Gain Weight to Lose Weight

The title of this blog may seem like an oxymoron, but it is true. You actually can lose weight by gaining some. Muscle weight that is. We are not talking about looking like Hulk Hogan here. Your muscles are your body's furnace. Your body fat is the coal reserves for your furnace. When you eat, you maintain a reserve supply of energy. When you eat too much, you add more to your reserves. Your muscles burn these reserves. The more muscle you have, the more energy they will burn. The best part is muscle burns fat while you sleep, as well as during exercise. Yep, you can lose weight while sitting on your butt.


How much muscle do you need? Well, let's look at it this way. 1 lb of muscle will burn 50 calories a day. 10 lbs of muscle will burn 500 calories a day or 3,500 calories a week without you lifting a finger. It gets better. 1 lb of fat stores 3,500 calories. In short, build 10 lbs of muscle and lose a pound a week by sleeping. After talking with a trainer at LA Fitness, he told me this takes about 10-12 months for the average person to accomplish. Obviously a commitment and a small expense in new athletic cut uniforms, but the health benefits can prolong your "active years" and lead to a longer life.


I do not have the stats for the ladies, but after 30, the average man loses 1% of their muscle per year. Not to scare anybody, but exercise can stop and reverse that lose.



This week’s workout
1) Stretch. Hold on to your toes for 5 seconds. No quick touch and goes.
2) Pushups. If you've been adding 1 a day, you should be able to do 60 by now.
For many, you are approaching the maximum for your age groups on the pushups. To help build confidence, continue on for 10 more past your PFP max.
3) Core exercises. Alternate between different types of core exercises to strengthen all your core muscles.
4) Cardio. Get up to at least 2 miles without stopping this week. "Wait a second! I only run 1.5 miles twice a year. We do not test for 2 miles." That is right, we do not. The concept is both conditioning and physiological. Two miles will give you a weight benefit and the confidence to know during the PFP, you can run farther than required.