Let’s discuss the myth of “steady state” (sustained, lower intensity) aerobic exercise.
Why?
I get many questions from menopausal women about fat loss strategies, and those questions begin an interesting dialogue.
Many women believe that in order to lose fat, the BEST exercise to turn to is steady state aerobics.
This is not the case.
Here is the typical question I get asked.
“Shelli, I just don’t get it. I watch what I eat, and run and bike 5 days a week. I’ve been working out like this for years and I can’t seem to lose a pound. Why is this?”
Another example is, “Shelli, I am shocked that with all the training I have done to get ready for my marathon I haven’t lost any weight.”
I am not going to get overly technical here, so after you read this if you want more specific information you can always contact me.
And I am not going to discuss the nutritional component of fat loss, that’s for another time.
If not steady state aerobics then what?
I want to send you in the right direction though, in terms of your understanding what kind of exercise to use to reach your FAT LOSS goals.
I know that we are all striving to live a healthy life and over time reach a high level of fitness, and often that includes fat loss.
Let’s call that a desire to change our body composition—-gain muscle and lose fat.
What I see women turning to in their exercise plan is steady state cardio—-whether that’s running, walking, biking, or swimming.
I am suggesting a much more EFFECTIVE approach would be using strength training and cardio done as intervals (verses steady state).
Let’s look at some facts so you’ll see why what I’m suggesting makes sense.
1. We have a survival instinct in our bodies that holds onto fat for energy if we exercise consistently for long periods of time (steady state).
Short intense exercise sessions do NOT trigger this fat storage mechanism, so your body feels safe using fat stores for energy after these short intense sessions.
2. Increasing the amount of resistance/strength training you do builds more lean muscle.
Muscle is metabolically active and burns more calories than other body tissues even when you are not moving. And muscle burns more calories than fat.
The ONLY tissue in the body that burns fat is muscle.
I generally find when you get someone stronger, other things improve as well.
3. Particularly if you are creating a caloric deficit through your diet, regular resistance training will preserve the lean muscle tissue that would otherwise be lost along with the fat. This is a key point.
4. The idea is to rev up your metabolism.
Metabolism is largely a function of how much muscle you carry. Raising your metabolism is the real key in long term fat loss and changing your body composition.
In order to lose body fat you must burn more calories than you consume—this remains rule number one.
Aerobic training burns them while you are exercising, however anaerobic training (strength training and interval training) burns them during AND increases the calories burned for hours afterwards.
This is referred to as EPOC–the excess post-exercise oxygen consumption.
5. The steady state aerobic dilemma is that you will get efficient at whatever exercise you are doing.
The work required to go the same distance at the same speed will become less and less as you get fitter. You will either need to go further or faster.
This creates a whole bunch of concerns—spending more time to get the same calorie deficit you once got, going faster if your technique is not solid could lead to injury, and eventually the new distance or speed will become too easy for you and at some point you will go into your ANaerobic zone so you are no longer doing aerobics.
In terms of fat loss, calories burned is the most important factor. Aerobic training burns less calories than anaerobic training and strength training overall.
There is of course a place for steady state aerobics in your toolbox. If you enjoy endurance-based cardio exercise, by all means go out there and have fun. I know I do!
Our topic here has been the most effective and efficient way to exercise to maximize fat loss. Strength training and interval workouts are the better tools to use for that goal.
Of course, we need to pay attention to nutrition as well, but like I said earlier that’s a different blog post.
I wanted to share this with you because I feel I owe my great health and fitness to Yoga, better nutrition, smarter workouts, getting as strong as I can and living better with a simpler lifestyle.
And I’m also a big fan of matching what I do with the goals I have, and that includes being as effective and efficient as possible!
And as always, I take you with me on my journey.
My greatest joy comes from being of service and participating in your health and fitness quest as well.
Thanks for coming along on this steady state cardio discussion, and be sure to reply with your own insights!
shelli
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