4 ms·

I think the author's take on the role of exercise is kind of harsh compared to my own experiences and of those around me. > An hour of intense exercise might b

by miggol 3y ago

I think the author's take on the role of exercise is kind of harsh compared to my own experiences and of those around me. > An hour of intense exercise might burn 500 calories, and it’s very hard to keep up that level of effort for even one full hour — especially if you’ve been sitting in a chair all day for years on end. This is probably true, though it doesn't factor in the effect of muscle mass and "afterburn" on resting metabolism. Muscle is expensive, that's why your body gets rid of it quickly when you don't use it. And you spend a lot of calories replenishing energy stores and repairing your muscles in the days after your exercise, because that's far from a 100% efficient process. If you're male and an absolute beginner (as sitting in a chair all day implies), you can gain significant muscle mass with just 90 minutes a week of strength training. The direct calorie expenditure of exercising that much may be minor. But you will soon be burning an extra 150kcal/day in afterburn and muscle maintenance just sitting on your ass on your off-days. That adds up to a nice beer budget. Intensive strength training isn't for everyone though, I can see why a guide for the lazy person might leave it out. But if you're even slightly more of a minmaxer than just lazy you should consider it, given all the other additional benefits of exercise. Finally the protein paragraphs are very spot on. Especially now quality protein shakes are cheap and easily available. One of those (125kcal) fills me up like lunch, and two like dinner. They're an incredible weight loss hack.

303uru 3y ago
Ya, I dunno. I spend 3-5 hours lifting and 12-20+ hours a week on my bike training. I can still quickly gain weight and you don't present the ultimate difficulty, training makes you really fucking hungry. I burn 1000 KJ/hour average on the bike and I can undo that real quick, 150kcal/day is a small handful of chips. I'm extremely dubious of any answer to weight loss which isn't get your diet in line.
- miggol 3y ago
  That's interesting. I've been exercising my current amount for so long that I didn't factor in the side effect of additional hunger. Good point. Though I will say that when it comes to my 50 minute strength sessions, I don't really feel that hungry after. I tend to do them after work, before dinner, and then eat the same amount as any off day. I'm no athlete, just doing the minimum, at which point additional hunger is not that noticable. 50 Minutes of strength is far from your continuous 277W output (nice!), for multiple hours. I think the target audience would literally die far before feeling anything like your levels of hunger, should they ever go on a bike ride with you.
- radiojosh 3y ago
  It is my understanding that some people who don't exercise at all have a hard time controlling their appetites, and then when they introduce moderate exercise, they find it much easier to keep their eating in check. I think it's synergistic.
voisin 3y ago
> you can gain significant muscle mass with just 90 minutes a week of strength training. I’ll second this. I’ve recently begun StrongLifts 5x5 and it has changed my appearance and strength so quickly as to defy my most optimistic expectations. I’ve been a daily runner for years, rarely skipping a day, and forgot the joy of trying something totally new and greedily getting all the early, low hanging gains. Stronglifts 5x5 is super easy to start with and I’d highly recommend it.
- vidarh 3y ago
  Also done Stronglift 5x5 and similar before it, and it's great. Before that, I was at one point up to 1h30m per session, and the extra time in the gym added surprisingly little. It's so much easier to stay consistent with a program that's so simole and limited.
nradov 3y ago
The extra energy consumption from increased muscle mass makes a difference, but it's not even the most important reason. Skeletal muscle is a crucial part of the endocrine system in that it acts as a glucose sink. When blood glucose levels rise, if you have enough lean muscle mass then much of the glucose will be stored as glycogen in the muscles rather than being converted to fat and stored in that form. People who lose weight strictly through dieting without doing intensive strength training often end up "skinny fat" which is problematic for long-term metabolic health. https://gabriellereece.com/muscle-as-the-cornerstone-of-longevity-optimizing-strength-for-disease-prevention-with-dr-gabrielle-lyon/ https://gabriellereece.com/muscle-as-the-cornerstone-of-long...
cperciva 3y ago
If you're male and an absolute beginner (as sitting in a chair all day implies), you can gain significant muscle mass with just 90 minutes a week of strength training. Can confirm, almost 3 year ago I started lifting and carrying around a weight. I started with a bit under 8 lbs and I lift 32 lbs now, and I've gained about 10 lbs of muscle mass and doubled my upper body strength. Mind you, it hasn't helped with weight loss. Eating her left overs has resulted in my gaining another 10 lbs of fat. :-(
maxglute 3y ago
>you can gain significant muscle mass with just 90 minutes a week of strength training. Basically, lean mass / muscle you gain are weight you don't have to lose. Untrained can gain 20% of muscles in year of training. That's 4-6 months of fat loss. And it raises maintainance calories so keeping weight off is less difficult. It's almost stupid not to take advantage.

by miggol 3y ago

303uru 3y ago

Ya, I dunno. I spend 3-5 hours lifting and 12-20+ hours a week on my bike training. I can still quickly gain weight and you don't present the ultimate difficulty, training makes you really fucking hungry. I burn 1000 KJ/hour average on the bike and I can undo that real quick, 150kcal/day is a small handful of chips. I'm extremely dubious of any answer to weight loss which isn't get your diet in line.

miggol 3y ago
That's interesting. I've been exercising my current amount for so long that I didn't factor in the side effect of additional hunger. Good point. Though I will say that when it comes to my 50 minute strength sessions, I don't really feel that hungry after. I tend to do them after work, before dinner, and then eat the same amount as any off day. I'm no athlete, just doing the minimum, at which point additional hunger is not that noticable. 50 Minutes of strength is far from your continuous 277W output (nice!), for multiple hours. I think the target audience would literally die far before feeling anything like your levels of hunger, should they ever go on a bike ride with you.
radiojosh 3y ago
It is my understanding that some people who don't exercise at all have a hard time controlling their appetites, and then when they introduce moderate exercise, they find it much easier to keep their eating in check. I think it's synergistic.

voisin 3y ago

> you can gain significant muscle mass with just 90 minutes a week of strength training. I’ll second this. I’ve recently begun StrongLifts 5x5 and it has changed my appearance and strength so quickly as to defy my most optimistic expectations. I’ve been a daily runner for years, rarely skipping a day, and forgot the joy of trying something totally new and greedily getting all the early, low hanging gains. Stronglifts 5x5 is super easy to start with and I’d highly recommend it.

vidarh 3y ago
Also done Stronglift 5x5 and similar before it, and it's great. Before that, I was at one point up to 1h30m per session, and the extra time in the gym added surprisingly little. It's so much easier to stay consistent with a program that's so simole and limited.

nradov 3y ago

The extra energy consumption from increased muscle mass makes a difference, but it's not even the most important reason. Skeletal muscle is a crucial part of the endocrine system in that it acts as a glucose sink. When blood glucose levels rise, if you have enough lean muscle mass then much of the glucose will be stored as glycogen in the muscles rather than being converted to fat and stored in that form. People who lose weight strictly through dieting without doing intensive strength training often end up "skinny fat" which is problematic for long-term metabolic health. https://gabriellereece.com/muscle-as-the-cornerstone-of-longevity-optimizing-strength-for-disease-prevention-with-dr-gabrielle-lyon/ https://gabriellereece.com/muscle-as-the-cornerstone-of-long...

cperciva 3y ago

If you're male and an absolute beginner (as sitting in a chair all day implies), you can gain significant muscle mass with just 90 minutes a week of strength training. Can confirm, almost 3 year ago I started lifting and carrying around a weight. I started with a bit under 8 lbs and I lift 32 lbs now, and I've gained about 10 lbs of muscle mass and doubled my upper body strength. Mind you, it hasn't helped with weight loss. Eating her left overs has resulted in my gaining another 10 lbs of fat. :-(

maxglute 3y ago

>you can gain significant muscle mass with just 90 minutes a week of strength training. Basically, lean mass / muscle you gain are weight you don't have to lose. Untrained can gain 20% of muscles in year of training. That's 4-6 months of fat loss. And it raises maintainance calories so keeping weight off is less difficult. It's almost stupid not to take advantage.