I’m well aware this post is going to get quite a few people upset, but it needs to be said. Do you want to get in shape & lose weight? Don’t go for a run. Jogging around your neighborhood is not the best way to achieve your goals. Now, before you send me some angry email or click off this page, I want you to understand that I’m all for making exercise apart of your life. The fact is, when conditioning is done right, it can be a really effective training tool. Unfortunately, people & coaches often fail to use conditioning as an effective training tool. And I want you to get your goals in an efficient & effective manner. That is not going to be running 5k’s around the block. Yes, you heard me right. Stop those long, slow jogs around the block.
If you’re open minded or just curious & still here, here’s a look into why & some considerations.
Injury: Running your way into the PT clinic
If I told to hop from one leg to the other about 2000x right now, would you think that is solid training advice? Hopefully not. But you have no problem doing that when you are told to go for a mile run. And then a few days later you double that to 2 miles. And then 3 miles.
Comparatively speaking, what would your thoughts be if your personal trainer had you bench press 100lbs the first week & then 200lbs the next, & then by the end of the month 300lbs? People get hurt running because they do way too much volume & do not progress gradually.
If I told you to start this exercise program that puts you at a 50% chance of getting injured, how would you feel about doing that? Not very good odds that’s for sure. Yes, for the average recreational runner, who is steadily training and who participates in a long distance run every now and then, the overall yearly incidence rate for running injuries varies between 37 and 56% [1].
You get hurt, you stop running & thus progress, if any, halts as well. Maybe you go to a physical therapist to get better, just to go back to doing the thing that put you there in the first place. Often, it is a vicious cycle & you are left discouraged that you haven’t met or sustained your goals/results.
You either need to find a better/smarter way to run, or a different way to train… Unless you like visiting your physical therapist.
Metabolic effect: All exercise is not created equal
We’ve all been told that in order to lose weight, we need… CARDIO. We are told to go for more walks or jogs around the neighborhood, or hop on a treadmill for 30 minutes at the same pace to melt fat like it is butter. Here is my problem with that…
YOU ARE WASTING YOUR TIME. Again,the goal is to be efficient & effective to lead to the desired outcome/adaptation. If you want to lose weight & get rid of some extra pounds of fat, running long, slow
distance isn’t the best use of your time. Without going too much into the science, increasing your muscle mass & decreasing your fat mass, the relationship between how much muscle & how much fat makes up your body, is going to increase your metabolism. The best way to do this is strength/resistance training.
Strength training gives you more bang for your buck.
Fat is burned within the muscle. So making your muscles do more work, like with resistance training, is going to give you a better metabolic effect in terms of getting rid of fat. On top of that, the more muscle mass you have, & thus lower body fat percentage, the higher your metabolic rate will be. So resistance training is not only more effective for burning fat for fuel during the process, but it is also better when you consider the process of metabolism in the repair & maintenance of the muscles you have trained. Some people refer to this as an “after-burn” effect, Essentially, there is a higher demand during the training process & what follows.
Running is not great for increasing your muscle mass. Thus, without training in a way to increase your muscle mass, you are missing out on the benefits that come with it. Being a cardio zombie does not allow you to apply resistance to your muscles like you can with resistance training. And training the bigger muscles & muscle groups with compound exercises vs smaller muscles with isolation exercises (back vs calves) require a greater cost to do work, supplying a better return on investment. Bouncing around the neighborhood on your calves isn’t going to be an efficient way to get you into that wedding dress or get you beach-ready.
Appearance: Want the starved captive look?
Have you ever seen the first 10 runners finish a marathon? Ever watched long distance runners in the Olympics? Who see’s these people & says “You know what, I want that look.” ?…. Slim to none.
I’m not knocking them, what they do is incredibly difficult & takes a lot of commitment. And that has a cost- Their physique. Look at their body composition in comparison to sprinters. Who would you rather look like?
The training regimen of long distance runners should not be the same thing as your journey to get into better shape… unless getting into better shape = achieving the physique of a marathon runner.
So, use higher intensities when running & implement intervals. A great example is sprint-jog/walk telephone pole to telephone pole. The point is, you need to train at a higher intensity with low intensity/rest period. This means short, but intense bouts of near to – all out effort. That’s why things like resistance training & sprinting/ interval training at higher intensities are more efficient & effective means to losing weight. They require a higher cost to do work.
Final notes
Conditioning is important. I’m not saying you shouldn’t do any conditioning. Running long slow distance isn’t the only way to condition though. And rather than spend 30 minutes running around your neighborhood, you can spend a fraction of the time at a higher intensity to achieve greater results. Now that is effective & efficient.
And if running/walking is important to you, you enjoy it, & you’re can do it without getting injured then keep at it. I am not saying everyone needs to stop that does it. But if you want to be more efficient with your time & stop being let down on the path to your goals, I recommend changing your approach & adding in strength training to your exercise regimen.
Good conditioning programming DOES exist. It is just a bit difficult to find in a world where people force feed 30 minute treadmill dates to you. So if you want to learn how to tie all of these things together, nutrition, strength training, & proper conditioning, for a better all around training experience, I can help. So stop wasting your valuable time & energy, & start training the right way for your goals.
Nutrition also plays a huge roll in weight loss, basically a big piece in the puzzle. Run & lift all you want, you’ve got to have your nutrition under control to lose weight. You’ve got to develop habits by progressively building & using transferable skills to lay the bricks of sustainable weight loss. If you’ve got the training part down but aren’t seeing the results you feel you deserve, or just simply want some help with nutrition, check this out.
- van Mechelen W. Running injuries. A review of the epidemiological literature. Sports Med. 1992;14(5):320‐335. doi:10.2165/00007256-199214050-00004
