Proof That Exercise Does Not Work
by Tyron Piteau
September 9th, 2010 11:55 AM
Shocked? The title either made you think, “No wonder all this exercise stuff hasn't done anything; it doesn't work,” or “Great, another reason I don't need to exercise.”
Before you get upset or excited, let me qualify that statement: exercise alone doesn't work. You knew there was a catch. But, without dietary intervention, exercise doesn't have much of an impact on the way you look, nor how much unwanted body fat you lose – even exercising 14 hours per week! Shocking, isn't it?
THE EVIDENCE
In a research study recently conducted at the University of Texas, approximately 100 initially sedentary individuals were separated into two groups: one to remain sedentary, and the other to begin exercising.
The exercise group was given a program that amounted to about five and a half to six hours of exercise per week for 12 weeks; the non-exercisers did nothing but show up for the measurement sessions. Each week, the exercise group came together for three weight training sessions and two group exercise/interval sessions.
Both groups did not have their eating altered as the purpose of the study was to test the effects of exercise alone – without diet. The ultimate question was, "Without dietary intervention, can exercise alone reshape a person's body?"
At the end of the 12-week study, they got their answer: "Not so much," as the researchers put it.
As surprising as it sounds, that's what was found. Without dietary control, 12 weeks of high intensity training produced a fairly disappointing one per cent loss of body fat. In terms of real numbers, members of the exercise group lost only one pound of fat and gained two pounds of lean muscle vs. the sedentary group.
Frankly, if that were me, I'd be rather disappointed. Losing only a mere one pound of fat would almost make you think, "What's the use."
Just in case you think this is one isolated study, let me give you another. In 2003, Dr. Gary Homann at Lincoln University conducted a study involving 56 women between the ages of 14 and 17. The idea of the study was to have the women exercise for about 14 hours per week (two hours per day of activities such as hiking, running, circuit training, step aerobics and basketball) while adhering to the USDA Food Guide for four to six weeks.
Before and after the study, a host of measures were recorded and as would be expected: cardiovascular fitness, muscular strength and endurance, agility, and flexibility all improved.
Sounds good so far doesn't it? Now that would be great if those were your goals. However, if your goals were to change the way you look, and lose weight and unwanted fat, you'd be sorely disappointed.
Instead of losing body weight and fat, these girls, on average, gained six pounds, increased waist circumference by half an inch, increased their hip circumference by three-quarters of an inch, and increased their body fat by over half a per cent. Not what you'd expect after going on an exercise binge of 14 hours per week.
“But weren't they following a nutrition plan?” you may be asking. In fact they were. The participants were following the recommendations of the USDA Food Guide as outlined at the time of the study. However, that included six to 11 servings of breads, cereals and pastas per day. Connection? I think so.
The people I see don't come to me just to chat (although we do have some good conversations), but to actually change their bodies in noticeable, measurable ways. They want their clothes to fit better. They want to go from overweight to normal weight. They want to be able to walk up stairs without getting winded. They want to lower their cholesterol. But without a sound nutritional plan, this won't happen.
THE SOLUTION
Unfortunately you can't get away from it. If you want to look better, feel better and live better, exercise alone just won't cut it. You do need to exercise, don't get me wrong. But more importantly, to get any noticeable, measurable results you have to follow a sound nutritional plan of what to eat, how much to eat and when to eat.
If not, you simply will not get the body composition results you are looking for. And as we've seen from the studies, you may in fact get worse!
Before you get upset or excited, let me qualify that statement: exercise alone doesn't work. You knew there was a catch. But, without dietary intervention, exercise doesn't have much of an impact on the way you look, nor how much unwanted body fat you lose – even exercising 14 hours per week! Shocking, isn't it?
THE EVIDENCE
In a research study recently conducted at the University of Texas, approximately 100 initially sedentary individuals were separated into two groups: one to remain sedentary, and the other to begin exercising.
The exercise group was given a program that amounted to about five and a half to six hours of exercise per week for 12 weeks; the non-exercisers did nothing but show up for the measurement sessions. Each week, the exercise group came together for three weight training sessions and two group exercise/interval sessions.
Both groups did not have their eating altered as the purpose of the study was to test the effects of exercise alone – without diet. The ultimate question was, "Without dietary intervention, can exercise alone reshape a person's body?"
At the end of the 12-week study, they got their answer: "Not so much," as the researchers put it.
As surprising as it sounds, that's what was found. Without dietary control, 12 weeks of high intensity training produced a fairly disappointing one per cent loss of body fat. In terms of real numbers, members of the exercise group lost only one pound of fat and gained two pounds of lean muscle vs. the sedentary group.
Frankly, if that were me, I'd be rather disappointed. Losing only a mere one pound of fat would almost make you think, "What's the use."
Just in case you think this is one isolated study, let me give you another. In 2003, Dr. Gary Homann at Lincoln University conducted a study involving 56 women between the ages of 14 and 17. The idea of the study was to have the women exercise for about 14 hours per week (two hours per day of activities such as hiking, running, circuit training, step aerobics and basketball) while adhering to the USDA Food Guide for four to six weeks.
Before and after the study, a host of measures were recorded and as would be expected: cardiovascular fitness, muscular strength and endurance, agility, and flexibility all improved.
Sounds good so far doesn't it? Now that would be great if those were your goals. However, if your goals were to change the way you look, and lose weight and unwanted fat, you'd be sorely disappointed.
Instead of losing body weight and fat, these girls, on average, gained six pounds, increased waist circumference by half an inch, increased their hip circumference by three-quarters of an inch, and increased their body fat by over half a per cent. Not what you'd expect after going on an exercise binge of 14 hours per week.
“But weren't they following a nutrition plan?” you may be asking. In fact they were. The participants were following the recommendations of the USDA Food Guide as outlined at the time of the study. However, that included six to 11 servings of breads, cereals and pastas per day. Connection? I think so.
The people I see don't come to me just to chat (although we do have some good conversations), but to actually change their bodies in noticeable, measurable ways. They want their clothes to fit better. They want to go from overweight to normal weight. They want to be able to walk up stairs without getting winded. They want to lower their cholesterol. But without a sound nutritional plan, this won't happen.
THE SOLUTION
Unfortunately you can't get away from it. If you want to look better, feel better and live better, exercise alone just won't cut it. You do need to exercise, don't get me wrong. But more importantly, to get any noticeable, measurable results you have to follow a sound nutritional plan of what to eat, how much to eat and when to eat.
If not, you simply will not get the body composition results you are looking for. And as we've seen from the studies, you may in fact get worse!
