Sean Hyson

Today was the New York City Marathon. As usual, I paid no attention to it. I used to resent the marathon because it always stole attention away from a much more important event that takes place this time of year—my birthday. But since I became obsessed with fitness, I’ve come to malign it for its effect on people who want to lose fat.

Tomorrow, you’re probably going to hear a lot of people talking about how inspiring the race is and how they need to “get back into running”. In fact, it’s a safe bet that the general public’s perception is that long-distance running is the best way to lose fat.

The government endorses it. Running burns calories. Runners tend to be thin. Better lace up the shoes and hit the trail…

Now, in the words of Pulp Fiction’s Jules Winnfield, “I’d like to believe that. But that shit ain’t the truth.”

Since my transformation, many people have congratulated me and told me they were inspired to drop a lot of fat in a short time. “I’m going to do the same thing,” they say. “I’m going to lose 30 pounds in three months… I’m going to start jogging tomorrow.” That’s when I remind them that I did no jogging whatsoever in my program, and they give me an incredulous look, as if it were impossible to lose fat without running.

Geez, does anybody actually read what I write?

I know aerobic exercise is as much a part of American culture as Britney Spears and chicken-fried steak (maybe we should re-fashion American culture?), but it’s not a must for fat loss. At least jogging isn’t. While I have total respect for marathon runners, or anyone who can push themselves to pound the pavement for an hour or more outside on a cold day, that activity just doesn’t make my list of ways to get lean.

Here are a few reasons why:

Long workouts. The longer you’ve been running, you longer you need to run each time you run to burn more calories. Your body adapts to aerobic exercise quickly, so, like a drug, you need more and more to get the same effect. On the other hand, if you go to the gym and lift for one hour today, you don’t need to lift for 70 minutes next week or 90 minutes next month to make progress. Intensity is manipulated in other ways. So jogging quickly becomes a big time drain.

It breaks down muscle. Some coaches tend to overstate this, but it’s basically true. Long runs release stress hormones that break down muscle tissue.

Injury risk. How many people that you know complain about getting hurt while lifting weights? How many complain about their knees/feet/shins/lower backs due to running? About the saddest thing I can imagine for a dedicated runner is to run so hard and so long without crosstraining that he wears his knees down and is told by his doctor not to run anymore. Now he can’t do what he loves and, because he’s not getting exercise anymore and he’s lost so much muscle over the years from running, he begins to get fat.

Interestingly, a runner in today’s marathon—the world record holder, in fact—dropped out of the race at the 16^th mile, and witnesses saw him “favoring his knee.” If it can happen to the best in the sport, it can happen to the casual runner.

It does little to nothing for your metabolism. Aside from marathoners, the leanest athletes on the planet compete in sports that are stop-and-go—short-burst, high-intensity activities. I’m talking about bodybuilders, weightlifters, wrestlers, sprinters, track athletes, and boxers (and most of us would rather look like them than your average marathon man). While these athletes will burn tons of calories during competition, most of them won’t burn as many as a long-distance runner. So why do they usually look leaner, stronger, healthier, and overall better? Largely because their metabolisms are always on overdrive. They burn calories all day at an accelerated rate because they carry more muscle mass, and because their workouts are so metabolically disruptive that they need up to two days to recover from them. When you go for a nice easy jog, you burn up a lot of fuel because you’re doing continuous activity, but shortly after your feet stop moving, your metabolism returns to normal.

But hey, who am I to stop you? If you love to run, go ahead and run. It’s certainly got its merits. But if you want to lose fat as quickly and safely as possible, and with the least amount of time and effort, look to weight training and diet to get those results.

Marathon Man. “Is it safe?” No, it isn’t!
 

I will leave you with this story. The marathon race comes from ancient Greece and the Battle of Marathon. In 490 B.C., the Persian army attacked. The Greeks, though badly outnumbered, defeated them, and sent a messenger, Pheidippides, back to Athens to spread news of the victory. Well, Pheidippides ran 26 miles back home, announced the big win, and promptly dropped dead of exhaustion.

How do you train to get lean? Leave comments below. The best comment this month gets a free e-book on home-gym design and a consultation with master trainer Joe Stankowski.