There’s an unsightly affliction attacking gym-goers everywhere, and this might include you. It’s the syndrome of the ‘Chunky Fat Aerobics Instructor’ (Thanks CP for the name). It’s defined by a big ole booty and ever-expanding thighs. Now I’m not being mean nor am I being facetious.
Chunky Fat Aerobics Instructor Syndrome is a real problem and in fact it’s one you could unwittingly be suffering from. Sure, you might not have heard the term before, but I’ll bet you’ve seen the ever-spreading (no pun intended) consequences of exposure to the syndrome.
I’m talking about the instructors who’ve been around for years, teaching up to 18 classes a week of mostly cardio. Of course, many sufferers of the syndrome are not instructors. No, they’re the cardio queens (and kings) that you meet in every gym. The people who go from class to class, and then do a little extra cardio afterwards, ‘just to be sure’. Or maybe they don’t even make it into the class, but just hang out in the cardio theatre, forever pounding or pushing those oh-so-pointless machines. An hour at lunch, another 40 minutes before dinner, and they’re sure to get a walk or run in at every other opportunity. You know the ones. You could even be one.
These are the people who get fatter with every passing year and wonder why they just can’t stop the bulge. Despairing at how unfair it is that they do waaay more exercise than many people but just can’t fight their ‘bad genes’.
Could this be you? Are you well and truly sucked into the cardio myth? Sure that it’s the answer to your fat loss problems despite the fact that it doesn’t seem to, well, um, work? And despite the fact that every cardio junkie you observe in the gym is overweight? It’s time to listen up and learn what cardio really does to those hips abs and thighs.
How To Avoid Chunky Fat Aerobic Instructor Syndrome
Here’s how it works: Aerobic exercise causes subcutaneous fat to be stored, and in particular it causes it to be stored on your legs and butt. What this means is that frequent aerobic exercise will cause blood fat to go up. This is a protective mechanism – your body is using foresight to provide energy in advance for all the aerobic work you will, based on past behavior, no doubt be doing in the future.
But that’s not all. In fact, that’s just step one of the big butt cardio problem. Step two is that your ever-so-smart body decides to be even more efficient. Why store fat in the blood as dangerous triglycerides when you could take those physique and health destroying fats and keep them somewhere even closer – like your muscles? Yep – after just 6 weeks of cardio your body adapts and then goes right ahead and converts as much food into fat as possible. Where does that fat go? Well, oh cardio worshiper, among other places it’s sent straight to the inside of your muscle cells, actually changing the density of those cells. Needless to say, this process is quite tough to reverse! Particularly if it’s been going on for a long time. But there are some things you can do -
- Switch the cardio room for the weights room. Regular weight training increases your basal metabolic rate and WILL result in body fat loss, unlike it’s well-marketed counterpart, cardio. Of course, the weight training must be quality. We’ve all seen people in the gym pretend to know what they’re doing with weights and barely raising a sweat, or – worse – ’social training’.
- Detox those bad fats from your booty by eating enough good fat and minimising starchy carbohydrates in your diet. Good fats include coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, raw organic nuts and seeds, and a quality Omega-3 supplement. Do NOT just buy any old brand here – many shelf Omega-3’s are rancid. Go for practitioner brands or contact me to find out my preferred brands.
- Ensure you drink at least 0.033 litres of water for every kilo of your body weight. (That’s every day). Poor hydration is a sure way to gain weight, and it doesn’t make you feel too great either.
- If in doubt, remember what we’re designed for – moving heavy stuff, mainly in the form of pushing, pulling, bending, squatting, lunging, twisting. Running and jumping around like a crazy person doesn’t really figure unless it’s because you’re life is in jeopardy, and if you’re a regular reader then you’ll know what that means – you’re storing fat. Fast.
With all that in mind I hope that next time you schedule a cardio slash class sandwich, you’ll stop for just a moment and try to let go of the paranoia and the fear. That you’ll consider the possibility that maybe it’s not working for you because It. Just. Don’t. Work.
I realize this post is somewhat controversial so would love to hear your comments and personal experience. Have you been a cardio king or queen over the years? Or been there and given it up like me? What have your experiences been?
Life is Now. Press Play.
Kat
Don’t forget to leave a comment on this post by clicking on ‘leave a comment’ just below. If you’re reading from RSS or email you’ll have to enter the blog to do this. You can do that by clicking on the title of this piece. ‘Leave a comment’ is at the article end, right under the ’share this’ and ‘other articles you may enjoy’ option.
If you haven’t yet subscribed to this feed, what are you waiting for? Do it now. You can choose either email or RSS by clicking here. If you enjoyed this article please forward to your friends. Thank-you!
12 Comments
LOL! It’s true I’ve seen some pretty chunky aerobics teachers. Actually I’ve also heard with the martial arts, the sensei picks up 10 pounds for each level of black belt!
I guess I’m the exception that proves the rule. I run and do karate, and I wish I had a bigger butt, lol. It would help while on my horse
http://calorielab.com/news/categories/dr-j-will-see-you-now/
Haha, maybe you’re the exception that proves the rule
Hi Kat,
The post was spot on and I also must add that the title added a dash of humor to an otherwise informative article.
I have seen several of those Cardio Kings and Queens. And I feel sorry for them.
Personally, I have been a big fan of weight training and have evolved my training program, to suit my needs, along with the changes in my life and lifestyle.
Great Post. Looks Like I am going to keep coming back here
Cheers!
-Anand
(India)
Thanks Anand, glad you like my humor!
hi Kat. I’m currently doing a level 3 personal trainer course with a spot on trainer. He lectures the exact same thing you commented on and i must admit it changed my life in the way i think of going to the gym. Thing is no one and i mean no one believes me, how do you convince people that it isn’t brainwashing?
Hey Jack – I used to worry about the same thing, but the truth is that when you speak with confidence and have a decent understanding of the research behind this stuff, people stop questioning you. You’ll find it will be much easier to have this authority once you’re working in the industry, and even more so as you continue to study and as time passes. Lucky you having a lecturer who talks about this stuff – that’s very unusual!
just new to you blog and love it so far! how do you feel about interval training? or is cardio cardio in your mind?
Hey John. Thanks for the compliment! I actually just finished a post on ideal cardio, stay tuned over the next 24 hours …. Kat
Hello Kat,
I appreciate what you are trying to do here by focusing on how the whole body works and not just being cardio obsessed but I must disagree with the position you take in this article.
While there are many overweight cardio junkies, there are also many underweight cardio junkies. A change in body fat percentage depends on how many calories you burn vs. how many are consumed. While there is a tiny percentage of the population with a true genetic disorder or hormonal (ie thyroid) problems, the majority of people are simply consuming too many calories for what their bodies can burn. It is also proven that many overweight people will drastically underestimate how many calories they consume and are actually eating 50% more calories than what was estimated. I know this is to be true because apart from much scientific reserach, my own bodyweight will vary according to what i eat and not how much I work out. I am a big cardio junkie, burning 1000 calories per session every single day (or about 2-3 hours a day on the treadmill). I also train and educate many people, for whom the cardio approach has worked successfully in every instance. If you really think that your body is storing energy despite having an energy deficit then you are defying the laws of science and I’m sure that there would be many corporations interested in your body since you can create excess energy out of thin air.
A great site loaded with information and facts on the body, fat, muscle and nutrition is: http://www.bodyrecomposition.com – if anyone is interested in the details, please check out this site.
- Ania
Hi Ania
). Long story short – I’d certainly rather eat well, lift heavy and go home and stay ripped that way than painfully track a low-cal diet and spend hours on the tready. Been there, done that, yeah it can work but’s a long and laborious way of going about things, often comes back to bite, and definitely is not great for health considering the oxidative stress caused by cardio and the health/aging implications related to that!
I used to believe a similar approach to what you’re espousing, but I have to say that I do find the old school theory of ‘calories in vs calories out’ to be just that – old school. My studies and clinical experience have led me to put my faith entirely in (what to me is far more logical) ideal health created through the laws of biochemistry and through creating ideal hormonal balance, not through ‘1+1=2′. The body just isn’t that simple. You’re certainly right in saying that some people are underweight cardio junkies but I completely disagree in the premise of body fat depending on calories in vs out as an overall principle. Not saying that someone won’t end up underweight if they severely restrict calories, but the reality is that some people do put on weight this way. And many people who eat a typical so-called healthy diet of moderate calories simply don’t lose weight until they cut out cardio and increase calories through protein and fat. It’s true that cardio works in the short-term, but that’s simply an adaptation response. And while some (very few people) are genetically geared to do well on cardio, most are not.
If you’d like to check out a newer way of thinking on health, training, nutrition and hormones then refer to the work of Charles Poliquin, Jonny Bowden, even Paul Chek. Each of them offer countless articles, research, clinical experience easily found online, enough to keep you going for weeks of reading. And certainly I defer to their experience – particularly that of Poliquin who is well regarded as the world’s leading strength/conditioning coach and has unparalleled expertise in the field of hormonal research – rather than trying to re-hash what they’ve already said (beyond what I did in this post of course
Thanks for your comment!
Kat
Hi Kat,
It is great that you have found a way for you to stay healthy and feel great. While I know that every “body” on this planet must obey the laws of science and that there are often very complicated explanations why some things work for some people and not for others I do not want to get into an argument over this with anybody so I will just leave this discussion at that and wish you good luck with the site and all your health research.
Regards,
Ania
Likewise Ania – I guess it comes down to being open to considering things from a different angle, and remembering that even the most excelled of scientist’s and genius minds have – on occasion – been proven wrong. Once upon a time we believed the world was flat …
5 Trackbacks
[...] PS – cardio will NOT give you a great body! In fact, it will probably make you gain weight. Check out this article if you’re not convinced. [...]
[...] lacking some crucial information. This could be because I’m so passionate about uncovering the truth about cardio for fat loss. I simply can’t stand hearing the same tired old lies again and again, particularly when it [...]
[...] is the key to truly successful cardio. If you want to burn fat, that is, as opposed to end up with chunky fat aerobics instructor syndrome. And perhaps you’ve seen my latest article in the Fitness First magazine and want to know [...]
[...] me finally having the courage to drop the cardio after realizing just how stressful and therefore fattening it can be [...]
[...] which case it’s most definitely time to change your approach before you end up with chunky fat aerobics instructor syndrome. Here’s how – and trust me, this one’s worth a read even if it’s just for a [...]