Restructuring Muscle to Burn Fat
by Robert Warren Hess
Robert at the Velo Sports Center in Carson, CA after completing his first ride around the world with board members Scott Peterson (left) and Melissa Lanfre (right).
There is an active discussion within the cycling community about training while fasting to train the body to use more fat as fuel. The result would be a leaner body [fat does do much more than go along for the ride] and a greater power to weight ratio.
I’m very interested in this because at 5′ 10″ and 153 pounds, I’m still at 21% body fat according to my latest Body-spec scan. That’s an astounding 30 pounds of me that isn’t doing anything? Well, not really true. I think we need about 9-10% body fat for normal body operation, so I’ve really got just about 10 pounds to lose to get to my optimal weight of 140 [which was my weight when I graduated from college].
Pez Cycling just published a great article on this subject. The bottom line: “More research is still required to establish a robust causal relationship between the metabolic mechanisms that are being stimulated and improved performance on the road. However, restricting or depleting carbohydrate before low-intensity sessions may be a potent stimulus to enhance fat metabolism.”
Read the full article here: “Remodellng Muscle to Burn Fat.”
Why This Matters to Me
My event is the 500 meter time trial and I need to cover those 500 meters in less than 39 seconds to have a chance for a spot on the podium. I’ve trimmed about all of the weight I can from my equipment and now it’s time to trim the excess fat.
How I plan to do this …
- Use fasted training
- Use my magic NutriBullet more – I love this thing
- Track my statistics – weight and performance
- Implement my Muse program [watch this blog for my results]
- Track my results with Body-Spec
- Train more!!!
Questions of the Day
- Have you tried fasted training?
- What were your results?
