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For Big Guys Who Run …
After reading a post by my good buddy Israel over at his blog on his running for 1 hour straight on the treadmill, it made me think about the cardio I would perform when I was part of the 300+ pound club too.
My problem wasn’t running on a treadmill or even running in the streets. I’ve never been that great of a runner even when I was closer to a “normal” size back in my teen years. But, give me a tennis racket and you would see my attempt to transform myself into a “plump” Pete Sampras!
For me, tennis was the best “cardio” since it was competitive, I didn’t have to run continuously, and the longer the rallies went, the better for me (or so I thought!). One thing that my competitive mind didn’t take into account is that while I was more than willing to put the time in on the courts, my knees were not able to withstand the constant pounding on the pavement. Over the years, I would endure knee injury after knee injury.
OK fellas, let’s be honest here. How many of you still believe that the harder you train the faster you’ll lose the fat? I’d venture to say that the majority of obese guys out there think this way whether they are trying to lose fat or not. Well, I have a newsflash for you: at this stage of the fat loss game, your Diet or Nutrition Program–not training intensity–should be your primary focus!
Why? It’s actually pretty simple.
You are obese/overweight because you have excess stores of energy in the form of fat. Now, how did all that excess energy get there? Yes, when you are inactive and sedentary, it is easier to store the extra energy as fat because you’re not using it. BUT, where does/did this extra energy come from?
It comes from years of eating more food/fuel than your body needed. This fact is more important than you sitting on your duff all day and not exercising. Think about it, how many slender or “normal” size guys do you know who are lazier than the law should allow, and their idea of exercise is lighting two cigarettes at a time?
I’ve known a lot of these unhealthy, slender guys who don’t diet or exercise but never gain a pound. Are they genetically gifted or have a “fast” metabolism? Of course not; they simply don’t give their body more food/fuel to create a bulging surplus around their waists!
In Tom Venuto’s latest book, The Body Fat Solution, which I’ll be reviewing soon, he shares a very inspirational email that he received from one guy who read his Burn The Fat Feed The Muscle ebook who is paralyzed from the neck down! Obviously, this guy can’t exercise; however, following a calorie deficit caused this guy to lose fat even while being bed-ridden!
Guys, killing yourself on the treadmill will only cause marginal changes if you fail to create a calorie deficit through your diet. And when you do have a calorie deficit, training hard will only give you maybe another pound of fat loss a week tops, and the risk of injury is not worth it IMO.
So, am I saying that diet is more important than exercise?
For obese and overweight guys, I would say a resounding YES! You must master the basics of portion/calorie control to lose the fat; then, you need to master how to maintain the fat loss. Of course you should be training throughout; however, your main focus should be on how much you’re eating because this is how you became part of the 300+ club in the first place.
Let’s face it, as an obese guy there are many activities that you won’t be able to do correctly because of your size and, as a result, the way gravity pulls on your body’s frame. Â This is one of the reasons I don’t suggest that big guys start off with weight training and use their own bodyweight first, but that’s another post for another day.
So, what do I suggest big guys do for cardio instead of running?
The best and simplest form of cardio is what most folks do everyday — walking! Oh, it’s too easy and doesn’t burn enough calories for you, eh? OK big man, if you’re on a treadmill and just find walking at a steady pace too easy for you, then crank up the incline a bit, and try this for the next four weeks. Find a speed that you can walk at for 20-30 minutes without feeling wiped out. Do this for the first week. The next week, instead of increasing your time on the treadmill increase the incline by one level. Continue to increase the incline by one level each week without increasing your time.
After the fourth week, find a different form of cardio to do for a week before going back to your next four weeks of increasing your incline, but make sure to start back at the incline level where you left off.
If you’re like me and love training outdoors, go and find yourself a nice hill/incline, grab your mp3 player, your gym boss, and walk up and down the hill for 20-30 minutes at a pace that is comfortable for you. Do this for time the first week, but keep a count of how many times you make it to the top of the hill. The following week, try and and work on doing more “reps or hill repeats” in the same amount of time instead of increasing the time, and after four weeks, find another form of cardio before returning back to the hill to beat your last best set of hill repeats.
Also, when you really feel you’re a bad ass at walking, go to Walmart and buy this 20lb weighted vest. It’s not the best one on the market, but I’ve had mine for close to two years with absolutely no problems. I love walking with my vest on so much that I actually feel a bit “naked” when I train without it . . . 
OK gents, take a break from running and give these simple walking routines a try and let me know how it goes. Just don’t forget to respect and listen to your body. Pain is an indication that you’ve done too much or something incorrectly. If after 5-10 minutes of following either routine, you feel too winded, simply stop! Trust me, there’s no gain in injuring yourself and being in pain!
January 26th, 2009 at 8:13 am
Timely entry Muata…I recently added some jogging to my routine and paid dearly for it…I have a disc problem and the added weight on my frame (sometimes I forget how big I am now believe it or not, insert embarrased icon here) and the jogging did me in for almost a week now….I posted this morning that I’m going to be doing some walking only for a couple months. I’m going to link your entry for my readers….once again you have some excellent info here….Dennis
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Muata Reply:
January 26th, 2009 at 9:41 am
Thanks for your kind words Dennis, and I can relate with your jogging story because it’s happened to me too. There’s a reason you rarely see Big Guys running, and that’s because it’s hard on all of our joints, and it’s not worth the pain. I lost close to 60 lbs and the main “exercise” I did was walking. The difference between calories burned between walking and jogging is too small for me to want to start jogging; yes, I’ll burn more jogging, but at what cost? Also, I’m currently conditioned enough and at a size where running isn’t a problem for me as it was when I was over 300 pounds, but guess what? I prefer to walk with my weighted vest up hills before running around the block. I’ll save my running for when I need to use it, like running away from a swarm of beautiful women … hey, I can dream can’t I
Thanks for your comment Dennis and let your joints heal before starting your walking routine.
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January 26th, 2009 at 8:14 am
Well said Muata. Well said. Before making my most important change on Jan 1st, I was working out and working out, lifting and lifting but I didnt watch what I ate. The results? I got stronger but I gained weight too. So what you are saying is right on point.
Eating is so important its not even funny. I know one guy that lost 100 lbs just by controlling is food intake. He walked a bit here and there, but he didn’t do anything super strenuous aside from curl his daughter t night before tucking her in.
I go for walks once a week minimum with the fam, its just what we have decided to do to spend time together and exercise at the same time.
walking is very underrated. And hills…oh man, hills are a butt kicker no matter what way you do them. For me, any thing inclined is a butt kicker!
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Muata Reply:
January 26th, 2009 at 9:47 am
Is, thanks for your comment partner. On one level, it only makes sense that most of us guys think that the harder we work, the more calories we’ll burn. Hey, it works for our car’s gas tank right? The heavier you are on the pedal, the more gas you use. Well, as you know, our bodies simply don’t work exactly like a car’s engine. Walking is one of, if not the, best exercises out there when done correctly. Hey, keep up the great work Is and thanks for leaving a comment!
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January 26th, 2009 at 12:27 pm
Hi Muata,
Sounds like sound advice but I have a reason I try and work some jogging into my workout… to keep my marginal high-blood pressure in check.
I took a physical last year as I was starting to lose the fat and the doctor told me that I had to start exercising (which I had already started) to avoid the drugs. The doctor like you told me that walking was a perfect exercise.
I found though that I needed to do high-intensity cardio of some type to get the benefits of lowered blood pressure. It seemed to last a couple of days from my last cardio.
The regular walking did not increase my pulse enough (I was not race walking) to lower my blood pressure.
I guess I could race walk or climb hills but working in a couple of jogs a week seems to be the right balance. I also working a couple of kick-boxing bag workouts and a bike ride.
Point taken about the injuries – my knees cannot take jogging everyday. My biggest challenge is trying to reduce injuries… I’ve broken my toe a few months ago and last month I think I broke my hand on the bag (did not take the extra time to wrap it).
You are right on about the calories! I find when I focus mostly on exercise and relax my food intake… I might stay the same weight but I don’t lose anything.
Let me know if you see something obvious that I may be missing. Good post and spot on what I’m going thought right now.
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Muata Reply:
January 26th, 2009 at 7:20 pm
Hey John! I’m sorry to hear about the toe and hand. Listen partner, if you like to jog, I’m not saying you shouldn’t, but I would suggest that there are exercises that you can do to get the intensity you desire to keep your blood-pressure in check. Burpees come to mind, but I realize many guys aren’t in the condition to do many of them. (Hell, I know that I’m not a burpee dynamo like most of the guys over there at bodyweightculture.com) Jumping Jacks, bear squats, hindu squats, swings (u pick the tool KB, DB, Sandbag, pail of kitty litter, etc.), medium paced Salsa dancing, and the list of choices goes on and on. What I find really encouraging about striving to be healthy is that, unlike what’s usually presented to us, there are an endless amount of “exercises” for us to do to burn calories and, in your case, elevate the pulse. If regular walking isn’t doing it for you John, strap a 20lb vest on and do the same walk. I’m almost certain that your pulse will get elevated, and walking uphill with a vest is truly an experience that you’ll learn to appreciate. Dr. Ellis mentioned in his book Ultimate Diet Secrets that when he started to wear a 40lb vest and use hiking poles during his walks that his ass (glutes) literally grew a bit and his traps also started to grow. Unfortunately, he was telling the truth. I say unfortunately because there are guys, like me, out there who want their asses to go down, but wearing a vest while walking does just the opposite. Give it a try and let us know how it works for you, and don’t be surprised if your kicking power increases …
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January 26th, 2009 at 5:31 pm
Muata, thanks for the great site. I burned off 85 pounds walking up and down a steep hill behind work 5 days a week for an hour a day, plus walking on treadmill on the weekends. The key was to get a handle on eating, create a calorie deficit there, and then build on the deficit by adding the hill climb. It took me just over a year and a half to get where I wanted to go. I wish now that I had done some more basic strength exercises too, since I did lose some upper body strength in the process, but all said, it was a very good way to lose. Slow and steady not only wins the race, it helps make sure you keep the weight off.
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Muata Reply:
January 26th, 2009 at 6:54 pm
mooseboyslim, I could not have said at any better! Thanks for sharing your fantastic fat loss story. Creating a calorie deficit is the key to fat loss, and how you achieve it is totally up to you, as you’ve shown with your story. Thanks again for stopping by and please come back …
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January 26th, 2009 at 8:16 pm
I wish I had listen to my doctor years ago. She kept saying I need to cut down on my food intake.
On October 28th I had a heart attact and on November 4 a double bypass opration. I’m 27lb lighter now and very careful on not just what I eat but how much.
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Muata Reply:
January 27th, 2009 at 10:07 am
Keith, I’m sorry to hear about all that you went through last year, but I’m happy to know that you’re doing better and are lighter. Alright, here’s a golden opportunity for you to keep the fat loss going. I’ll give you one simple tip. Think back to how much food you would normally eat at one sitting (you can choose whether it’s breakfast, lunch, or dinner). I want you to start eating 50-75% of the amount of food that you used to eat. To be honest with you, it doesn’t really matter what the composition of your diet it because you’ll continue to lose weight. You’ll be able to start focusing more on what you eat once you have a handle on how much you’re eating. Let us know how that works for you …
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January 26th, 2009 at 8:38 pm
I love this post! it took me a while to get the point and when I did I finally dropped some FAT!
The one way in which our bodies are like the engines in our cars is that thermodynamics always applies and its a pretty quick calculation to see why diet is key: the amount of energy in a pound of body fat cannot be used up in the course of running a marathon – not even close – but its pretty easy to go without eating the 3500-ish calories that make up a pound of fat in a week or so.
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Muata Reply:
January 27th, 2009 at 10:04 am
Exactly Randy! I still don’t understand the fascination with such a brutal exercise (marathon running) to lose fat. I really don’t think that the human body was meant to run for that long for exercise, but that’s just me …
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January 26th, 2009 at 9:05 pm
Great read Muata,
I personally hate running because I always hurt myself (bad Knees) and then I can’t work out for weeks. Right now I do a little walking and got a machine (gazelle.. I think) that is low impact on the knees; those are my main source of cardio. I have noticed that even when I have had off weeks where maybe I only exercised 2 days out of the week I still was able to lose weight. Like you sais diet, diet diet, diet, that’s the key.
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Muata Reply:
January 27th, 2009 at 10:02 am
I remember those Gazelle machines; I can’t think of the guy who use to market them. Anyway, it’s all about your diet and controlling your portion sizes. Don’t get me wrong, training is vitally important, but it doesn’t trump calories consumed. I think a lot of big guys have it the other way around. The more I train, the more I can eat. Or at least that’s what I use to think.
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January 27th, 2009 at 2:24 am
Hey Muata!
This nails the issue about finding something we ‘enjoy’ doing.
Many people hate running/walking as an exercise, but get them involved in a team sport or something similar (like tennis) and they’re flying!
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Muata Reply:
January 27th, 2009 at 10:00 am
Hello Melanie and thanks for leaving a comment. You’re absolutely right, folks need to find an activity they enjoy doing and have at it!!
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January 27th, 2009 at 11:03 am
Thanks for the good advice Muata. I start cardiac rehab at the hospital next week. First up, cardiac stress test. Why can’t they have a cardiac relaxation test?
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Muata Reply:
January 27th, 2009 at 11:44 am
No problem Keith, and please let me know how the cardiac stress test goes. I guess that if the heart is too relaxed it may not want to pump blood and just take the day off …
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January 27th, 2009 at 5:55 pm
I should add for keith’s benefit, that I did not get properly “motivated” to lose my weight until I had a heart attack at 43. I had a great post op doc who worked with me to get me to the place where I could safely (emphasis on that!) begin working out for real. Like a lot of guys I know, I thought I’d lose the weight one day, but nothing ever seemed to get me off the couch. Guys, don’t wait till the grim reaper decides he wants the remote! Good luck, keith. I’m positive you can do it.
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Muata Reply:
January 28th, 2009 at 1:56 pm
Hey guys you’re getting it from the “moose’s” mouth here; heed his advice and don’t let tomorrow pass you by . . . Man, this sounds like a commercial I’ve seen before
Thanks for your inspiration mooseboyslim …. (cool handle BTW!).
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January 28th, 2009 at 7:05 am
Keith and Mooseboyslim are right, don’t wait until you have lost your health, get moving. I have been walking 2 1/2 miles at lunch , four days a week. I have been doing this in 45 minutes. To increase the intensity without hurting my bad knees (both have had surgery) I got out my old back pack and made a 20 lb. sand bag from the leg of an old (too big) pair of blue jeans. Muata , you are right there is a hell of a differnce.Keep spreading the word, it costs very little to know how much we stuff in our pie hole and it costs next to nothing to burn calories. It costs us everything to ignore both sides of the energy equation.
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Muata Reply:
January 28th, 2009 at 1:55 pm
Hey a backpack filled with books, sand, or what have you works well too. I would suggest one of the hiking style backpacks that has a strap for your chest/waist too. I believe more guys will start doing this type of “power hiking or walking” once they start to “feel” how something as light as 10lbs will make a big difference! Bill, the end of your comment is so true … thanks for your comment …
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January 28th, 2009 at 7:45 am
Now we can all say goodbye to our guilt about being over weight. It is all the fault of a cold virus. I knew it couldn’t have been my life style.
http://www.dailyexpress.co.uk/posts/view/81810
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Muata Reply:
January 28th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
Oh, yeah I’m definitely going to blog about this one tomorrow keith. Thanks for reminding me
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January 30th, 2009 at 10:46 am
It’ll be good thirty pounds before I’ll even think about running. Your walking routines/ideas are helpful to me. Thanks for the words of advice.
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Muata Reply:
February 2nd, 2009 at 9:19 am
Hey ICT, by the time you drop those 30 pounds, you might be doing burpees, training with kettlebells or sandbags, and may forget all about running for cardio. Time will tell . . .
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January 30th, 2009 at 3:24 pm
Hey guys, good info.
I have been working out and on a low cal diet (~1000 cals a day, every day) for 4 months. Im 6′2 and 208 now, I started at 232.. I track everything I eat and the cals I burn daily. Let me tell you this really helps!! I use an application on my Iphone called Absolute Fitness and it makes the process very easy since I always have my phone with me..
Anyway, I started out walking on the treadmill (mainly since I could not run and my stamina was horrible) until I could walk for 1-hr at full incline at 4.2Mph burning about 1000 cals each session. For the last few months, I have been focusing on running since I felt like I have mastered walking. I have stopped loosing weight and now i’m at a loss for why. After reviewing the data I have for the last 4 months, I can see that during the time I was walking is when I was really loosing the weight.. I thinking that I will stop running (4 miles a day in about 40min) and will go back to the walking to see if that helps.
Good luck all!
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Muata Reply:
February 2nd, 2009 at 9:16 am
CJ, thanks for sharing your fat loss story and trials with us. Go back to walking and try using a weighted vest. Also, I think that 1000 kcals is pretty low considering that you’re exercising. How is your stamina?
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February 3rd, 2009 at 5:26 am
Hey Muata!
Just wanted to let you know that yesterday this 50 yr old, 6′4″ 376 slug tried the first round of beginners TT workout. Whipped my butt!!! I told my wife I just want to give it one month, just one month, of really paying attention and giving it my best to see what happens. So now a big question for me is, how do you suggest I get 200 grams of protein a day?
Thanks!
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Muata Reply:
February 3rd, 2009 at 8:25 am
Stan, I’m really happy to hear that you are starting the TT workout. Focus on staying in the lower end of the rep ranges initially. Also, approach your workouts as if they are practice sessions. There are a lot of new movements that you’re going to be doing, and it will take your body time to get use to it. I’d suggest that you give the program at least 12 weeks that way you don’t try too hard since you’ve only given yourself a month. Take your time Stan, slow and steady wins the race; also, I don’t want you to hurt yourself by trying to do too much too soon. As far as the protein goes, shakes are the easiest and most convienient way to get your protein grams in. I use Body Fortress from Walmart, but I just found out that Sam’s Club is selling 5lb bags of EAS for $24!!! That’s even cheaper than the 5lb tub of Body Fortress that they are starting to sell at Walmart. I’ve also fallen in love with low-fat cottage cheese. I hope this helps partner …
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February 3rd, 2009 at 5:27 am
PS… actually, I’ll take all the suggestions/advice I can get.
Thanks again!
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February 4th, 2009 at 1:32 pm
Strength and stamina are really good, seem to be doing well on the 1000 Cal a day and working out. People keep telling me to bump up the food intake, however, I keep trying to push for as much of a deficit as possible. What do you think would be a good number of cal to consume per day given that my BMR is 2053? And is the weight loss slow down due to the limited number of cals im eating?
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Muata Reply:
February 4th, 2009 at 3:45 pm
CJ, one thing that I’ve learned the hard way is that eating below maintenance for more than 3 months straight isn’t a good thing. In our attempts to lose fat, we want to believe the lower the cals the more fat we’ll lose. However, you will actually be losing too much muscle also because you’re not able to get in enough protein to spare your lean mass 2 1000 kcals/day. If you’ve been eating below maintenance for more than 3 months, then I think you need to eat enough calories so you stay at the weight you are for a couple of weeks, before going back to eating below maintenance. You can use the simple formula of multiplying your current weight times 10 to come at a working number of calories to eat to lose fat. Also, try and make sure that you eat at least 1gram of protein per lb of your “targeted” weight. So, if you want to get down to 185, then you should make sure to consume at least that many grams per day. Let me know how taking a break and maintaining your weight for a couple of weeks works for you …
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February 8th, 2009 at 11:13 pm
I have to agree with Muata, CJ. You need to establish the calorie deficit and still make sure your body doesn’t go into “starvation mode” which it will do when you stay below maintenance intake for as long as you have. When that happens, your body goes on full alert becaue it thinks its starving, and hoards fat, while offering up muscle for fuel. You don’t want that. I just finished reading Tom Venuto’s “Body Fat Solution”, and he makes a truly excellent case for avoiding this syndrome. (I’m not a shill for Venuto, but I think this book is one of the very best books on the subject out there) I reccomend that you shoot for no more than 2 pounds a week of weight loss from all sources: exercise and caloric intake restrictions. You could try adding protein and changing up from walking to adding in some weight training. If what you’re doing isn’t working, change what you are doing. Please be careful: the diet you describe is dangerous in the long haul.
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Muata Reply:
February 10th, 2009 at 7:44 am
mooseboyslim, you beat me to the punch about Venuto’s new book. I’m so glad that you said that it’s one of the very best books on the subject out there because I feel the same way. I’ll even go as far to say that I’m going to start recommending it to anyone who wants to lose fat and understand the bigger picture. CJ, I would recommend that you, or anyone else reading this for that matter, pick up Tom’s new book to understand why we feel you need to bump up your calories considering the amount of exercise you’re doing. Thanks for the comment mooseboyslim ….
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