DON'T RUN.....................

I’m going to say something that will probably surprise a number of you.....in fact some may find it damn right wrong or controversial........

“If you want to get strong and effectively lose fat, DO NOT START RUNNING!”

There I said it, it’s off my chest!!

I see so many people who join the gym and head straight for the treadmill or exercise bike, and just plod along in a steady state of intensity for 30, 45 or even 60 minutes!

And when I speak to these people about their goals and what they want to achieve, 8 out of 10 times it is ‘weight loss’ (well actually it’s more often ’fat loss’ when the difference is explained!)

And I understand why they do it - it’s an age old commonly held belief and it does seem logical when you give it a limited amount of thought.

‘Exercise burns calories, running at a steady slow state is exercise, if I do it for 60 minutes I’ll burn....errr.....loads of calories - right!?!’

Well, yes, it is an exercise, yes, it will burn calories - but is it the most efficient way!?

And before I get lynched by all you runners and cardio worshippers out there, please note who this is aimed at....

Most people who go to the gym to lose weight (fat) and get strong don’t love the gym. They don’t want to spend hours there. They don’t want to be doing it as a hobby - they do it for one thing only - the results it brings!!

Therefore, anything you do solely for results should be streamlined, maximised for effectiveness and be the very best method available.

For strength and fat loss, distance running and other steady state cardio simply isn’t that!

If you love to run of course that’s what you should do. If your goal is to run a half marathon, full marathon or compete in an ultra race you are obviously going to need to put the miles in! (although I’d also advise that strength training is added into all these running programs to!!)

But for the large majority the basis of their training should be:

- A starter of light cardio/stretches (5-15 mins)

- A main course of weight training (25-40 mins)

- A dessert of cardio, ideally HIIT based (10-20 mins)

- Washed down with a ‘coffee and mint’ of cool down stretches (5-10 mins).

And if you’re overweight there are further reasons why a daily dose of running isn’t the best idea!!!

Every step you take is placing 4-8 times your bodyweight on your joints!

And if you are already overweight your structures are already stressed!

On the other hand weight training will not only prepare your body to run (if that’s what you want to do in the future), but it will also provide you with a myriad of other fitness benefits such as increased bone density!

My motto is:

“Get fit to run, do not run to get fit!!”

Ian David Worthington 

Creator, Owner and Coach at GymWolfPT.com