If you like to run, you'll like this!

A while back, I posted about getting a sprinter's physique and linked back to the article I was referencing. Well, I never read the comments from that page until the other day and there was one VERY well thought out comment that I wanted to share. It would be something that a dedicated runner would read and pump their fist in the air saying, "RIGHT ON!!" But also, for me who favors weight training, it did make a lot of sense and put things into perspective for me (I will highlight my favorite parts). I feel like sometimes I can be a little too one-sided, closed minded, etc. And if I want to portray myself as an advocate of exercise, I need to accept that there are other ways to get fit than JUST lifting weights. I want to give fair representation to both sides.

Here is the comment....


"Jason, I like your strength training information and have used it, but as a 67 year old marathon running ectormorph I don’t think you and just about every other traiiner on the internet selling their programs are being totally honest with setting their readers expectations. I don’t care how much weight you lift and how many intervals you do, it’s dammed hard for an ectomorph and to a lessor extent an endomorph to look like a sprinter who has the natural body type of a mesomporph.
Comparing the body of a marathoner to a sprinter is like comparing apples to oranges, especially when so many compare fat marathoners who run 5-6 hour marathons to elite sprinters. Have you ever seen a race for non-elite sprinters? I have and some of them are fat as well and not very good. Same for a lot of bodybuilders. If any comparisons are to be made at all it should be between elite sprinters and elite marathoners. In that case, I doubt the % body fat is much different. Sure the sprinter has more muscle and a better physique but not necessarily any healthier. I realize that the only way to preserve muscle mass as we age is to do some type of strengthening exercise (personally I like deadlifts and rows) but it doesn’t have to be at the exclusion of a person’s other fitness or sporting interests.
The most important thing for people is to find an activity that they like and enjoy and they are more likely to enjoy and stick with something that they can do well. If it is running or biking instead of weightlifting they can lose plenty of weight doing that “cardio”. Sure many runners have problems and I’ve had my share over the last 25 years, but I’ve also had my share from lifting weights as well. There are probably as many or more people with screwed up shoulders from bench pressing as there are runners with screwed up knees.
In summary, IMHO the most important thing is to try and live like whatever kind of athlete you are best at and enjoy enough to stay with it."

This was absolutely brilliant and well written. And even though I am more of a fan of anaerobic exercise than aerobic, I believe he made some excellent points. Just because I don't like something as well as the next person might, doesn't mean I have the right to make it sound as if it's sub par.

I would also like to note that a very lovely woman I know is a dedicated runner. She runs many many miles each week. And I'm pretty sure she doesn't have an ounce more body fat than I do. In fact, she most likely has less. I would also like to add that she has some pretty muscular legs - not emaciated in any way. Although I'm not sure of what her workouts beyond steady state running are.

The way you look depends on a LOT of factors. What body type you are, the exercises you do, the food you eat, and the amounts of each, your metabolism....and on and on. There are fat marathoners, fat sprinters, fat weight lifters, fat cyclists. You can't look at one fat person on the treadmill and assume that the cardio they are doing is the reason they stay fat. What are they eating? And how much? What is their natural body type? There are a lot of variables to the equation. The point is - do what you like. Do what you are good at. Because that is what will motivate you to stick with it. Any exercise is good for you. Even gardening! Which - depending on what you are doing - can be pretty hard work!

I want to achieve something that cardio exclusively won't give me. This is why my main focus when working out is lifting. And despite working very hard to gain muscle, seeming to do EVERYTHING according to all the gurus, it's very VERY difficult for me to build more muscle than I've already got. Some people gain muscle easier than others, it's just a fact of life. I don't know if my body type will ever let me achieve what I am after. I've been at it for so long and never seem to change much any more. And if I'm at my max potential, that's all I can be. But I will keep doing what I do, because I like it and I can.