Recovery, the Training Effect, and Working Fat Off

These are topics It seems I talk about every day. It seems that our patience for reaching our goals just don't exist. We all do it in one form or another. We set our sights on something and we want it yesterday. Changing your body is no different. I know clients that will eat one meal per day, go through 3 hour workouts, workout 7 days per week, workout 2 times per day, all in hopes of getting in better shape or better looking faster. Does all this work?

Think about it? Go to your gym the local 24hour shitness or Club Thug and what I want you to do is make not of the people on the cardio machines. Do this for 1 month I will beat you a paycheck you will see the same people at the same times almost every single day religiously doing cardio. Why is that? Because they believe that more is better so they will do cardio every single day in hopes of getting the body that they want. If you really and truly could work off Fat by simpling working hard then there would be no need for diets, eating healthy or any of that other crap trainers try to sell you. Just work hard and the fat will go away right? Right! Hell no! Your body just doesn't work like that. Think about our ancestor the caveman. They went a long time without food so to survive our bodies adapted and held on to fat to preserve life. Just like the caveman ran from dinosaurs and went without food today not a whole lot has changed. We run on the treadmill all day and eat very little in hope of losing fat. Your body will do the same thing it did hundreds of years ago and go into survival mode.

Losing fat is simple not easy. You have to eat smart, follow a strength training program to build and maintain muscles along with an aerobic program to burn fat. After all 3 come together you have to recover from the workouts. That's it not one more than the other. Think big picture.

Recovery - Folks you just have to take days off. Following an exercise program that includes strength training, cardio and sensible eating will only if you recover from the workout. I hear people saying all of the time I want to do extra workouts to maintain or speed up my progress. This will slow you down faster one the Treetards climbing up a tree before the beat 3 officer can get there. This is one of the most important things I can tell you. You don't make progress from working out really hard. You heard me. The progress or improvement comes when you recover from the workout and this is known as the training effect. That's when all the good stuff happens (build muscle, burn fat, running faster, etc...) How do you recover? Eat all of your meals, rest on your days off, leave the workout feeling like you worked really hard but could have did a little more if you had too.

Simple no recovery no progress period. So kick some ass on the days that you train but be sure to make wise decisions on your off days. I didn't say to become a total couch potato. You can play golf, basketball, a fun jog with a free, etc... keep it very very low key.