Q & A – Does Jogging Burn fat? Triceps Exercises? Protein Shakes?
In this edition, we discuss exercises for arms, protein shakes, and if jogging works for fat loss.
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Weight Loss Questions
Today’s question is specific to cardio. Our members wanted to know if jogging more often would help lose belly fat and assist in weight loss.
Q: How much does Jogging help with fat loss?
A: Any and all fitness can help with fat loss and weight loss. There is nothing specifically special about jogging, but it can be a good way to burn a few calories and improve cardiovascular health. Some people have a higher risk of injury with jogging, so make you start off slow and gradually build up.
If fat loss is your primary goal you should try to include both strength training and cardio training into your program to build muscle and improve cardiovascular conditioning. It is very possible to lose weight just to look and feel worse. You must maintain your strength and muscle while losing fat.
Final Tip: Most of your fat loss will come through dietary changes. Keep it simple and reduce your caloric intake while emphasizing lean protein sources, plenty of fruits and vegetables and eating complex carbohydrates.
Supplement Science
This question came from a member who was wondering how protein shakes work and if they are worth the high price tag they come with.
Q: Do protein shakes really do anything?
A: Protein shakes are a high protein meal that can help with muscle recovery by increasing the rate of muscle protein synthesis – but this only works if you are not already getting enough protein.
A lot of people are already eating enough protein and a protein shake may not actually be useful. Consuming more than is required may not have a benefit – although some data on “satiety scales” show that higher protein intake helps reduce appetite – keeping you more full for longer.
Training Diary- Arms
Q: What’s the best way to train arms?
A: Arms, like other smaller muscles, can be trained with higher frequency without entering injury territory. You may want to try and increase the overall volume. Based on your current routine this might mean adding a few extra sets, or a few extra reps to the sets you are doing.
For example… If you wanted to train the arms a simple way to do this would be to use bicep curls and tricep kickbacks. Both exercises can use 3-4 sets of 12-15 reps. If you want to focus a little more on triceps you can throw in things like dips or skull crushers/triceps extensions.
Things to Avoid: Some multi-joint exercises like push-ups and rows can be a good way of developing arms and reducing your time working out. Be smart when completing these exercises and keep the volume lower than single-joint exercises like curls and triceps extensions. Do not avoid these multi-joint exercises! You will get more out of less time by focusing on exercises that work a lot of muscles at once.
Detric Smith, CSCS, ACSM EP-C, Precision Nutrition Level 1 Coach
