Running have extra-special fat burning effect?

BikeSwimLaugh

BikeSwimLaugh

0
Okay...I know I come-up with some hairball theories here and there and I'm always trying to apply science and stuff to find a better way to build a mouse trap, but I think I've heard this before and wanted to see if there's any truth to it.

Running

Over the past 2 months I've started running on the treadmill between my spin-classes. I'm a big guy and running has never been something I'm good at, I've always said "I can't run"...much like so many people tell me they can't swim. So I started running slow and going back & forth between jogging and a fast walk to get a whole mile in. Then I ran gradually ran the mile, then I ran it faster, then I went to 1.5 miles. Fast-forward to today, I can now go about 3 miles non-stop at about 5.8-6.2 mph. I'm still a big guy but I'm starting to pick it up...the feeling that I can perpetually just keep going.

Now here's the funny thing: In spin-class or biking I can ride along with my heart-rate at 150-160 as long as I want..and my breath isn't too heavy.....BUt when I'm on the treadmill, I'm breathing much heavier (maybe I'm holding my chest too tight, I've been focusing on relaxing the chest & upper-body) and my HR is between 147-150. Kinda odd the way I'm breathing easier on the bike, working a higher HR-range and not feeling as taxed....yet on the treadmill I'm working a lower HR-range, breathing heavier and feeling a lot more discomfort....but it's all gettin better as my muscle adapt.

Back to my point. I've lately been getting some good fat-loss AND weight-loss results. I'm still gaining lean muscle, but not quite as much: my muscle-gain is no longer offsetting fat-loss and I'm seeing downward movement on the scale: good!!!

Now..I've heard that running does special things to the body...it kinda forces it through strain and pressure on the joints to somehow induce the body to become more lean...a way of the body adapting to the demands of running. So it's almost like running jogs the fat off and makes the body want to become more lean. This doesn't seem to happen with spinning and I know with swimming there's even bizarre theory that it almost encourages the body to add fat-storage due to the weightless nature of swimming. I don't buy that with swimming and I've heard such notion discounted before....BUT with running, is there any truth to such notion that running induces (beyond the calories burnt through exertion) a leaner body????
 
Good question and interesting theory! Another thing I tend to be huffing and puffing in spin in comparison to my easy 25km runs where I don't puff at all, can we put it down to the body being perfectly conditioned to a certain type of exercise? Or is it all in the mind that it's 'harder' and new?
 
The thing about swimming is that you sweat minimumly - which is very important.

Basically you should technicaly be able to burn more calories hence fat loss because your using more muscles, not sure about "after exertion" though ;)
 
You expending more effort on running and everypenny needing more effort to spin just further proves that mixing cardio is the best way to lose weight. Your body gets used to something and finds the "path of least resistance" as it were, the most efficient way to do what your doing, so eventually you are burning less calories doing it.

I have been told that running is one of the best calorie burners though, just yesterday my doctor said that running will be one of the only weighs to solve my hormonal weight gain. Probably because it uses your whole body really?
 
It should be noted that poeple with hormonal disruptions will often be resistant to any fat loss no matter what they do.
 
matt182 said:
The good note is that you can still be metabolically health - I'm guessing hypothyroidism is the culprit :s
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My thyroid is fine, I made the mistake of using an injected birth control though... they say it can take up to a year to wear off *cries*.

Anyway, the doctor said my best bet is to run, if anything will help she says that will. I assume its because it involves the whole body for maximum burning? I trust her, she's an awesome doctor. She's an athlete herself, it turns out we even use the same multi-vitamin and the same supplements haha.
 
Most people have higher heart rates while running than with cycling, even spinning, because in running you always have part of your weight airborne which requires constant energy input. The fact that you are huffing while running at a lower hr than while spinning merely indicates that your running muscles are not as adapted as your spinning or swimming muscles which you acknowledge.

In 6 months you will be a faster runner and will be training at a higher hr than while swimming.

I am not aware of any effects that running has on the body other than to burn calories. It does build up bone density though, which is a very good thing, especially for women.
 
Thanks for the responses guys. I've just heard rumors/theories how swimming can encourage the body to add fat while running imposes some stresses unto the body that just sorta promotes a more lean physique. I know it sounds querky and doesn't make sense. Under this theory one would figure doing 200 hours of total running would lean-out the body more then the same time/calories on a bike or in the pool.

The thing is, running is high impact whereas biking & certain swimming are far less. I do all three, so I got it all covered. The only odd observation is that now I'm suddenly getting more results in an accelerated manner...and this happened after cranking-up the running in my routine. Just made me think of the "running forces the body to become leaner in a way that no other exercise does". Like I said, it's querky but worth chit-chatting about. :D
 
BikeSwimLaugh said:
Thanks for the responses guys. I've just heard rumors/theories how swimming can encourage the body to add fat while running imposes some stresses unto the body that just sorta promotes a more lean physique.
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Top swimmers are still pretty lean compared to most people, although perhaps not as lean as some other top athletes.

But this may be a case where the optimal body type for a given sport differs. Distance runners often have underdeveloped upper body muscles, because those muscles are not needed for running and are just extra weight to carry around. Swimming is a full body workout requiring muscles in both upper and lower body; a little fat may help both for insulation against cold water and for buoyancy (i.e. less effort needed to stay afloat, so more effort can be put into moving forward).

The high impact nature of running may make it more injury prone, but also promotes bone strength more.

A much more obvious example of a different body type when optimizing sport specific performance is sumo.
 
Stands to logic.

Enter deficit diet and cardio can be a fat-burning riot (therefore I buy it!).

And, weightloss will not be quiet.


In other words, if one keeps a deficit, cardio can solicite additional fat loss if intensity levels and duration are correct. (keeping things equal).


Carry on the brawn and your goal will dawn.


LIVE!!!!!

And thunder ROCK-ONS when you do it......:)


Best wishes

Chillen
 
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BikeSwimLaugh said:
The only odd observation is that now I'm suddenly getting more results in an accelerated manner...and this happened after cranking-up the running in my routine.
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I'd bet a body part or two that part of the reason that you are seeing accelerated results is because you "changed up" your routine. It is a well-known fitness fact that the body adapts to the activity it is used to performing, and will increase in efficiency at it, thus burning fewer overall calories while doing it. Running as a single activity is new for you so you have effectively "shocked" your body into letting go of the fat!

Changing the routine is a documented plateau-buster!
 
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running directly defies gravity

everypenny- i am the same way- my breath goes wacko on the bike, but I can run and breath smooth. BUT- my heart rate runs 20-30 beats lower, even when i am out of breath. I have tried to really jam on the bike i can not get a 160! Running I can get 190.

I believe it is the force required to "lift" the body. As G8r was saying.

For shaking the fat loose. There is also a rollin the skin technique that seems to release the fat. it hurts lik hell, byut alont of peeps swear by it. Kinda like that ole time belly jiggler thingy... LOL!

FF
 
flyinfree said:
For shaking the fat loose. There is also a rollin the skin technique that seems to release the fat. it hurts lik hell, byut alont of peeps swear by it. Kinda like that ole time belly jiggler thingy... LOL!
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Whoa....reading that just gave me the freakiest deja-vu' ....there must be a gllitch in the matrix! :D

I dunno, but I'm crankin'-up the running. Went to the gym today at 5pm and did the 4pm spin-class...then ran 2.5 miles and fast-walked another 1/2-mile to make a total of 3, then swam a mile. I'm gonna try to work on my running more. I think GG is right when she points-out that it's a new exercise for me and perhaps this is where I'm getting the bump from.

FF...you absolutely should be able to get a huge HR from biking, especially spinning: just crank the resistance, get out of the saddle and pretend a mountain lion is chasing you: anyone can pass-out with enough time & effort and firing the big leg muscles will certainly demand some serious blood-flow to support it.

Ya know....that's the only danger of mountain biking...the remote chance of a mountain lion attack. You don't have that in the gym, only cougars in there! :D
 
BikeSwimLaugh said:
Back to my point. I've lately been getting some good fat-loss AND weight-loss results. I'm still gaining lean muscle, but not quite as much
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That was my experience too when I first started running. Running built up my leg muscles, but only to a point. When I started, my legs weren't powerful enough for the running demands I placed on them. After a while though, they got big enough to push me as fast as my cardiovascular system would allow me to go. At that point, running didn't make them bigger; the body saw no reason to make them bigger. Presumably, if I had done more sprinting or had gotten in better overall shape to force my legs to run at a higher speed, that would have forced my legs to build bigger quads, hamstrings, and calves. But at that point in my life, I pretty much reached the 1 mile/5k/8k pace my whole body was content with, and my legs have been about the same size since. (Now I'm doing more sprints and plan to get more into the habit of doing lunges and squats, which should help me build muscle mass in the legs. We'll see how that goes. For what it's worth, I'm not so much interested in having strong legs that can lift a lot of weight but rather I'm interested in having powerful legs that will help my sprinting and jumping ability.)

BikeSwimLaugh said:
Now..I've heard that running does special things to the body...it kinda forces it through strain and pressure on the joints to somehow induce the body to become more lean...a way of the body adapting to the demands of running. So it's almost like running jogs the fat off and makes the body want to become more lean. This doesn't seem to happen with spinning and I know with swimming there's even bizarre theory that it almost encourages the body to add fat-storage due to the weightless nature of swimming. I don't buy that with swimming and I've heard such notion discounted before....BUT with running, is there any truth to such notion that running induces (beyond the calories burnt through exertion) a leaner body????
Click to expand...
It's possible that running makes the body want to become more lean moreso than other sports, since running performance is highly dependent on strength to weight ratio. Contrast that with swimming, where performance is much more dependent on hydrodynamic drag than weight, or rowing, where the energy one expends moving the body forward and back is small compared to the amount used to pull the handle. Even so, losing fat will ultimately come down to calories consumed versus calories expended. And regardless of which exercise is the best calorie burner per hour on paper, I think it's safe to say the one that will actually work best is going to vary a lot from person to person. If cardio exercise A burns more than cardio exercise B according to all the fitness experts but you find A boring or uncomfortable such that you can't do it for very long or very hard while you find B enjoyable, then exercise B is going to be the better fat burner. And of course, there are ways to make an exercise more exciting and/or tolerable so that it is easier to burn more calories. Some days I might not feel like running hard, but if there's an ultimate frisbee game that day, I can have a great time running hard for an hour or so. I also get bored if I'm going to row for more than a half an hour or so. But eventually we'll have a TV in that room, and I will probably be able to row a long time. Anyway, if running is new and exciting to you, I imagine you are able to make it work better for you than other fat-burning exercises for that reason alone, not because running is necessarily a better fat-burning exercise.
 
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