HERE'S WHAT I THINK

Want to get flabby? Go do some aerobic training...

Years ago, consensus came to be that the aerobic (moderate intensity, long duration) form of cardio was the best way to acheive fat loss. Since then, people have been getting fatter and fatter. Now I am not saying this alone is the reason that society has become as obese as it is. However, the mentality of low-calorie diets mixed with long duration cardio has contributed to where we are today. The only thing that low calorie dieting and aerobic cardio are good for is helping your body become a less effiecient fat-burner. Sounds nice, huh? Well it is not! All it means is that you body goes from being a Hummer to a Toyota, with fat being the fuel. You lose muscle mass and it becomes harder and harder to burn the fat because your body learns how to use less of it as fuel.
I'll give you the perfect example of two extremes to illustrate a point. Think of the body of a world-class sprinter, lean and muscular. Now think of the body of world-class marathoner, bones and skin, very little muscle. Now if you want to look lean and athletic, why would you train like a sack of bones???
It drives me nuts when I go to the gym and see the cardio bunnies on the treadmill for an hour, when they can get a MORE EFFECTIVE workout in 30 minutes or less. I chalk it up to lack of knowledge, so here I am trying to spread it. If you want to have an athletic physique, then train like an athlete. Most athletes go for short bursts of high intensity activity with rest periods in between. If you are able to read a magazine while you are doing cardio, save yourself the time and go home and read it on the toilet.