Misinformed Part 3

By David Modderman, B.S., NASM-CPT, ACE- CPT, NESTA-CFNC

Running on the treadmill or using the Elliptical for an hour daily is all I need.
This is common misinformation. Most people think the key to fat loss is hours and hours of aerobic activity on the treadmill, elliptical or stair stepper. I'm not against aerobic activity; it definitely has its place as a very important part of the synergy of fat loss. What I am saying is just by doing aerobic activity for a long period of a time you will not magically burn away fat. Aerobic activity is just one piece of the puzzle when it comes to fat loss, it's an important piece but we need two more pieces to complete this puzzle.

There is not any reason why you can't transform your body into a lean, and fat burning machine. Aerobic exercise is a key piece in the synergy of fat loss, but it is not the only solution. Unfortunately the biggest mistake that most people make when their goal is fat loss is they deprive themselves of food, and they do excess aerobic activity. If you do too much aerobic activity in terms of duration and frequency, you can go past a point where your body does not have the ability to supply fuel continuously. So what happens? Your body turns to muscle as a fuel source; and this will break down your muscles. Muscle is the site where fat is burned, so muscle is vital for burning fat, if you are losing muscle then your losing your fat burning potential. So have you figured out another piece of the puzzle? You need to build more lean muscle to burn more fat.

One other key point is you are using aerobic exercise as your only source of fat loss; your body can actually become dependant on this. So if you do take a break from this form of exercise your body will start to store more body fat. Now that you have lost muscle with excess aerobic exercise, there is less muscle to burn fat, therefore you have actually primed your body to continuously store more fat.

Building muscle Isn't Feminine.
Building muscle is one of key factors for fat loss. So if you happen to be a female reading this, you might be wincing, when I say you need to build muscle. Muscle in our society has always been labeled as something that will make you look masculine. Most probably have scene women on TV or in magazine that are heavily muscled and look quite scary. I realize most of you don't want to look like that. You need to realize that these women are taking hormones and chemicals that increase their testosterone levels that will give them the muscle building gains similar to men; there is nothing natural about these women. A natural woman cannot make these kinds of gains and build muscle to this degree with out drugs; you have a high amount of estrogen in your body, and a low level of testosterone, this limits your bodies ability to build extreme muscle mass. If you were told that weight lifting would make you bulky (adding fat and muscle together) you have been mislead, all muscle you gain is lean, whether you're male or female. Only in men with higher levels of testosterone can the muscle gains be extreme. So don't worry about lean muscle taking away from your femininity, it will actually enhance your femininity and you will burn more fat in the process.

I'm too old to start exercising and see results.
I hear this one far to often. You are never to old to start making a positive change in your lifestyle! The older you do get the more important improving your health is. The sooner you get started on an exercise program, and solid nutrition plan the better off you will be. If you train with myself I can guarantee, you will look better and feel younger. If you train the body the way it's supposed to be trained you can improve or reduce many risks.

Here is a short list:

Diabetes
Stroke
High Blood Pressure
High Cholesterol
Cancer
Heart Disease
Osteoporosis

You will also:

Improve Balance
Improve Strength
Reduce joint pain (arthritis)
Reduce back pain
Heal faster
Look and feel better
Live Longer


So remember your never too old to do anything. There are many great role models who continue to workout, eat right and stay healthy at any age, look at Jack LaLaine he is well into his eighties and still is extremely fit. Sylvester Stallone is 59 and is in the best shape of his life.

You Must Believe.
To succeed and reach your goals you must first believe you can before you can achieve those goals. If you don't believe you can lose body fat, you probably never will. You have to believe that the information and education I'm giving you is the truth. You must believe in these tools that I'm giving you, and you must believe that you can use these tools to succeed. With that said I can only give you the tools and the knowledge what I cannot give you the desire, that comes from within yourself. Remember there is no quick fix, or magic pill, machine, or powder that will make the results you seek magically appear. Many of you have been stripped of your belief because you have been unsuccessful and mislead. Hopefully with this new knowledge you feel a bit more empowered and will start to believe again!

In this 3 part series of articles you have learned about many false beliefs and non truths that many are still holding on to about how to be successful at losing body fat. I am here to tell you the truth is out there, these articles have been about the truth. It may have not been what you wanted to hear, but it is what you needed to hear. You will not find the truth on infomercials, or by buying diet pills. I have shared some of the truth with you in this 3 part series. You have learned about two key pieces of the puzzle to be successful at the synergy of fat loss; they are aerobic activity, and building muscle. What's the missing piece? Stay tuned! In the next few weeks you will see a whole article dedicated to it.

The author of this tip David Modderman has a degree in Exercise Science, and is a Certified Personal Trainer/Lifestyle and Nutrition Coach. He is a Personal Trainer/Health and Nutrition Coach located in the Rockford/Cedar Springs area. He is also the creator of Real Results Fitness Company and the 17 Week Real Results Body Transformation Program. If you would like to learn how to burn fat, build muscle and create a faster metabolism, you need to schedule an exercise or nutrition session with him at one his locations or in your home. Or you may sign up for one of his Supermarket Tours or Fat Loss and Nutrition Seminars. You can reach him with any questions at: support@davidmodderman.com or 616-824-8311.