You can't just run your way to fat loss!

Every human being makes a covenant with oneself about changing his body at some point in life. We promise to get fit, become more active, lose weight etc. As a result of this, the first thought which builds in most people’s head, I am going to start running and change myself physically.From an endurance perspective, excellent! however, if you really want to burn that stubborn fat, you will have to do more than that. I am not for once saying running is ineffective. It does have its benefits, but there are more productive tools we can access to ensure our body burns fat efficiently while we train and post training. Wait a second? What did I just say, burn fat post training? You bet I said exactly that.

The conventional exercise population trains an hour in a day and most of it is endurance-based training. This is only 4% of your entire day. What if you were also able to burn fat in the passive 96% of your time? No, I am not for once suggesting you build a desk in the gym or live in one. I am talking about burning fat effectively when you’re at rest. Sounds incredible isn’t it? Well, running doesn’t exactly help you achieve that. So, let’s cut to the chase. It is strength training ladies and gentlemen. Good old weightlifting. Now, before all the self-proclaimed pundits start telling me it is one and the same thing. You must burn calories to lose weight and running does exactly that so don’t give us the wrong advice. Well, all I can tell you is, it will be easy to build an alternate world on Mars in time to come, however, running will always be ineffective and passive when it comes to burning fat efficiently. Let’s science this out.
1. You must build lean muscle mass to burn fat effectively.
The older we get, the more fat we accumulate. This happens ‘casue we start to lose lean muscle tissue. In the absence of lean muscle tissue, our body accumulates fat faster. Why does this happen? It is a result of diminishing
growth hormone levels. In simple terms, the ageing process. So, you need to boost your growth hormone levels. Why? More growth hormone production equals more lean muscle growth. More lean muscle equals less fat. Less
fat naturally slows down the ageing process. When you train with weights, your body produces excessive amounts of growth hormone which leads to better development of lean muscle tissue. Endurance training or distance running doesn’t help you build lean muscle tissue.
2. You must stimulate type 2 muscle fibers to burn more calories
Fast twitch muscle fibers, which are type 2 muscle fibers, when stimulated, burn more calories than the slow twitch ones. This happens as Type 2 fibers require great force or energy for movement. Which means more energy
expenditure resulting in more calories burned. Type 2 fibers are the largest and strongest muscular agents in the body. You see when you run or perform any aerobic activity, you do not stimulate fast twitch muscle. You are using
slow twitch fibers which depend largely on oxygen supply. Explosive weight training or high intensity anerobic training stimulates Type 2 fibers which do not use oxygen as a source of energy. They depend on the phosphocreatine system, in simple terms pure brute strength. Once again, how does this burn more calories? That’s ‘cause your indulging in explosive movements in a short span of time which requires more energy and recruits more muscle groups, hence maximum calories burned. Activities like heavy squats, deadlifts, Olympic lifts last a few seconds only and are fueled purely by strength involving the least amount of oxygen supply.
3. Weight training helps you burn calories at rest.
A pound of muscle is metabolically more active than a pound of fat. In simple language, more muscle in your body will burn more calories. How do you get metabolically more active? You must build more lean muscle, that’s it. As proven earlier, weight training helps to build lean muscle tissue. Which means the leaner you are, the better your metabolism. Growth in muscle tissue will improve your metabolic rate and help burn calories at rest or, better put, you will burn fat even after your workouts have finished.
4. Strength training increases your appetite
Lifting weights help you burn more calories than running, which creates a better energy balance. What is energy balance? It is calories in vs calories out. When you’re burning substantial amount of calories, your body needs to replenish the same to fuel growth and repair life. Which means, when you burn more calories you can eat more. There is room for more calories on your plate. With smart food choices and the right calorie intake, you build a better physique as opposed to inferior and inadequate eating as a result of less calories burned due to ineffective training methods.

5. You’re better in bed
This is one activity which requires no training and grows on us naturally. Having said that, once you move the affection and love bit out of the equation, it comes down to a game of hormones. In short, the healthier your hormone profile, the better you will perform in bed. Your testosterone levels start to dip with age due to insufficient growth hormone production. When your test levels are low, you’re generally tired, fatigued, less enthusiastic about most physical activities let alone making love. So, the natural way to get your test levels up is by indulging in weight training. Hit a few sets in the gym for a couple of weeks. Build some brute strength and go back home driven with all the passion inside.
I personally like to build programs which include aerobic(running) and anerobic(weightlifting) training methods as
both are a part of the weight and life management process. However, my objective is to consistently build and maintain lean tissue. I use cardio every now and then to keep my heart healthy and oxygenated.

I want to thank you once again for stopping by and investing your time on my work. I am hopeful this will change your perspective about the sport and encourage you to push yourself and get to the sweat room. Indulge in lifting
weights which in turn will lift your spirits and your life.