As a triathlete you probably won’t believe what I am about to say.
You probably think that the best way to burn fat is to burn more calories which is why a lot of people actually get into the sport.
And to some extent this will work, usually at the beginning when you make the change from sedentary to fully fledged triathlete.
The reason it works then is the body is in shock and it often has a bit to burn in fat.
The trouble comes as you get leaner and as your metabolism changes or should I say slow down.
You see, what happens with excess aerobic exercise and calorie restriction is that the body adapts.
It doesn’t want to die which is what would happen if you exercised too much and ate too little – you would perish.
So, to prevent this it slows down its metabolic rate – the rate at which you burn energy.
In short this means when you first did that 5k run you may have burnt 300 calories but now it may only be 260.
This is a good thing for survival and performance but not leanness!
This is why workouts with such names as metabolic conditioning have become popular. They insinuate that your metabolism will increase as a result of them
It’s hard through when you are doing so much training to imagine doing any more.
Instead of this metabolic work I would recommend some strength work, which will allow you to keep your muscle, which will allow you to burn more calories at rest.
Meaning your metabolism doesn’t slow as much.
The strength work will also help you prevent injury and keep some shape and tone to your bodies appearance.
A good workout would be:
Alternate:
A1 – Back Squat – 4×8
A2 – Chin up/Lat pull down – 4×8
B1 – Walking lunge – 4×20
B2 – Bench Press – 4×8
That will hit all your major muscle groups.
If you want something more specific to you, hit the link and I’ll be in touch.
http://www.nutri-tri.com/strength-conditioning-for-triathletes/
Jamie “metabolism of a race horse” Leighton