5 Reasons Why Aerobics Suck for Fat Loss

More proof of why I keep telling you that steady state cardio is not the way to go if you want to drop fat.


5 Reasons Why Aerobics Suck for Fat Loss
by Trey Eckerman
The Fat Loss Expert Blog

January 24, 2008

If you know anything about me, you know that I don't believe that aerobic exercise helps you lose body fat. In fact, there are many reasons why aerobics absolutely suck for fat loss and can actually hinder your fat loss success.

Aerobics is a term coined by Dr. Kenneth Cooper in the late 1960's which became very popular in the 70's into the turn of the century. He believed that slow sustainable intensity exercise is the end all be all of exercise prescription. He launched the jogging phase, step classes, dance classes and such which is supposed to reduce fat and enhance healthy function.

I am really good friends with a fitness professional that coaches at Cooper Clinic in Dallas and I promise you his clients aren't doing aerobics for fat loss. Even the trainers at the "father of aerobics" facility resistance train and interval train for fat loss.

I also train a former marathoner who has competed in many races and actually won one a few years back. After he stopped competing, he continued to look to long distance running as a way to control his weight. He developed many nagging injuries and was never really satisfied with his "stringy" body.

He turned to me for advice. After reducing his long distance running and starting him on a resistance training program, he is muscular and ripped to the bone at 56 years young.

These are a couple of reasons why I don't think aerobics are useful for your fat loss program.

With that said, here are 5 more reasons why I think aerobic training sucks for fat loss.

1) It takes way too much time.

In the fast paced, time crunched world we live in today, time becomes a big uexcuse for not changing your body. The last thing you need to do is concentrate your time on a mode of exercise that doesn't change your body. To burn the amount of calories equal to the total daily calories burned through interval training or resistance training, you would have to spend over an hour each day of constant movement performing aerobics.

2) It tears down your body.

In order to burn enough calories to really drop weight (note I didn't say body fat) you really have to do a high amount of work just as stated earlier. This really tears down your body. If you have tried aerobics (classes, jogging, lap swimming etc.) you probably notice you start to develop achy joints. Tendonitis in your knees, shoulders and other joints develop easily with this much use. When you start to hurt, you stop exercising. There could be nothing more detrimental to your success.

3) The more you do it, the more efficiently your body performs it.

You have probably noticed that you get much, much better at jogging when you do it a lot. That is why marathon runners log mile after mile. Guess what? When you get better at running, you are burning less calories while you are running. You then need to run longer (or faster) to burn the same amount of calories. When you run faster, you start to get out of aerobic training and get into anaerobic training. Anaerobic training can come from resistance training or interval training. It works much, much better.

4) It turns you into a walking coat hanger.

If you had the choice, would you rather look like a marathon runner or a sprinter? I would guess that if you are reading what I have to say, you would rather look like a sprinter. Sprinters are lean and have a very nice athletic look. Marathon runners look like they can barely keep their tank tops hanging on their shoulders. They seriously remind me of a human coat hanger. Train to increase muscles and you will burn a tremendous amount of fat and you will achieve the body you want.

5) You will miss out on a mode of exercise which actually raises your metabolism.

Going back to point #1, aerobics take a lot of time. If you are performing an hour of aerobics per day there is no way you could have the time or energy to perform resistance training. If you aren't performing resistance training or intervals you are wasting your time. I usually don't like to speak in absolutes but in this case, you absolutely have to perform high intensity workouts to lose fat.

If you are wondering what the best workouts you can do to lose body fat, there is no better resource than Craig Ballantyne's www.TurbulenceTraining

Trey Eckerman is a fitness coach specializing in accelerated fat loss programs. He has written and supervised fat loss programs for numerous individuals ranging from former highly competitive athletes to previously sedentary beginners. He is the owner of www.PlayItFitness.com a website that is geared to helping people reach their fat loss and other fitness goals. He also owns Right at Home Fitness, a national fitness coaching company specializing in fitness programs in clients' homes.

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