Wow, is this article right?

aforange

http://jasonferruggia.com/12-reasons-youre-not-losing-fat/

I just found this on stumbleupon and yeah, while some parts of it are obvious for general weight loss, some of the points the topic makes have just made me sort of go, "Wait, what?"

Points like:

"You're eating too much fruit",
"No self respecting man should ever be spotted on an elliptical machine" and,
"You’re not running sprints or doing sled work."

Got me pretty confused.

I don't do sled work? I've never even heard of it. Am I just not going to lose weight if I don't start doing these exercises? It seems like a ridiculous prospect to me.

What do you guys think?

Railr0aderTony

One person's opinion and opinions are like axxholes everyone has one and they all stink.

I have followed exactly what MFP has set out for me , I eat loads of fruit, I do cardio mostly, I do some strength training but not sprints or sled work. I am not an expert just a fat guy who is losing weight with somthing that works.

pigeonhugger

Half way through the article it goes from ''why your not loosing fat'' to '' how to get ripped''. He needs to pick one and stick to it, as although a lot of the points would be the same, there would also be a lot of differences.


Personally i think he is writing from his own experience which may not be for everyone.

I dont want to be ripped, just toned so thats prob why I dont agree with half of it. By his standards I eat too much fruit, not enough meat, overdo cardio, eat nuts, and carbs at the wrong time. But its working for me.

Wonderob

I used to be 550 lbs. Just two weeks of sled work and I'm now 150

darrensurrey

I've heard those things elsewhere (too much carbs, too much fruit) and I suppose it makes sense.

As for the sprinting and sledding, I think I know where he is coming from:
-HIIT is the best style of exercising to burn fat and avoid plateauing (at my levels of bodyfat, if I even think of a marathon, I start to store fat :laugh: )
-Heavy compound work will keep muscle loss at bay on a calorie deficit (I personally prefer powerlifting moves to keep the muscles working and burn fat)

That's my understanding of things, anyway.

kimothy38

I follow Jason Ferrugia because some of his concepts are interesting. Like everything in life though you need to the bits that work for you and leave the rest. I giggle to myself though whenever I see guys on an elliptical machine.

renkatrun

Not all opinions are equally valid. Anecdotes are not science. The human body is not a machine.

Avoiding negativity is a start for any improvements in your life - in my humble opinion.

Find what works for you and filter the rest through your common sense and own knowledge of what is motivating the "this is good", "this is bad" advice.

Thanks for the link. I enjoyed this article: http://jasonferruggia.com/nutritional-knowledge-bombs-with-nate-miyaki/
This is what has worked for me. That said:

We all want simple and easy "rules" to follow that will guarantee success. Should be obvious by now that if there were one "right" way to do it, the discussion would be over.


Best of luck.

renkatrun

quote:
Half way through the article it goes from ''why your not loosing fat'' to '' how to get ripped''. He needs to pick one and stick to it, as although a lot of the points would be the same, there would also be a lot of differences.
end quote.


Did he really misspell "losing" as "loosing"? I didn't catch that. That might make me question his advice.

ChinUp4Life

http://jasonferruggia.com/12-reasons-youre-not-losing-fat/

I just found this on stumbleupon and yeah, while some parts of it are obvious for general weight loss, some of the points the topic makes have just made me sort of go, "Wait, what?"

Points like:

"You're eating too much fruit",
"No self respecting man should ever be spotted on an elliptical machine" and,
"You’re not running sprints or doing sled work."

Got me pretty confused.

I don't do sled work? I've never even heard of it. Am I just not going to lose weight if I don't start doing these exercises? It seems like a ridiculous prospect to me.

What do you guys think?

Keep in mind that Ferruggia is hardcore Strength and Conditioning. So what he says generally doesn't apply to general population.

I would say there are some nuggets of truth with regard to the nuts, proteins, fats that he mentions, but the main value I get from his article is just the "awareness" of a different perspective (who has had lots of experience in the S&C field).

No self respecting man should ever be spotted on an elliptical machine.

I work at a gym. I am respectful to all because I truly believe in the customer service experience. However, secretly I am laughing at every male on the elliptical who is younger than 70. The guys who are mid-20's and do these extreme bouts on the elliptical crack me up like t hey are having pumping their arms so hard and bending their backs so far over so that they can get better leverage on their legs. Effective? Unlikely.

They would probably burn more fat putting the treadmill on 15% incline and walking at 3.5 miles per hour. Most people don't realize how difficult uphill walking is -- also how PRACTICAL it is because it relates to real life activities.

With regard to weighted sleds and uphill sprints, these exercises are considered to be at a muscle building intensity. Elliptical are not going to build muscle - sry folks. However, uphill sprints will create calves, hamstrings, and glutes admirable by both men and women. Same thing with weighted sleds and loaded carriers. The metabolic cost on your body is huge. I read another article that the intensity of sprint intervals activates many more genes related to fat loss and lean body composition.

Then as someone else mentioned...

I dont want to be ripped, just toned so thats prob why I dont agree with half of it. By his standards I eat too much fruit, not enough meat, overdo cardio, eat nuts, and carbs at the wrong time. But its working for me.

Everyone has different goals and experiences. That's why I learn from all, and never subscribe to one single guru.

pigeonhugger

I follow Jason Ferrugia because some of his concepts are interesting. Like everything in life though you need to the bits that work for you and leave the rest. I giggle to myself though whenever I see guys on an elliptical machine.

completely not relevant but I love your bunny. nom nom

aforange

Ahhh, that does make a lot more sense! Thank you ChinUp4Life, I can see where he's coming from.

I do tend to use the elliptical a lot myself though a) because it kills me and b) because I'm pretty sure it's toning up my booty. I'm not sure how far it goes in terms of fat loss, but it's good for general toning / strengthening, right? Well, that's what I use it for anyways, I also usually feel like it's a nice workout in combo with my weights, rowing and biking etc.

I don't think my gym has weighted sleds, I'll have to look into it for harder training.

fteale

No, I am on reason 5 and have already spotted some glaring errors in it up to this point.

Ok - have read it all now, and basically it's mostly bull****. It's the kind of "science" that I see spouted on here all the time.

126siany

Ahhh, that does make a lot more sense! Thank you ChinUp4Life, I can see where he's coming from.

I do tend to use the elliptical a lot myself though a) because it kills me and b) because I'm pretty sure it's toning up my booty. I'm not sure how far it goes in terms of fat loss, but it's good for general toning / strengthening, right? Well, that's what I use it for anyways, I also usually feel like it's a nice workout in combo with my weights, rowing and biking etc.

I don't think my gym has weighted sleds, I'll have to look into it for harder training.

I think it depends somewhat on which sort of elliptical you're using. If you use the ones that are flat and have the moving handles, probably not going to get much in the way of strength training. If you're using the sort with the fixed handles and the adjustable incline, you'd have a better chance at building some strength in your legs. The good ones of that type can come close to approximating a stairclimber.