#TBT - DIET IS BATMAN AND EXERCISE IS ROBIN

A few years ago I used to write a blog about various things to do with health and strength and I've just been reading back through a few of them.  Some of them weren't half bad although my opinion on certain things has changed and I have definitely learnt more since then.  I thought I would share a few of few of the ones I enjoyed reading on a Thursday, partly because it will make me feel young and hip being able to hashtag 'TBT'

DIET IS BATMAN AND EXERCISE IS ROBIN

When it comes to losing weight and looking good, diet is Batman and exercise is Robin.  You need both to be truly kick-ass, but one definitely takes center stage.

For the sake of this argument, let's say that 1 pound of fat is 3500 calories (in truth it could be anywhere between 2500 and 400kcal).   Most fitness classes and workouts that last an hour will burn between 300 and 500 calories, so that means you would need to complete nearly 12 hours of exercise per week to burn 1 measly pound of fat, which is ridiculous.  Unless you are a professional athlete earning a five figure sum each week, that much exercise is unnecessary, will do you more harm than good and will make you hungry, real hungry, none of which is very productive to weight loss.  The food equivalent of 300kcal is a doughnut with chocolate sprinkles.  Now i like doughnuts and I like exercise, but if I wanted to shift some fat i would find it far easier to not eat a doughnut than slog it out in the gym for an hour.

It's not just about calories though, we can use Batman, I mean diet, to control hormones, such as insulin, leptin, grelin and mTOR  in order to maximise weight loss and lose more than 1 pound a week with far less effort.  Think of it as a utility belt full of Batarangs, napalm and smoke pellets. 

Robin isn't useless though, he's always there and pops up in sticky situations with a swoosh, pow, bang! to help beat the bad guys and this is exactly how you can use exercise.  Strength training should always be there 3-5 times per week (bodyweight, kettlebells or barbells) and a couple of times a week throw in 15-20 minutes of metabolic conditioning or high intensity work like sprints or kettlebell complexes to melt away the fat.

​So don't be joker (ha ha, get it?!) and get the Optimum Nutrition Diet and if you need some ideas for metabolic conditioning just let me know.

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