I read some disturbing news yesterday. Well, it was news to me, perhaps you already know if this? Namely that doing too much cardio can apparently have an adverse effect on your body fat composition and, contrary to my life-long held belief, can actually cause you to gain fat! Specifically abdominal/belly fat. WTF?! I hear you cry (if you’re anything like me). Not fair right?
Yes, it seems that the main culprits behind this fallacy of cardio induced fat gain are as follows: overcompensating for your cardio exercise by taking in too many kilojoules; cortisol (that pesky stress hormone, the same one that rears its ugly head in times of stress but also when smoking and drinking, causing one to noticeably put on belly and visceral fat) being released, from stressing the body I guess; and muscle mass being lost in times of lengthy cardio sessions, thus leading to a less efficient metabolism.
Hmm, but what to do if you’re training for a race? And following a program?
Over the last few months (and despite Husband telling me that it’s all in my head) I have noticed a slight change in my body, and now there is a noticeable small roll of belly fat (don’t worry – I am not about to post a before and after shot) where before there was none. I am not being paranoid here, just stating a fact. So, it’s perhaps due to my having turned 30 a few months back, OR, maybe I am a victim of this unfair fat gain due to lots of running? Still doesn’t seem fair, haha.
I would say that maybe I do overcompensate by eating A LOT after training, so maybe something to keep an eye on. I will be also be picking up a few more strength training sessions throughout the week, like I used to, in order to maintain and increase muscle mass and tone, and thus efficiently burn off this belly fat (I hope).
Subsequently, this morning I did a 30 minutes (ish) strength workout instead of a run, which went as follows: 100x skips (not using a rope, just faux-skipping)
50 x jump lunges whilst alternating bicep curls (with weights)
50x punchouts with weights
50x mountain climbers
50x shoulder presses with weights
50x side steps (pretending there is a step in the middle)
80x skips
40x every other move
60x skips
30x every other move
40x skips
20x every other move
20x skips
10x every other move
Then back up the ladder, so back to 40/20, then 60/30, then 80/40, and finally, a very tough, 100/50 again.
Felt efficient and effective and I hope this helps to strengthen my legs sufficiently in time for the 50km trail race on 7th June.
I hope you all have an awesome Wednesday. Tell me, has anyone else noticed weight gain/change in your body, despite doing lots of exercise? What is your favourite strength workout or cross training workout?
Yes, it seems that the main culprits behind this fallacy of cardio induced fat gain are as follows: overcompensating for your cardio exercise by taking in too many kilojoules; cortisol (that pesky stress hormone, the same one that rears its ugly head in times of stress but also when smoking and drinking, causing one to noticeably put on belly and visceral fat) being released, from stressing the body I guess; and muscle mass being lost in times of lengthy cardio sessions, thus leading to a less efficient metabolism.
Hmm, but what to do if you’re training for a race? And following a program?
Over the last few months (and despite Husband telling me that it’s all in my head) I have noticed a slight change in my body, and now there is a noticeable small roll of belly fat (don’t worry – I am not about to post a before and after shot) where before there was none. I am not being paranoid here, just stating a fact. So, it’s perhaps due to my having turned 30 a few months back, OR, maybe I am a victim of this unfair fat gain due to lots of running? Still doesn’t seem fair, haha.
I would say that maybe I do overcompensate by eating A LOT after training, so maybe something to keep an eye on. I will be also be picking up a few more strength training sessions throughout the week, like I used to, in order to maintain and increase muscle mass and tone, and thus efficiently burn off this belly fat (I hope).
Subsequently, this morning I did a 30 minutes (ish) strength workout instead of a run, which went as follows: 100x skips (not using a rope, just faux-skipping)
50 x jump lunges whilst alternating bicep curls (with weights)
50x punchouts with weights
50x mountain climbers
50x shoulder presses with weights
50x side steps (pretending there is a step in the middle)
80x skips
40x every other move
60x skips
30x every other move
40x skips
20x every other move
20x skips
10x every other move
Then back up the ladder, so back to 40/20, then 60/30, then 80/40, and finally, a very tough, 100/50 again.
Felt efficient and effective and I hope this helps to strengthen my legs sufficiently in time for the 50km trail race on 7th June.
I hope you all have an awesome Wednesday. Tell me, has anyone else noticed weight gain/change in your body, despite doing lots of exercise? What is your favourite strength workout or cross training workout?
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