Can you really go anywhere on a treadmill? Guess not

This is an exert from an article written by Nate Green found over at www.t-nation.com. Some good advice for your pep's out there regarding steady state running on a treadmill versus doing anything else.

Myth: Sweating on a treadmill is just as good as sweating outside.

Mythbuster: Alwyn Cosgrove

In the past people moved more and their exercise programs were well rounded, but recently more people have switched to doing treadmill-only workouts for their cardio. Whether they think it's better for their joints or because they're closet vampires who can't...stand...the light! and never want to venture outside, I'm not sure.

What I am sure of is that steady-state cardio on the treadmill is just fucking stupid. And, no, I'm not going to rehash the old argument about how intervals burn more calories. You already know that.

Instead I'm going to do some math.

Walking a mile is about two thousand reps in the sagittal plane at about one and a half to two times your bodyweight. Jogging would be around fifteen hundred total reps at about two to three times your bodyweight.

And since the treadmill switches your hamstring and glutes off — your foot hits the belt and the belt pulls you through — it's mainly a quad exercise.

So let's say a client does three miles three times per week for one year (and I'm being conservative).

That's 6000 reps x 3 days per week x 52 weeks, which equals 936,000 reps of knee extension work. Or 468,000 reps per leg.

Let's say the load going through with the knee was a measly 100 pounds. That's 4.6 million pounds of work for the quad with absolutely no hamstring work.

Think of it this way: if you did 400,000 reps of triceps extensions with 100 pounds you'd get four million pounds of volume. If you didn't balance that out with biceps curls you'd expect the elbow joint to hurt, right? You're damn straight it would!

So long term walking or running on the treadmill is almost guaranteeing knee pain. And that's not even the worst part. Since the hamstring is switched off you're actually burning even less calories than you would if you were to walk on the ground!

This study showed that hip flexion angle increases on the treadmill as opposed to the ground and that stance time was reduced. Basically, the whole hip extensor mechanism is affected; hip and knee flexion angles have to increase to bring the hip through on the stride. So hip flexor fatigue plus substitution patterns equals severe knee pain.

Ten or twenty years ago we'd get away with this because our clients ran outside and did other activities. The contribution of treadmill time to total exercise time was much lower. It's hardly the case today.

One of the problems with low intensity steady-state aerobics for fat loss in the deconditioned population is the sheer amount of reps needed. I can do a bodyweight circuit and spread the "reps" over the whole body and get a similar metabolic effect.

At my gym we've always done interval training as we felt the results were superior, but over time we've moved to a "metabolic resistance training" model.

For example, one mile on the treadmill would be 1500 reps and burn around 100 calories. If you did a circuit of kettlebell swings, undulating ropes, inverted rows, sled pushes, and burpees for four rounds with 10 to 15 reps each, you'd burn 100 calories in less time with less load, and the reps would be spread over the entire body instead of on the ankles, knees, and hips. It's just a superior model.

Facebook and the perils of living vicariously through the internet

Facebook is the devil of the internet and I am not the only person who thinks this. It's pretty much a waste of time and a total time suck.


Yet it does have its good points, you can figure out all the stupid things people do with their daily lives.

"Hey look, Suzy just ate a donut and liked it! That crazy girl"

or you see something like this

"I feel fat today. I'm going to go run 37 miles"

You can learn a lot about the miss-education of people by what the post on Facebook. They will tell you exactly what they don't know and why they don't know it. The hard thing is, most people are resistant to change and think that they know everything (hint: I am not one of those people).

See there is still the old school mentality when it comes to fat loss that states, if you want to lose weigh, you need to run like your training for the Boston Marathon. Now trainers and our clients know, because we read and actually learn something, that steady state cardio does not have the same fat burning benefits as interval training, or interval training paired with a resistance training program.

Is steady state cardio good? I think it has its place but not for fat loss.

If you need to shed some pounds, break the rules once and a while and do what is going to get you the results you want, FASTER. Go to the track and do some sprint intervals, run stair intervals, take a metabolic training class, hell go as so far as to lift weights or (gasp) eat good, healthy foods!

If not, that wedding dress still won't fit you in 3 months.

I'm baaaaaaaaaaack!

Yup, I'm back, but this time things are different. There are going to be a few rules that are going to be laid out:

Rule #1 - this blog is not about my personal life, so no, I will not post and/or discuss what goes on in that realm (see I can learn something).

Rule #2 - Don't break rule #1.

That's pretty much it.

This new blog was created for a different purpose: to inform you (the public) about my business (training people), my clients and their training, as well as maybe teach you a thing or two about training and how to train properly, nutrition and all the fun things there is to know about food and to inform you about other trainers, training products and books that have had a profound effect on my life and business.

With that in mind, if you are in the fitness industry, whether as an established facility owner, trainer for years or a newbie to this whole thing (hint: me), you must check out Alwyn and Rachel Cosgrove's new website: http://www.resultsfitnessbiz.com/.

I just finished attending one of their 4 day Mentorship program's and to say it had an effect on the way I'm going to live my life and start and run my business is an understatement.

Results Fitness is one of the most profitable gyms IN THE NATION and was named to Men's Health Top-30 gyms. Two of the trainers he employ's have been named to the nation's top 100 trainers, oh and did I mention Alwyn and Rachel are pretty damned good too?

They cover everything you need and want to know about opening the doors to your own fitness facility, program design, hiring staff and teach you some of the most valuable life lessons one could ever imagine.

Do yourself a favor if you are in the industry and go to the mentorship. If you are not in the industry, check out www.alwyncosgrove. or www.rachelcosgrove.com for more information about them as individuals.