True or False You Can’t Outwork a Bad Diet”

Years ago, in the old RKC system, we’d joke around with a saying, “You can’t out-snatch a donut.”

It’s the same thing as “You can’t out-work a bad diet.”

In other words, you can train hard, but if you [still] eat like a pig, you’re not going to see any changes in your appearance.

In other words, you may get stronger, even a tad more muscular, but you’ll still be soft.

And I think many people have accepted this as common wisdom.

But is this actually TRUE?

Is that why we secretly hold out hope that you actually CAN -

“Watch in amazement as high-rep kettlebells let you hack the fat off your meat -- without the dishonor of aerobics and dieting” (Dragon Door advertisement for the “The Russian Kettlebell Challenge, Xtreme Fitness for Hard Living Comrades,” c. 2002)

Like some of the early kettlebell training adopters claimed they had on the old DragonDoor forum circa 2000-02.

Unfortunately, scientific research and most experience tell us that for most people - yes, it’s true, you can't outwork a bad diet.

What about the rest?

I’ve run across several protocols in the past decade that, when I’ve tested, produce reliable fat loss results.

Without dieting.

But it’s “tricky.”

Why?

Three Reasons:

1- Effort level

Some people work harder than others.

And hard work factors into the equation.

2- Food compensation

Some people’s appetites increase after intense exercise, so they eat more food than they normally would.

So, as you’d expect, they don't see any fat loss.

3- Workout Duration

Sometimes, the duration of the workout triggers #2 above. Especially the longer workouts.

A Major Key is (not the only one), as the old Dragon Door ad suggests -

High(er) rep ballistics.

Swings.

Snatches. (Especially in the “old days.)

Cleans + Jerks. (Or Clean + Push Presses.)

The trick is to go long enough, heavy enough, and fast enough to get out of breath - but not too long.

And rest enough between sets to keep force production high on the next set.

Research studies by Kraemer et al, (and others) demonstrated that this type of training increased circulating levels of your two major anabolic / fat burning hormones:

Testosterone (T) and Growth Hormone (GH).

Both burn fat.

Or trigger the body to burn more fat.

(And, yes, in case you’re wondering, both can build muscle - again, assuming the right loads - sets, reps, rest, weights, duration - trigger their release from your training.)

GH in particular does the following:

1- Breaks down triglycerides stored in your fat cells into fatty acids to be used for fuel.

2- Increases metabolic rate - which means you burn more calories, and therefore more fat.

3- Opposes insulin’s action. This leads to reduced blood sugar uptake by your fat cells and promotes fat breakdown.

4- Supports / contributes to lean muscle mass development, which increases metabolism and contributes to fat loss.

So, you can see, GH is critically important for burning fat.

And if you want to burn fat using KBs, it’s in your best interest to trigger the release of GH in and from your training.

And that’s probably the type of training / workouts the guys on the old DD forum were using to strip off body fat “without the dishonor of dieting or aerobics.”

In other words, IF you program correctly, you actually CAN out-snatch a donut / out-work a bad diet.