FWIW, neither of those books are suggesting that you don't exercise. They want you to do strenuous exercises till exhaustion. Burpees instead of jogging. (I hate burpees.)

hog poopy. Exercises uses energy. Energy is what is used to fuel the body during exertion.

I do MUCH better losing while exercising than not. I know I am burning fat now, instead of carbs for the energy needed to work out.

Also, more muscle which burns calories and tones the body. Nothing worse than loose skin on the journey to losing weight.

Don't stop moving. Muscle weighs more than fat. Muscle on! Throw out the scale.

I don't exercise to lose weight I do it for keeping my body lean. I don't run either, 30 min of a day of some cardio and strength to bring your body in shape worth every minute.

annieboomboom wrote: »

hog poopy. Exercises uses energy. Energy is what is used to fuel the body during exertion.

I do MUCH better losing while exercising than not. I know I am burning fat now, instead of carbs for the energy needed to work out.

Also, more muscle which burns calories and tones the body. Nothing worse than loose skin on the journey to losing weight.

Don't stop moving. Muscle weighs more than fat. Muscle on! Throw out the scale.

I disagree with most of this. I lost 60lbs. I did not lose more weight exercising than I did by not. There is no reason to work out like a mad person at the gym 6 times a week. You have to work real hard for an hour to earn what amounts to just a few extra calories. I don't workout now, I ride my horse once a week, that's pretty much it. And it is a common misconception regarding the muscle thing. You will NOT build muscle by "moving" or doing cardio. You will only build muscle if you are actually lifting to build muscle. Do you know how hard it is for your body to gain even 1lb of muscle? It doesn't just happen.

Not saying exercise is bad. Being fitter is great. It's just not a crucial part of losing weight.

As I said before, if you go from sedentary to jogging, you are strength training. You build muscle with progressively increasing load. For example, when you run faster than you did before, you are increasing the load.

The guy in the picture is a sprinter. Lots of load on his muscles. You will not find a sprinter without muscles, even the "average" sprinter will grow muscle.

The average person around here is overweight. That's like wearing a weight vest ALL THE TIME. Overweight people have more muscle mass than underweight people. If you want to MAINTAIN that muscle, then exercise. If you want to INCREASE that muscle, increase the load as you exercise. The type of exercise doesn't matter much, but leg-based exercises will load more muscle fibers, and that's a Good Thing.

If you want studies, let me know, but common sense will tell you that adequate protein + exercise will help you maintain muscle mass and lose the stuff that matters -- FAT (as opposed to WEIGHT).

Dragonwolf wrote: »

Sprinting is not jogging.

Did not know that. How embarrassing.

Does that mean if somebody who can only walk at 3mph progressively becomes able to run at 6mph, they did it without any muscle gain because they did not sprint? How fast must they go before it is considered a "sprint" for the sedentary?

I'm from the school that believes that the only reason to walk there is if you don't have a car, and you don't have the money for a taxi. But I walk for all the other reasons it's a good idea: endurance, fresh air, sightseeing, etc. I want to be able to walk for long distances if I ever NEED to do so. That's why I'm training. It's also fun to move your body. I like to dance. It gives you stamina, creative expression, social interaction, grace, balance, and muscle definition. Exercise is good, regardless of how effective it is in reducing the number on the scale.

I can"t exercise right now and I kinda miss it. Especially kayaking. I feel better when I get some exercise, but I certainly can"t . complain that I am eating bacon and losing weight. Life is good.

We need to know our own bodies and what they respond to. I cannot imagine remaining sedentary whether I was over weight or not. Strength, mind clarity, and the sense of well being exercise gives to me.

I would rather have muscle weight than loose skin , no tone and feel myself getting weaker. No one said it has to be 6 days a week unless you are training. At my age, it is necessary to keep myself strong so I stay out of a walker like my mother did not.

Use what you have. It's there for a reason.

For definition, I think that jogging is sustainable, whilst sprinting is near flat out. I can jog for a couple of kilometres (a mile or so) but I can only sprint for around 150 metres/yards before my breathing gets out of whack and I have to stop.

wabmester wrote: »

Dragonwolf wrote: »

Sprinting is not jogging.

Did not know that. How embarrassing.

Does that mean if somebody who can only walk at 3mph progressively becomes able to run at 6mph, they did it without any muscle gain because they did not sprint? How fast must they go before it is considered a "sprint" for the sedentary?

I was on my phone at the time and ended up more terse and less clear than I intended. My point was that beyond the initial newbie gains of, say, a Couch to 5K program, jogging doesn't really improve muscle tone. In fact, diminishing returns start setting in somewhere around the 5-10K mark and when you get into marathon level running, it actually starts becoming catabolic. Beyond something like half an hour of a moderate jogging pace, cortisol levels start becoming counterproductive to muscle gain.

Sprinting, however, is more like weight lifting or high intensity intervals -- short periods of all-out effort followed by periods of rest. This allows the workout to remain anabolic, so long as the person doesn't overdo it (again, beyond half an hour or so, cortisol levels start reaching the point of being catabolic).

This effect is actually quite beautifully illustrated by Howard Schatz's Athlete series. Nearly all of the long distance runners have very little muscle compared to their sprinter counterparts.

For most people, the problem arises because they don't generally look to gain speed, at least not in a way that works, and just go for sheer time and distance. The people that jog the most (the so-called "cardio bunnies") just jog at the same speed for upwards of hours on end (and then wonder why they can't lose weight). Programs like C25K work because it's interval training, not constant steady-state jogging.

That's largely what the book Goat posted is talking about. If you notice, the man on the cover is holding a kettlebell. The book likely isn't saying "don't exercise at all," but rather "steady-state jogging is not the right exercise for getting lean and strong in the long run."

@Dragonwolf: But noob gains like Couch-to-5K are probably applicable to most people here. It basically gets you to the point where you can sustain a jog, and that will generate muscle mass for the sedentary. That's one reason why I think books like this are asinine. More people are sedentary than are addicted to steady-state exercise. Who will benefit from the "don't jog" message?

Lift weights if you like to, but don't be discouraged from doing other exercises you might enjoy more.

I agree with Fit_Goat! I am the archetypal couch potato and for many different reasons not least being its just too hot/dangerous on the roads here in Dubai but for those of you who want to try a bit of exercise at home so no one else sees you and you dont need fancy clothes or any equipment you can do a lot worse than use some of the 'walking' dvds available on youtube. I have been known to use Leslie Sansone and I do her 3 mile walk but there are 10 minute ones or 48 minute ones to do at the pace that you can do! Quite a variety on there. And...its just walking with a few variations for fending off boredom and the addition of a few arm movements. Great for couch potatoes who want to move and start burning a few extra cals. I apologise now if anyone curses me for how upbeat and chatty she is and it drives you mad but it does help get you to the end...you are glad to turn her off!Lol.