BBC News Online
London, UK
6 February, 2008


Lifting weights 'good as running'

Weight training could be as effective as endurance exercises like running when it comes to burning fat and warding off diabetes, a study suggests.

American scientists created mice which carried a gene that, when switched on, gave them muscles similar to those produced by weight training.

When the gene was off, the mice - which were fed a fast food diet - became obese and developed liver problems.

But when on, the same mice burned up fat, the Cell Metabolism study said.

In addition, the fatty liver disease it had developed while the gene was off disappeared, and it stopped being resistant to insulin, a condition which can lead to type II diabetes.

This was despite the fact that the mouse was still eating a diet high in fat and sugar and did not increase its physical activity.

The team from the Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) genetically engineered the mouse to grow a certain type of muscle - known as Type II - which develops as a result of resistance training.

This is different to the muscle which forms as a result of endurance training such as running, known as Type I.

Speeding up

"We've shown that Type II muscle does more than allow you to pick up heavy objects," said Kenneth Walsh of BUSM. "It's also important in controlling whole-body metabolism."

The researchers suggested it may be because an increase in this type of muscle sparks changes in the rest of the body.

Professor Ken Fox, an exercise specialist at the University of Bristol, said that attention was increasingly turning to resistance exercise as a means to improve metabolism.

"If you have these muscles, even when you are not doing much, you are still burning up energy.

"It's a hot topic at the moment. It's something that could be particularly useful for older people who may have trouble with endurance exercise, and it can be very satisfying because the effects of resistance training appear very quickly."



http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7228896.stm

Amen.

Strength training + high intensity interval training + low carb eating will make you look the best that you can be on the outside and far more importantly, very healthy on the inside.

Lifting weights and doing aerobic exercise are not mutually exclusive. Many people do both.

I quit regular, daily cardio over a year ago, and right now I would say I am in the best aerobic shape of my life. All I do is one, maybe two strength training sessions a week.

I know this because, once in awhile, I'll put myself to the test. A couple of months ago, I did my own little personal triathlon - a 30 min. swim, a 30 min. bike, a 30 min. run. It was easy, in fact I ended up running at a faster pace than I used to use, back when I was silly enough to run every day...

I also go skiing from time to time, and surfing if I get a chance, and find that I feel much better in these activities than I ever did when I was a cardo nut.

interesting. What would you attribute this to ? I was always told you need cardio in order to build your 'wind'

Weight training also gives aerobic benefits if it is done at a fast pace, meaning with little rest between exercises.

The heart increases its beating rate in response to a greater need of clearing CO2 from the blood and a greater need for oxygen in the working muscles.

This increase can be brought by doing repetitive low intensity work that works large muscles during a relatively long period of time (traditional 'cardio' such as running and biking) or by doing many high intensity movements in rapid succession, for different muscle groups in order to avoid too much local fatigue.

The advantages of the latter method compared to the former are manifold:

1) You increase your muscle strength and size. Traditional cardio does not have that effect, and may even bring about losses in muscle tissue.

2) You increase joint range of motion (if your strength training movements are done over a full range of motion) and stability (because of increased muscle, bone and tendon strength). Traditional cardio does not have these benefits, and may even damage joints and bones from long term pounding (in running)

3) Much less exercise quantity is required. As Mr Freddy pointed out, 1-2 sessions a week, lasting 15-25 minutes each, are all that is required.

4) You end up with a much more aesthetically pleasing physique. Compare the physique of sprinters vs marathon runners. Of course there are genetic factors involved, but sprinters do short high intensity work, and are lean and muscular, and marathoners do long low intensity work and are skinny and often damage their joints and bones.

In my experience as a trainer with 6 years' professional experience, short and infrequent high intensity weight training wins hand down over any other form of 'exercise', and improves human performance across all domains.

Combine that with a low carb, high fat diet, and the results may surprise you!

Neat article--although the author should mention that type I, IIa, and IIb and are muscle fiber types, not types of muscle. Everyone has both--just that there is a genetic predisposition as to which proportions there are--ex., elite sprinters have much more type II than average.

You can increase your proportion of either (to some degree) by how you train. Heavy lifting produces more IIa+b, while long slow distance running produces more I.

Interesting implications!

Anyone interested should read Slow Burn Fitness Revolution by Fred Hahn and the Drs. Eades (Michael and Mary Dan).

They explain how the aerobic benefit you feel from any kind of exercise - weight training, running, swmming, etc.- all comes as a result of your muscles getting stronger, not your lungs or your heart. In fact, your lungs and heart are not trainable muscles, they don't change (although I've read elsewhere that there are small changes to the heart from lots of cardio??). Excercise just seems to "improve" your lungs and heart because stronger muscles process oxygen more effeciently.

Running, swimming, elliptical machines, etc. all make you stronger, but they only act on part of the muscle. I forget which of the fiber types, but these activities only affect one of them. Take a look at any top level marathon runner and you'll see what I mean.

Strength training is better for you aerobically because it trains the entire muscle. The Slow Burn method claims that their approach recruits all of the fibers.

I don't rush from exercise to exercise-I start each one when I am ready. I lift heavy weights, very very slowly, one set each, to failure. 7-8 exercises and I am done.

I was very skeptical of all this when I started, and I kept up the cardio for awhile. But the idea of doing something else with all that time (an hour plus per day) finally seduced me, heh heh. And like I said before, it does seem to work.

i found that power walking & yoga is the best strength training for me.using my own body weight to strenghthen and tone myself.each posture gets easier and easier to do with practice.you look back and say wow that used to be hard to do and now it's so easy.i sleep much better too.

That makes no sense. The heart is a muscle not much different from skeletal muscle. Anything 'cardio' is training the heart. The result of cardio is not a bigger heart muscle but a more efficient heart muscle. What you see is a slower resting heart rate. Elite marathon runners often have a resting heart rate in the low 30's. Any iron-pumper with a resting heart rate of 70 or more is not doing himself much good. "Beach muscle" does not equate to good health. I've been a distance runner for 20 years. My resting heart rate is around 50. My BP is 95/50.

I don't know for sure myself, but the argument presented is that the heart muscle becomes more efficient because your muscles are stronger, better able to process oxygen, energy, etc. The heart itself doesn't change much.

My own experience seems to bear that out. My resting heart rate is about the same as it was when I was doing loads of cardio - right around 60. My weight is about the same. My cardio fitness is the same, or slightly better.

I disagree about an iron pumper not doing himself much good. The benefits from strength training are well documented - stronger bones, improved flexibility, and on and on...

There are risks associated with excessive cardio that I'm happy to avoid - joint damage, muscle catabolism, unfavorable chemicals in the body, etc. etc.

I thought CV exercise did increase the size of the heart. In a good way, not like through high blood pressure. I seem to recall hearing that on a reality TV show that did autopsies and discussed cases of death.

A low steady heart beat is not always a good thing and some think it is actually a bad state to be in. President Bush almost died because of his low heart beat. Remember when he choked on that pretzel and passed out? Art DeVany has some good blog posts on runners deaths if you are interested in his views.

http://www.arthurdevany.com/

It's true, a low heart rate is not a guarantee of health.

Jim Fixx had a resting heart rate in the 40s and still died of a heart attack when running.

As Azlocarb pointed out, Arthur Devany has a lot of great info on this very topic.

And yes, most weight lifters don't have much cardiovascular endurance.

That is because their STYLE of strength training is improper.

They rest way too much between exercises.

If someone takes no rest or almost no rest between exercises, then that individual will increase muscular strength, muscular size and cardiovascular endurance at the same time.

Big muscles and a great 'cardio' are not mutually exclusive.

For more info on that topic, read Arthur Jones' writings, especially his West Point Military Academy experiment articles.

My personal experience and that of my clients bear this out.

Note that your ultimate muscle size is primarily determined by genetics, most people cannot have a bodybuilder physique no matter what they do or how much drugs they take.

mrfreddy,

I do have Fred Hahn's book and it does present a lot of interesting concepts.

I myself as part of my training often do long, slow isometric holds. One of my favorites is holding a chinup in the fully contracted position, my eyes level to the top of the bar and then fighting gravity like heck, resisting as much as I can until I inevitably start to sink towards the ground, breathing normally all the time. Fighting all the way until my arms are fully extended and my feet are back on the ground. I can assure all that I am breathing like a locomotive, sweat is starting to pour and I have recruited every last muscle fiber in my arms. This is a form of slow training that is certainly aerobic in nature as well.

My B/P has been declining, my stamina is certainly improving (can just tell when I take several flighths of stairs or walk up a hill, etc.) and my shirts are getting tighter . I use similar moves for my shoulders and back.

All this on top of regular strength training and Tabata Intervals. I admire those who strive to and complete marathons/triathlons but I would not want to be those people. Long term I think along the ways of an Art Devaney. Endurance athletes have real challenges down the road. I am convinced of that.