Sprinting VS Jogging
The Subconscious Fat of Which is Better
Well, a picture is worth a thousand words, so they say. I can’t think of anything better to illustrate this than how sprinters and joggers look.
Mr. Skeptical adds, “Well, I’m sure many of our readers aren’t satisfied with pictures alone. We need information. We want to know why sprinters and joggers look so different.”
I hope he’s done, but instead, Mr. Skeptical stands up and points an accusatory finger at me. Adding, “And I know you lean towards sprinting over jogging, but you better admit the last time you sprinted, you pulled a hamstring.”
I take a deep breath and wonder why I ever allowed Mr. Skeptical into my life. Did I ever agree to him interfering like this? He’s always so confrontational and doubts everything I say. I can’t remember. Did I have a choice? Do any of us?
Subconscious Fat at 30,000 feet
“I’ll address my pulled hamstring and how to prevent that in the future. Nevertheless, Mr. Skeptical, would you agree that most sprinters look healthier than joggers?”
He sits back down and folds his arms. “Yes, most sprinters look healthier than joggers. I agree that most people would want to look like the sprinter Usain Bolt over Mo Farah.”
Subconscious Fat at 10,000 feet
It’s not just the outside that looks better in sprinters; it’s the inside too. However, Dr. Sean O’Mara, the doctor in the pic below, states that visceral fat is never taught in medical school. In other words, almost all medical doctors would say that the images below are totally normal.
The pic above is from The Ultimate Health Podcast. Dr. Sean O’Mara puts up two images of an individual who was a jogger on the left. That same individual switched from jogging to sprinting, and the MRI on the right is what his visceral fat looked like after just two months of sprints.
Where Dr. O’Mara has the pointer is subcutaneous fat, which is good healthy fat–which happens to be the fat removed via liposuction, so it’s not a good idea to do that! All fat shows up white on the MRI.
The bad fat, called visceral fat, is the red-circled areas inside and around the organs. Dr. O’Mara states visceral fat is the number one indicator for almost all chronic health problems.
Once the individual quit endurance running and only sprinted, the visceral fat decreased dramatically.
Subconscious Fat at Eye-Level
Mr. Skeptical sighs, “Fine, but I want to know why.”
“Dr. O’Mara says processed foods, alcohol, poor sleep, stress, and endurance exercises as the main culprits.”
“I never would’ve thought endurance exercises to be the cause of more visceral fat.”
“I’m not surprised at all. About six months ago, we posted Can Cardio Workouts Make You Gain Weight? I hate giving Mr. Skeptical credit for what’s mostly my work in writing these posts. All he does is criticize my work!
“Yes, I vaguely remember.”
“In that post, I discuss how cortisol (the stress hormone) favors fat gain over muscle gain in endurance training. If jogging for a long time, the body will adapt to that. The body’s innate intelligence will favor fat because it’s an easy fuel source and weighs less than muscle to go further for longer.”
Practical Suggestions and Conclusions
If you want to burn fat and gain muscle, do sprints or high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and avoid endurance exercises. HIIT exercises include jump roping, box jumps, burpees, and clap push-ups.
“But wait. Do you want others to pull a hamstring like you did a few weeks ago?”
I take in a deep breath, suppressing murderous thoughts. Why does Mr. Skeptical always call me out? WHY? “I’m searching for a small hill I can slowly start to practice sprints in. If sprinting uphill, it decreases the chances of pulling a hamstring.”
Do the right exercises if you want to lose fat and live longer.
Be aware.
PS Full disclosure: Chat GPT was used to research and enhance this post.
PSS I wanted to share another Substack post that had an impact on me this week. Check it out by Joyce Wycoff Gratitude Mojo.
Very interesting !!!!!!