[The time element of training is rarely discussed. Usually it is just assumed that less time training is better. If you are in your mid 30's or older, I think you might need to question this assumption.]

Raging Hormones, High Metabolism, and "Naturally Active"…

This past August, I spent the majority of the month on a West Coast road trip (one of the reasons I haven't posted in a while). About a week into our road trip we reached Huntington Beach, CA. This is one of California's prime surf beaches. Anyway, one thing I noticed was how the majority of the young surfers were lean and fit just as a natural result of their circumstances. Not only did these young surfers have higher levels of HGH than the older people on the beach, they were out in the water for 4-6 hours at a time. No wonder why they were in such outstanding shape. This isn't a big breakthrough or anything, but it made me think more about age and fitness.

Why Are Young People Typically Lean Without Trying?

I know this is a generalization, but people in their early 20's are typically lean with very little effort. On our road trip, we stayed in Sedona, AZ for a few days and went to a cliff diving spot called "Grasshopper Point". There was a group of college kids chugging beer and then doing crazy flips off of some pretty darn high cliffs. With only 1-2 exceptions all of these young people were in outstanding condition. You could tell they probably did a bit of training, but staying lean was probably as easy deal for them. Again, not a huge discovery or anything, it just made me think about age and fat loss a bit more.

Let's Discuss What Young People Have in Their Favor

So I am going to generalize a lot here. We have all seen overweight teens and naturally lean 50 year old's. I'm talking about averages here.

1) More Natural Physical Activity Each Week:

I will use myself as an example. Back in college I didn't have a car and walked everywhere. Heck, just walking to and from class took up over an hour of my day, 5 days a week. In addition to that, I would play volleyball or pickup basketball 2-3 times per week for 1-2 hours at a time. I would estimate that I spent 8-9 hours per week of exercise outside of my gym workouts. These days I'm lucky to get in 2 hours per week of exercise outside of my gym workouts. So 7 more hours of activity per week, even at a low intensity level, is significant. Now wonder it was a breeze to stay lean back then!

2) High HGH Levels

Young people are fat burning machines compared to their older counterparts. A big reason for this is the high levels of HGH in younger folk. HGH is a natural fat burning hormone and declines as one ages. Exercise can slow down this decline, but can't stop it from happening completely. Not only are the normal HGH levels higher in young people, my belief is that the "HGH response" to a workout is greater in younger people as well (not proven by a scientific study as far as I know, just a belief of mine based on experience).

3) A Higher Metabolism

The combination of being more active and producing more HGH typically means younger folk are burning more calories even when they aren't active. The average 20 year old also has more lean muscle than the average 40 year old and this helps a bit as well. No matter how you look at it, the typical 20 year old is burning more calories day to day than the average 40 year old. Whether it is attributed to hormones, muscle mass, activity, etc…it all adds up to more calories being burned over the course of a day by a 20 year old compared to a 40 year old.

[San Francisco is one of the coolest cities I've ever been to. I could easily see living here. A big city in an amazing location.]

Let's Examine if LESS Time Training is What You Need

I like the idea of brief and intense workouts, but is that going to get the job done? If you are over 30 and struggling to get as lean as you were in your teens and 20's, it could be that you simply aren't active enough each week. Is training less the smartest approach to dropping that excess body fat? In my opinion there is a very good possibility that you need to spend a little bit more time in the gym, not less…especially if you aren't as active as you were in your younger days.

You Can Only Diet So Hard Before You Are Starving Yourself

I do believe that diet is the first thing to look at when you are trying to get lean, but there is a lower limit. If you cut back the calories too far, you will become malnourished. It is okay to eat slightly less than maintenance levels, but much lower than that for long periods of time is a terrible strategy. When reducing calories there is a lower limit. Even if you still need to lose body fat, it isn't wise to go far below this lower limit for long periods of time.

There is An Upper Limit to Workout Intensity

If you perform too many intense workouts per week, you will over-train. You will break your body down at a faster rate than it can repair itself. To be honest, even a few ultra intense workouts per week can result in over-training. There is an upper limit to intensity that can't be breached, even if you still have a lot of fat to lose.

["Redlining" is a term I like to use when someone is eating below maintenance level calories and training intensely, but is unable to lose any more weight.]

When You Reach the Limits of Diet and Workout Intensity?

What variable can you adjust if you are at your limits with diet and workout intensity? You can adjust the amount of time you train. This is logical, but it isn't discussed much. If you are stuck at a certain body weight, simply add in 30-90 minutes per week to your training and you will lose weight again. This has to be lower intensity training, if you are close to your upper limits already in terms of training intensity.

Why Cardio Is a Potent Tool for Fat Loss, In My Opinion

Cardio, whether it means walking outside or on a treadmill, is the perfect way to add in more activity without over-training. I like body weight circuits and HIIT and other versions of intense intervals, but there is a limit to how much I can do before I over-train. If I am still not losing as much body fat as I would like, I can't simply increase the intensity or I will burn out. What I can do is extend the amount of time I do steady state cardio after I do HIIT, or I can add in walking for 1-2 hours per week.

What Training in the 80's Taught Me

The big thing in the 80's was to bulk up in the winter and cut down right before summer. I don't think this is a great strategy, but it taught me quite a bit about dropping body fat. One thing I learned about fat loss was, given enough time on the treadmill or exercise bike and you can get as lean as you desire. This was before HIIT was known by the fitness community. Back then you would do steady state cardio for an hour per day, while eating a low fat diet to get extremely lean. It wasn't time efficient, but it worked. I even read about bodybuilders who would walk on a treadmill an hour in the morning and an hour at night to reach ultra-low body fat levels.

Steady State Cardio is the Great Equalizer

Unlike the 80's, I don't think it is smart to use steady state cardio as your main method of losing body fat. It simply isn't as time efficient as HIIT or other form of interval training. What I am saying is that if you are dieting properly and doing brief intense training along with HIIT, then it makes sense to add in lower intensity steady state cardio. Steady state cardio is one way a 40 year old can get as lean as a 20 year old. Steady state cardio will make up for the fact that you are less active and your HGH levels aren't as high, etc…this is why I call it the great equalizer. It is the ideal supplementary exercise to give that small extra push needed to burn off that little bit of stubborn body fat that many can't seem to lose when they get older.

If You Are Training Hard, But Are Stuck at a Certain Weight

So if you are training hard already and your diet is dialed in, then my advice is to train a little more than you are training now. It doesn't have to be time spent in the gym…it could be walking 2-3 times per week, in addition to what you are doing now. Another approach is to just add 15 more minutes of steady state cardio to what you are doing now. Again, make sure you get everything optimum and as time efficient as possible before adding in additional steady state cardio. The goal isn't to live in the gym or train non-stop. It is to get in shape.

Note: Sorry it has been so long since my last post. I had good intentions of getting posts done before my road trip, but ran out of time. Has a blast. I highly recommend Sedona as well as Huntington, for a full blown vacation. As far as places to live, San Francisco looked outstanding and hard to beat.

Still Skinny Fat Even After Training for Some Time?

I would say that a good portion of the people in the gyms I have belonged to are skinny fat. A lot of people train really hard and still don't display the muscle tone that they should. All you have to do is head on over to Youtube to see examples of this. There are thousands of videos of people sweating their butt off, but still not displaying impressive physiques.

Trying to Create a Calorie Deficit Through Exercise?

The biggest mistake I see is that people are trying to create a calorie deficit through exercise. If you want to lose body fat, you want to create a calorie deficit through diet and burn additional calories with exercise. Make sure you are in calorie deficit even when taking away the calories burned with exercise. *If you take away any tip from this article, this would be the most important piece of advice*

Eating Too Much and Then Training to Make up For It?

Training hard to make up for a bad diet puts you at risk for increasing your cortisol levels. The typical mistake I see is the people hitting cardio for 60 minutes at a time 5-6 days a week. I have no problem with some cardio after HIIT, but I like to limit this to just a few times per week. Cortisol breaks down muscle and increases fat storage. If you see someone training like a mad man (or mad woman) and isn't lean…this is probably the reason why.

Back off on Exercise to Get Rid of Fat

The first thing I would recommend for a skinny fat person? I would tell them to reduce their calories and reduce their workouts. If they weren't doing resistance training, then that would be mandatory as well. In fact, if they were really lacking muscle tone I would have that person hit the weights hard under a calorie deficit with very little cardio. Maybe re-introduce cardio after 1-2 months.

Focus on Short Intense Workouts While Eating Well

Skinny fat people typically need to boost the intensity of their workouts, but not too often. The main thing is to avoid the release of cortisol while increasing the HGH through strategic exercise. There is a "Sweet Spot" of just the right amount of exercise and it is different for everybody. The key is to find that sweet spot. Once you figure that out, you are just 2-3 months max away from a complete transformation.

Note: I know it seems weird that working out less can actually result in a leaner body, but it is the truth. Also…you can hit it hard for short spurts like outlined in my Vacation Body Blueprint report…you just can't push too hard for too long.

It is True That Young People Have Less Body Fat on Average

According to the book Exercise Physiology college-aged men carry 15% body fat, while older men carry around 25% body fat. Women are closer to 25% body fat at a younger age and move up to 35% as they reach age 50. I also have read elsewhere (can't remember where) that men on average put on one pound of fat per year from the age of 35 to the age of 60…and that women put on less than one pound per year, but more in proportion to their overall weight.

Fat-Free Mass Burns the Same Amount, Regardless of Age

In 1950, Dr. Ancel Keys led a study with several other researchers called "Energy Requirements of Adults". They found that regardless of age, the daily energy requirements (calories burned) per pound of fat-free mass was the same. So a 20 year old and a 65 year old will burn roughly the same amount of calories if they are of the same height, weight, and body fat percentage. So it isn't that the body is slowing down the calorie burning process…it is due to another factor.

Maintain Your Muscle to Maintain Your Metabolism

This is as simple as it gets. As adults become less physically active, their muscles shrink due to not being used. The combination of less fat free mass and less activity leads to inevitable weight gain (unless they reduce their calorie intake over time). The only reason why older people on average tend to burn less calories than younger people of the same weight…is that the older people have less lean body mass.

Is It Extremely Difficult to Maintain Lean Body Mass?

Honestly, maintaining muscle is really easy to do and doesn't take much effort at all. Maintaining the muscle you have is as simple as doing just about any type of resistance training a couple of times per week. It doesn't require a perfect diet and it doesn't require a massive amount of time in the gym. The only exception is for people who like to carry large amounts of muscle on their frame, which I highly suggest you avoid…especially if you want to age gracefully. For those who think maintaining muscle is tough, read this article I wrote about recent study on the subject: Maintain Muscle Mass On 800 Calories Per Day?

"Your Metabolism Won't Slow Down if You Don't"

This quote is from Clarence Bass, who I believe is in his 60's or 70's now…is still at a 6-8% body fat level. This quote from Clarence is one of the best motto's I have heard for staying lean for a lifetime. This is why exercise is so important…you can get lean with diet alone, but you will have a tough time staying lean if you don't exercise. If you just diet, you will eventually lose lean body mass and in a few decades your metabolism will eventually slow down. For long term health as well as looking and feeling great as you age, exercise is extremely important.

Note: I wrote this in response to the Time Magazine article that I referenced in my previous post: "Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin" – Analyzing This Time Magazine Article I didn't just want to challenge this time magazine article…I wanted to state a strong case for exercise. I think the author was thinking short-term when he was saying exercise didn't work for fat loss. If you want to stay lean for a lifetime, you need to develop an exercise habit of some sort…period.