Monday Fitness Fun Fact

Q. I am a trainer and am frequently asked this question by members of my gym. I have heard conflicting reports and can’t seem to find the right answer.

A. No, muscle does not weigh more than fat. This commonly cited gym cliché is somewhat misunderstood and misused. The rationale that muscle weighs more than fat is often cited as an explanation for why a person might find that they aren’t losing weight, or are gaining weight, when they kick off an exercise regimen. The idea seems to be that if you are exercising—and theoretically losing fat and gaining muscle at the same time—the effects cancel each other out. So, in theory, you won’t see desired weight loss as measured by pounds on the scale, even though you may be improving how you look.

You certainly can improve your appearance with exercise without always seeing a change in your body weight—by becoming firmer, more sculpted and sometimes leaner. But that doesn’t mean that you are gaining massive amounts of muscle, or losing lots of fat.

Body Fat Tests
Some people get their body fat tested at the gym, either by using skin calipers or a portable, step-on, body-fat scale. These measurements may show shifts in muscle-to-fat ratios, making it appear that a person has gained pounds of muscle and lost pounds worth of fat, whether or not the normal body-weight scale registers any big changes.

Why Doesn’t Exercise Always Affect Body Weight?
If someone is working out and not losing weight, or not losing as much as they want—or if they’re actually gaining weight—the first place to look is the type and amount of exercise.

Weight loss boils down to burning more calories than you normally use in a day. Cardio exercise burns more calories than muscle-toning or the average resistance-training workout. So dialing down the stretching and core work to just once or twice a week, and replacing it with more cardio should produce more weight loss. And the more minutes the better when it comes to weight loss: An hour to 90 minutes of aerobic activity per day on most days of the week will affect body weight.

Some people get overly obsessed about numbers on the scale. If you are happy with the way you look and feel, and you feel like you are improving your fitness and strength, then continue doing what you are doing. Exercise works, and every minute of movement helps your health in some way.

Cyling tip of the day: Ever had a blowout at 30, 40 or god forbid, 50+ mph? Sometimes a blowout is inevitable but to reduce your odds of having one, do this.