Working Too Hard at Male weight lossI pity the guys that still think that fitness needs to be hard work. The old locker room maxim, “no pain, no gain” has caused a lot of us to shy away from the exercise that our bodies need to be healthy. We are physical beings that require motion for us to operate properly.To lose weight, the male body must be utilized, but not punished.

Thanks to our military men and athletes, they have cultivated a strong sense of attention to taking care of our bodies. It is through the discipline we learn in sports, defense, and play that we already know how to condition our bodies. But for a vast majority of us, we do not exercise like we need to. Why?

We have equated exercise of fitness with pain. This is a gross misunderstanding of the “no pain, no gain” mentality. What we learned in gym class in school was to cultivate ourselves to achieve peak functioning to develop the most capable guys in class. Isn’t that the way a school needs to work? The curriculum is developed to challenge everyone to achieve. For the rest of us, though, that education was a bit “over the top.”

Training for sports and military takes this thinking to an even more intense level. Coaches know that in order to “harden” you for a game, match or combat, you need to be trained past the level at which you will see in the heat of the moment. This is where the “no pain, no gain” found firmer footing.

Before I go further, I want to remind you why exercise, and specifically strength training, is important to weight loss, just in case you may have forgotten. Given that your body has a lot of stored fat, you need to somehow expend this unwanted store of fat usually takes the form of belly fat and love handles for us men.

The good news is that you can use your body to burn its own fat. How? Metabolism is the technical term used to refer to the burning of energy in your body – fat, calories etc. One of the biggest determinants of how fast you burn fat is increased by a high percentage of lean body mass.

Lean body mass is basically the “you” minus all the fat. It is the weight of just your bones, muscle, organs, blood and fluids. The higher the percentage of lean body mass of your total body mass, the faster you will burn fat. Every time you exercise (and I mean every time), you build a little more lean body mass. The little additional body mass you build in exercise translates directly into more stored fat calories burned per hour.

I want to tell you right here and now, that to lose weight and get fit, there is no reason to be in pain in order to get fit. Let me tell you the reasons pain is actually an obstacle to losing weight:

  1. You Won’t Show Up – think about it, if you know that something is going to be painful, how often will you really show up to do your daily activity? Whether it is running, lifting weights, climbing stairs, or floor exercises, most of us won’t even show up because of the pain. I don’t blame you. Who wants pain. The better path is to work in a routine that does not hurt and then actually do it.
  2. Your Form Will Suck – now that you are doing your routine, first of all, congratulations on showing up! If for whatever reason you are doing a routine that requires a lot of pain, it is most likely that the form you utilize will be sub par. You will likely lift more weight than you should and then screw-up your face, writhe, decrease your range of motion, do far too few reps, and execute an overall poor isolation of the muscle group your are intending to work. I see it every day at the gym. Usually it is young guys that are trying to show off to other people what a man they are. The fact is that nobody in the gym really cares what anyone else is doing except themselves (and they are hoping you watch them).
  3. Can’t Do This Forever - many young guys can take a lot of pain and still keep motoring through their workouts. You may even enjoy the idea that working heavily into your pain zone can create incredible results. For those guys who are getting amazing results, I am not writing this. I am talking to you. In order for a fitness program to help you lose weight, it needs to be sustainable through many years. You cannot beat yourself to death doing painful exercises for years. Stick with a reasonable path and I guarantee you will get results.

OK, so here is what to do.

Whatever fitness routine or exercise program you are doing is just fine. If you want suggestions on a routine, check out my fitness routine and see if you might be able to adapt it for yourself.

Do some kind of cardio exercise. Cardio does not necessarily burn stored fat, but rather uses up “todays calories.” However, most cardio exercises build tone, which is a good basic starting point to build further muscle mass. If you have ever swam, walked, run, climbed stairs for a few days you will notice a good general firmness in the legs (and arms if you swim).

Do some type of strength training. You need to work the major muscle groups…abdomen, chest, bicep, triceps, back and shoulders. If you do not like going to the gymn, you can get a fitness ball and some hand weights to build lean body mass. Start basic and do 15 minutes of training at first and keep the amount of weight you lift low.

Don’t let pain get in your way. Get your exercise. Get muscle. You will lose weight. It is only a matter of time.

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