[silver_pilate]

Reguardless of how you tailor your workout routine, you will likely see results in the first month of working out. I've seen people loose up to three pounds per week after they began working out.

There are many, MANY different workout protocols out there, each one claiming to be THE way to workout. It all really depends on your goals.

One plus of working out is that no matter which way you choose to go, you're likely going to see some strength increases. A lot of people out there don't engage in weight training simply because they're not wanting to "bulk up." What a load of crap. Sure, you will see some muscle hypertrophy with weight training, but it takes a very specific type of high intesity, short duration, maximal effort lifting to see significant hypertrophy, not to mention the diets these body builders are on. Studies have shown that weight training is one of the best ways out there to loose weight. This is because it typically keeps your VO2 levels in the mid-range of around 45-50%.

When you exercise, the intensity of exercise will determine the type of substrate that is burned. Very high intesity exercise (in the 70-80% VO2 range) will burn predominantly carbohydrates in the form of glucose and later glycogen as glucose stores are depleted. This is because the glycolytic system is the quickest form of energy production other than the ATP-Creatine Phosphate system (which is depleted within the first 10-20 seconds of exercise).

(If you don't want to read some pretty technical stuff...skip this paragraph)

In other words, when you demand energy from your body, it complies with the most efficient method. When at rest, for instance, your energy demands are low. At this time, the body can afford to use protein as a primary energy substrate. Oxidative deamination breaks the proteins into amino acids which are then either used to build glucose or converted directly into pyruvate to be converted to Acetyl-CoA which will be used in the Kreb's cycle to produce 6NADH-H+ and 2FADH+ which are then used as hydrogen carriers to the electron transport system to produce large quantities of ATP . When working at submaximal levels up to around 45% of the VO2 max, the body predominantly uses the betaoxidation of triglycerides (fats) to produce energy by converting them to pyruvate to undergo the same process. Recall that pyruvate will either be converter to Acetyl-CoA in the presence of O2, or the hydrogen's carried by the NADH-H+'s will be transfered to the pyruvate via the LDH enzyme to form lactic acid. If lactic acids builds up in the system, it lowers the pH which has an inhibitory effect on the enzymes of metabolism (anaerobic muscle fatigue).

All of that technical jargon boils down to this: weight training is great for weight loss and fat burning because it typically keeps your VO2 levels in the 45% range where fats are burned as the predominant substrate for energy. Those people who jump on the treadmill and balls-to-the-walls it for 20 minutes aren't really burning fat. They are burning mainly carbohydrates. They are pushing their bodies into that 75-90% VO2 level. Eventually they will hit "the wall." At this point, the carb stores of the body are depleted and they're not going to effectively continue. Remember, fat burns in the flame of carbohydrates. Keep your exercise intensities moderate for best fat burning results.

That's not to say that hard running is bad. On the contrary, it's great for cardiovascular endurance and overall health. Cardio training will have the effects of lowering heart rate and blood pressure within the first couple of months. It just isn't the best for burning fat.

If you're still reading at this point...I applaud you for your persistance and dedication . Wow...I didn't even have to look in my notes (got a midterm in clincal applied phys. on this stuff tomorrow).

--nathan