Can you lose body fat without losing your curves?

This is something I’ve struggled with since the beginning of my fitness journey and I know a lot of females can relate, so I thought to share my experience and explain how the process works.

So can you lose body fat without losing your curves? My answer is yes and no.

The thing is you cannot determine where you lose fat from. If you do cardio, you can’t only burn the fat off your waist area and keep it on your bum and thighs. Trust me I wish you could but it just doesn’t work like that.

Please bare in mind that your body does burn fat all over, it’s just that sometimes it can burn fat more in specific areas. For example, my fat burns quickly around my chest area (hence my lack of boobs lol) and although I still have a bum and thighs, I have still lost body fat in those areas.

Everyone has stubborn fat cells in specific areas. For me, I’d say my stubborn areas are my bum, thighs and waist, which isn't a bad thing except the waist area- but this, is not within my control. The only way I focused on those stubborn fat cells in my waist was to keep up the cardio until it finally responded and disappeared (it still hasn’t gone yet but its slowly getting there), although I did suffer the risk of losing my curves. So what do I do?

Well I know how my body works and I know it’s a lot easier for me to put on weight than it is for me to lose weight. So I took the risk (and still am taking the risk) in order to give my body the best possible chance of stripping down my body fat. I haven’t lost too much mass in the process as my cardio mainly consists of high intensity workouts (refer to previous blogpost) which has in some way retained my muscle.

But inevitably I was bound to lose fat from my bum, thighs and hips so I also weight trained those specific areas on days where I wasn’t doing cardio. I’ve now incorporated more leg days in my fitness regime focusing more on exercises which target my glutes, thighs and hips (squats, lunges, leg raises, glute bridges etc) in order to compensate for the fat burned in those areas.

I still haven’t replaced all the missing fat from those areas YET but just know I won’t stop until I do. Personally, I'm yet to see the gains of my work because I know this process will probably take a year to master effectively and my body doesn’t respond to muscle training as fast as I would like it to. But everyone’s body is different so it might not even take you that long.

There are two ways to do this, you can either lose the fat first then weight train or do both at the same time. I’ve chosen to do both at the same time because when combined with a good balanced diet, adding muscle mass will increase your metabolism and help burn off any excess body fat, so it’s a win win situation.

The only thing is that muscle takes a lot longer to build than fat takes to burn so this process requires the most amount of patience. My advice to anyone embarking on this part of their journey is to be patient and accept that slow progress is better than no progress.

Remember Rome wasn’t built in a day…and neither are your muscles.

G

Marathon vs Sprinter

The way you exercise is important because it determines the shape your body eventually moulds into. Here we have a marathon runner (left) and a sprinter (right). Can you spot the difference in their physiques?

Although both are runners, the difference in their training is important. Cardio is the most effective way to burn fat and calories. However, it can also burn muscle. Whilst doing long periods of cardio, the body has to find its largest resources of calories, which more often tends to be from the muscles. When your cardio is maintained for long periods of time at low/moderate intensity level, a hormone called Cortisol is released which leads to muscle burning.

However, short intense cardio utilises and uses up your bodies stored sugars more (needed for short bursts of high intensity) and has a greater after burn effect. Cortisol is again released by the body but this is also released alongside growth hormones and testosterone, which enhances fat burning and leads to a higher muscle building state.

You tend to burn more fat during high intensity workouts rather than low/moderate intensity workouts because high intensity has an after burn effect. This is basically where your metabolism has been kicked into overdrive and the body continues to burn off calories after your workout. 



Education is key and to be honest as I was reading this I surprised myself with the knowledge that I did know. Sometimes doing your own research and asking fitness experts in the industry is the only way to truly understand how the body responds to different exercises. This way you will always be pointing your body in the right direction as you’ll know exactly what you’re doing and why you’re doing it.

My current goal is to shed body fat without losing too much mass, whilst still maintaining my curves. Although the majority of my training involves high intensity cardio anyway, I will still embark on a few low/moderate intensity workouts to help target my stubborn fat. I will also combat any risk of muscle loss here by ensuring I maintain my weight sessions in the gym.



So next time you decide to do cardio, think about your goals and what you are trying to achieve. If your aim is to achieve lean muscle and get that ‘tight look’ as opposed to just weight loss, think about doing intervals or simply running that much faster so you reduce your time…remember it is NOT about duration, it is about intensity.

G

The Perfect Fit For The Perfect Run

After a long day at work I jetted off to 'Somerset house' for a sneak peek at the new Nike trainers - Flyknit Lunar1+.

These trainers are available for both men and women and are great for running.

What makes these trainers so unique is that they provide the perfect fit and feel as though they were made just for you. How have Nike done this? Well, when you go pick up a pair of these trainers you’re taken to Nike’s Steam Lounge. The trainer is placed in a steam machine for several minutes and then you try them on. Whilst the trainer is still warm, gentle pressure in the form of a foot massage is applied to the trainer to mould it to the contours of your foot.

I could physically see the transformation!

I could actually feel the difference and the trainers felt a lot more snug and comfortable.

 

 

Thanks to these beauties there will be no more uncomfortable trainers for your morning runs!

So head down to Nike town and get your pair just in time for spring!

G



Nike Flyknit Experience at Somerset House

So from today untill Wednesday, Nike will be hosting a Flyknit experience at Somerset House to launch the new Flyknit Lunar1+. What makes these trainers so special? Well, they are as light as a feather and provide the perfect fit for the perfect run. 

At the event you’ll be able to have a one-to-one footwear consultation, take the shoes for a trial run and learn more about the shoe design. Anyone going should make good use of this foot consultation because it’s important that you wear the correct footwear when working out. Your footwear should be fitted to suit your foot type. 

How do you find your foot type?  There are two options:

1.       Go to your local Sports Direct store and use a machine they have in store, this is usually found near the running trainers; or 

2.      Wet your foot and step on a dark, flat surface. If your foot imprint is wide and fat with practically no arch showing, you have flat feet. If your foot imprint has an arch but it seems to almost be on one side of your foot, you have a high arch. If your foot imprint shows both a bit of flatness and a bit of an arch, then you have a normal foot.

Obviously the first option is the easiest. 

I’m flat footed so I should be wearing trainers that provide extra support, slight motion and cushion because being flat footed causes your feet to hit the ground harder. Wearing the correct footwear not only enhances your performance but also prevents injuries such as blisters, black toenails, back, knee and hip pain, Achilles tendonitis and shin splints (leg pain). 

You’ll also be able to join the Nike Flyknit run clubs for a 5k run. Unfortunately I will not be participating in this because my knees are on their last legs right now, but it should be fun. 

For more information on the event click here.

I’ll most probably go down on Wednesday so hopefully I will see some of you there.

G

Motorway Madness

So me and my two buddies decided to conquer our fear of heights and get our blood pumping by doing a flyover session over the A13.

Flyover sprints: we started off at the base of 1 side of the flyover (1), sprinted up three flights (2) and then back down again. We repeated this twice and this made up one set. We took a two minute rest in between each set and repeated it three times.

The average times were:

BigBoat 1.07min average

Nana 1.13min average

Gina 1.21min average

Flyover endurance: we started off at the base of 1 side of the flyover (1), ran up the three flights (2), across the bridge (3), down the three flights on the other side (2) and then all the way back (3) to finish at the base (1). We took a five minute rest in between each set and repeated it three times.

The average times were:

BigBoat 1.54mins average

Nana 2.1mins average

Gina 2.30mins average

I will be totally honest and say this session killed me. After the first set of the flyover endurance, I was ready to call a cab and go home.

So for those of you who want to have a go GOOD LUCK because you will definitely need it.

G