WHY “JUST RUNNING” CAN BE COUNTER-PRODUCTIVE

Running is great, but if that is all you do, you can actually be setting yourself up for defeat further down the road. When you run for an extended period of time, your body goes into a catabolic state. All this means is that your body starts breaking down. Literally, your body, mainly your muscles and bones, are broken down to be turned into sugar for energy. This happens because your body runs out of stored glycogen (sugar stored in your liver and muscles) and carbohydrate. Since fat is not and efficient source of fuel, nor is protein, your body needs to find a way to meet energy demands. It does this by breaking down muscle and bone.  When the amount of lean mass you have goes down, so does your resting metabolic rate (RMR). You will be burning less calories per day which means 2 things. First, it will be harder to continue to lose weight. Second, it will be easier to put weight back on. Make sure you change up your cardio routines and incorporate resistance training.

About this Author

After graduating from the National Personal Training Institute (NPTI) in Richmond Heights Ohio, Mat sat for and passed the test to earn his CSCS (certified strength and conditioning specialist). After spending over one and a half years of training in a gym setting, and becoming and instructor at NPTI, Matt started MK Fitness as a one-on-one or small group personal training company.