Is the dogma true? Does aerobic or cardiovascular training make you fat? Let’s lay out the science and talk about what it does to our bodies. Especially for women, as they react differently than men to aerobic training, mainly when it comes to food intake.
We all have seen people who follow the same cardiovascular routine year after year, and none of them have the type of body that we all want.
Yet they spend literally days, weeks, even months, pounding out on the pavement and for what? Aerobic fitness, if they have their activity level up sufficiently they will improve their heart health and cardiovascular fitness. But, what if you fall into this category and you want that lean looking physique? Or maybe you are a weightlifting enthusiast that wants to get leaner, but you have heard that cardiovascular training could make you fat? What should you do?
Especially if you are, or potentially could be spending a large amount of time doing cardiovascular training, you will want to lose some fat along the way.
The Science of Aerobics
Anytime you do sustained (45 to 60 minutes) of aerobic activity at a sufficient intensity level (usually 65 % to 85 % of your maximum of which you can calculate roughly by taking 220 minus your age to get your maximum) several times per week. There are a lot of changes that go on inside your body, especially in the first eight to twelve weeks. Unlike weight training that builds lean tissue that we see as larger muscles, endurance training increases our mitochondrial protein density (the powerhouses of our cells) by roughly 100 percent. This along with lowering blood pressure, and increased heart health are some of the major training changes that take place. These are all fantastic changes that take place and no matter who you are, you should be interested.
Now, for those of us looking to get lean and hold on to muscle mass as well, cardiovascular training also burns a lot of calories. This is especially true if you are highly trained at the activity (say running, swimming, rowing, or cycling).
So Why Are Amateur Endurance Runners Often Overweight?
The problem with the people you see running on the side of the street is usually twofold. First, these people do not maintain a high enough intensity. Sure, they may be out there for a full hour of running, but how far and how fast did they really go? Unlike weight training, where you can easily measure your intensity by increasing repetitions or increasing the weight on the bar, aerobic training is much more difficult. What often happens is people slow down, they slow way down. The answer is to use a heart rate monitor and use the guidelines above to stay at 65 % for the first several weeks, then move up to 70 % with intervals of 80 % - 85 % if you can handle it. The heart rate monitor will ensure that you keep your intensity up.
The second problem, especially for women, is that they start eating more! If you talk to any exercise physiologist who has either done or helped with an endurance training study (where they asked the study subjects to maintain their bodyweight during the study), they will say that the researchers have to tell the men to eat more. However, the women (for an unknown reason) do not have to be told to worry about forcing food down. The women just start eating more! This is even the case with post-menopausal women. You always need to watch your food intake.
So, do aerobics make you fat? No. Aerobic conditioning is something we all should incorporate into our day to some extent. Of course any hardcore weight enthusiast will tell you there is a limited extent to which you can do cardiovascular training and weight training before you over train, but that level is different for everyone depending on their personal goals. So, do not just throw out aerobic training if you enjoy it thinking that the activity makes you fat. It does not. In fact, the physiological adaptations are beneficial to our overall health. Just as increased muscle mass from weight training can reduce our risk later on in life of sarcopenia, aerobics can increase our heart health, reduce our risk of disease and even make you leaner as long as it is done right!
Max Aita – An accomplished and active Olympic style weightlifter from Montana, Max is a strength coach at the California Strength Academy. After studying under Ivan Abadzhiev, the famous Bulgarian strength coach, Max secured the job at the California Strength Academy and currently runs the athletic training program at the academy working with athletes from prep to pro. Max can be reached at maxaita@californiastrength.com