all. As a result, instead of at least maintaining lean body mass and dropping fat, my friend dropped mostly lean body mass. If you want to burn fat you must lift weights. Weight training creates a Larger Engine and that is what helps you burn fat. Without that Larger Engine you won’t be as effective at burning fat. Your body will simply cannibalize your lean body mass for energy and that’s a bad thing. It creates a vicious cycle that needs to be reversed at all costs. |
||
|
||
 Mike’s Workout Log: 
Matty’s Workout Log: I just noticed (or rather Matty pointed out) that on my leg extension I have got 1 plate to go and I will be lifting the entire rack. A year ago I would never have thought it possible. |
||
 Weight training is an essential part of a fat loss program. |
||
 Have you ever fallen into that “cardio only” mindset? Comment this post to answer the question. |
||
Until tomorrow…GET BACK TO LIFTING! |
||
Feeling overwhelmed by the information you get on the web? Not sure if that guy is a "guru”? The answer is finally here! |
