Fitness and fatness: can you be fat and fit, …or even slim and unfit?
Sometimes in order to save time and avoid mental strain we have a tendency to oversimplify. However, like many situations, over simplification to save time comes at the expense of accuracy and relevant nuance. The concept of being “fat, but fit” or “The Obesity Paradox” meets this criterion. Generally, being overweight or obese is bad for you. Obese individuals have a higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes than lean people. Likewise, being unfit is considered an independent risk factor for developing the same conditions. At first glance, our initial impression of those who are overweight …
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Metabolism, in the mind’s eye
In my experience, most high-intensity training (HIT) practitioners don’t focus on metabolism. It’s hard to blame them. Discussion of force, velocity, muscle tension, and momentary muscle failure have real-world applications that clients can knowingly experience. Metabolism is practically invisible and lacks easily accessible realtime metrics that we can share with our clients. However, we would be remise if we didn’t share the truly amazing adaptations that occur within seconds of finishing a HIT session. The energy systems Before we jump into the adaptations that occur from HIT, a basic understanding of metabolism is necessary. Most people are familiar with the …
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