The curse of skinny fat!!!

[nckfitheart2009]

Hi Everyone,

I just come accross this article which I found hilarious and eye opener for those who are against lifting heavy. Please read through and pay attention to measurement comparing muscular fit athlete to the skinny fat lol

http://fighterdiet.com/blog/athletes/the-curse-of-the-skinny-fat/

Being an european citizen I know exactly what she meant by " skinny French people"...lol That being said it is not in continental europe only where skinny fat get promoted everywhere in so fitness magasine lifting those 3 pound stating that insignificant weight is more women friendly . I have to admit I do not spend my money in those so called fitness magasines.

Hope you enjoy the read

Let me know your thoughts

 

[irongrl]

Very good article Nathalie, thank you for sharing it

There is a statement in the article, "If you are skinny, get it, you cannot overdo cardio to burn the fat off: you need more muscle mass to support your metabolism." After doing Cathe's workouts for the past 10 months or so, I am finally starting to understand that concept. All of the cardio that I have been doing has possibly been preventing me from gaining muscle mass. I have started to see better muscle definition by alternating days of cardio with days of weight training, rather than to do cardio every day. I am happy with my weight and body fat level, but I would love to put on a couple of pounds of lean mass and get stronger.


Judy

 

[nckfitheart2009]

Very good article Nathalie, thank you for sharing it

There is a statement in the article, "If you are skinny, get it, you cannot overdo cardio to burn the fat off: you need more muscle mass to support your metabolism." After doing Cathe's workouts for the past 10 months or so, I am finally starting to understand that concept. All of the cardio that I have been doing has possibly been preventing me from gaining muscle mass. I have started to see better muscle definition by alternating days of cardio with days of weight training, rather than to do cardio every day. I am happy with my weight and body fat level, but I would love to put on a couple of pounds of lean mass and get stronger.


Judy

Judy,

I am so glad you have shared your personal experience on this. I am sure you will get the lean mass you are after. It's going to be hard work because your body has been used to long endurance for years but you will get there.

As to my personal experience, it's the other way around.The very first time I hit the gym I had a clear visual goal of getting lean with muscles and definition. I had no problem lifting moderate to heavy from the start
I was obese/overweight so I had to dig deep and hard to get definition popping up I still do

I have had the same conversation with people who are visibly ectomorph and it's so hard to convince them to cut back on cardio

Also the society, through out, these so called fitness magasine are IMO promoting these "skinny fat by product" No intention of pointing fingers on anyone Coincidentally today I opened a fitness magasine and so called model holding a 5 pound dumbbell ( BTW these models always hold maximum 5 pound dumbbell because "it's women friendly"). IMO she was not fit, She had saddle bags. She looked more as a skinny fat and hardly looked like a marathon athlete

I hardly see nice picture of leaned women with nice definition in these magasine because most women still delusion-ally believe they are going to turn their arms into a "incredible hulk size arm" lifting hypertrophy/strength weight load (HEAVY)

Could not finish my post by adding another helpful article:
http://cathe.com/are-you-skinny-fat

Hope my post does not come accross as too judgmental ;-).

Hope to hear from anyone thoughts on this,

 

[irongrl]

Judy,

I am so glad you have shared your personal experience on this. I am sure you will get the lean mass you are after. It's going to be hard work because your body has been used to long endurance for years but you will get there.

As to my personal experience, it's the other way around.The very first time I hit the gym I had a clear visual goal of getting lean with muscles and definition. I had no problem lifting moderate to heavy from the start
I was obese/overweight so I had to dig deep and hard to get definition popping up I still do

I have had the same conversation with people who are visibly ectomorph and it's so hard to convince them to cut back on cardio

Also the society, through out, these so called fitness magasine are IMO promoting these "skinny fat by product" No intention of pointing fingers on anyone Coincidentally today I opened a fitness magasine and so called model holding a 5 pound dumbbell ( BTW these models always hold maximum 5 pound dumbbell because "it's women friendly"). IMO she was not fit, She had saddle bags. She looked more as a skinny fat and hardly looked like a marathon athlete

I hardly see nice picture of leaned women with nice definition in these magasine because most women still delusion-ally believe they are going to turn their arms into a "incredible hulk size arm" lifting hypertrophy/strength weight load (HEAVY)

Could not finish my post by adding another helpful article:
Cathe Friedrich - Are You Skinny Fat?

Hope my post does not come accross as too judgmental ;-).

Hope to hear from anyone thoughts on this,

Your post is not judgmental at all Nathalie I agree with you. Women are generally not encouraged to lift heavy and for most, 5 lbs is not enough to stimulate muscle growth. I'm going to start working on my 2014 Goals and increasing muscle mass/lifting heavier is going to be a big one. It is going to be a challenge for me to get out of the endurance mindset long enough to do that, but I think I will be able too.

Judy

 

[SusanBC]

Skinny Fat??

What a concept! I was worried that cutting back my workouts to do Cathe's beginner's rotation would cause me to gain weight again. My legs were taking a beating with the Cardio Supersets because they were not yet strong enough to do that type of heavy duty workout. Well, I lost 5 pounds!! I couldn't believe it! And I'm so glad I did go back to the beginning because a lot of the knee soreness has gone away. My hams still bother me but not as badly as they did before. I had been doing cardio with the circuit training 5-6days a week before I found Cathe.

Anyway, now the cardio is only 3 times a week which is what I was worried about but 5 pounds is not bad! I watch my diet like a crazy person too so that helps but the weights are making a big difference too. I'm up to 8 pounds and will go as high as I can because I Want Those Arms, Chest and Back!!

 

[maddiesmum]

Just because a person is an ectomorph, as I am, does not mean they necessarily should give up or "cut back" on cardio.

We have to understand that there are many reasons why people work out. Gaining muscle at all costs, at the expense of other health benefits or aesthetic ideals or fitness goals, may not be everyone's guiding principle.

If someone came up to me at the gym and tried to get me to step off the treadmill during my 7 mile run, I would not appreciate it. Running training will not get me huge muscle mass, but then my genetics pretty much determines against that anyway. What running will do is deal with stress better than anything else I could do. And i love it. So, it costs me the muscles you desire: I'm actually good with that!

People have their reasons for what they do, for the fitness activities they pursue. Some really just want to be left alone to create their own endorphins and get through their lives as best they can, as healthily as they can, as happily as they can. It is not up to us to impose our fitness goals upon them or to judge them because they do not share our goals.

So, judgemental? Perhaps, yes.

Clare

 

[Justinef]

I agree with Clare - we don't all need to be doing the same thing, as we all have different goals. We all have different ideas of what makes a good-looking body, too. I would never dream of criticising someone for being overweight, nor underweight, nor skinny-fat, nor overly muscular.

However, I think Nathalie has a valid point about fitness magazines promoting what is essentially an unhealthy 'look' and trying to convince us it is healthy.

There should be room on this planet for all shapes, sizes, levels of fitness and types of fitness.

The main thing is that we all care, and do our best to reach our own goals.
Justine xx

 

[nckfitheart2009]

What a concept! I was worried that cutting back my workouts to do Cathe's beginner's rotation would cause me to gain weight again. My legs were taking a beating with the Cardio Supersets because they were not yet strong enough to do that type of heavy duty workout. Well, I lost 5 pounds!! I couldn't believe it! And I'm so glad I did go back to the beginning because a lot of the knee soreness has gone away. My hams still bother me but not as badly as they did before. I had been doing cardio with the circuit training 5-6days a week before I found Cathe.

Anyway, now the cardio is only 3 times a week which is what I was worried about but 5 pounds is not bad! I watch my diet like a crazy person too so that helps but the weights are making a big difference too. I'm up to 8 pounds and will go as high as I can because I Want Those Arms, Chest and Back!!

Thanks Susan for sharing what you have experienced cutting back cardio to only 3 times a week. Congrats loosing those pounds despite cutting back cardio You will get those arms,chest and Back. They will show up in the end. please keep all of us here posted

 

[nckfitheart2009]

Hi Clare,

My understanding of your post is: You are happy with your current approach, fitness regimen accustomed to your genetics and body type. Good for you. You workout within your comfort zone and that is fine as long as you are happy with that ;-)

As Justine stated women comes in all different shapes. I agree with Justine on that.

No one is trying to impose her personal preference on anyone. As to me being judgmental, I do not think I have been. I am not going to argue on this either

As a certified fitness instructor/Fitness professional, it's a duty to advise what truly work based on scientific study and fact. I hope you read the article coming from reputable and knowledgeable source. There is an amusing fact at the last paragraph of the article. Pauline Nordine has been very outspoken coming across as opinionated but what she has written is a fact. Susan and Judy have also shared their experienced based on their own, not imposed, fitness goal.

As I posted on many occasion, I have no issue working out both cardio and strength endurance. I am versatile and aim for a balanced fitness regimen. The contrary would be unethical BTW.

Yes I love lifting heavy and prefer to keep long steady pace to a minimal level. It is what fit better for my health and aesthetic goal. Hiit works wonders increasing my Vo2 max/cardiovascular fitness.It also work wonders on my midsection with a measurement which is quite far from the risk zone having Type 2 background in my family. So I am making sure to share this with anyone being in the same situation. It's not always about vanity Health is much more important.

I can gain muscles easily and also can put on weight easily. I am, I believe, a natural mesomorph type rather than endomorphism body type. My body respond very well to Hiit, interval, hypertrophy strength and I enjoy it a lot. Excessive Long steady pace bring the jiggle in my thigh and it's a no no no for me Who on earth would like that.

To conclude my post, The last paragraph of the article made me laugh.
Hope you find it amusing as I do

Kind Regards everyone

 

[nckfitheart2009]

Building Lean muscles

Hi Everyone,

I'm back on this thread sharing information on building LEAN muscles.

It's cathe's blog. There are other knowledgeable information but I prefer this one particularly because key points are listed straight away.

Hope you find it informative

Cathe Friedrich - Building Lean Body Mass: 6 Things That Sabotage Muscle Growth

Kind Regards,