How to burn fat in the off-season

Long endurance rides to lose fat with one eye on triathlon racing weight. Add strength with big-gear work, paddles and gym work. That’s conventional thought.

But a recent review of the literature, led by Dr Mandy Hagstrom of the University of New South Wales, Australia, suggests that strength training’s equally good as cardio work at burning fat.

Analysis of past studies showed that, on average, subjects lost round 1.4% of their bodyweight through strength work alone, which, said the researchers, was comparable to longer, lower-intensity sessions.

The research team focused on measuring how much the total body fat percentage – that is, the amount of your body that’s made up of fat mass – changed after strength training programmes.

This measurement showed fat loss appears to be on par with endurance work, despite the endurance groups generally losing more weight. “But the scales don’t tell the full story, as the strength group replaced fat with muscle,” said Hagstrom.

For triathletes, we’d still suggest the bulk of your off-season training’s endurance-led, but it’s heartening to see you can still cut extra fat during gym sessions.

Illustration: Daniel Seex

James Witts Freelance sports writer and author

About

Former 220 Triathlon magazine editor James is a cycling and sports writer and editor who's been riding bikes impressively slowly since his first iridescent-blue Peugeot road bike back in the 80s. He's a regular contributor to a number of cycling and endurance-sports publications, plus he's authored four books: The Science of the Tour de France: Training secrets of the world’s best cyclists, Bike Book: Complete Bicycle Maintenance, Training Secrets of the World's Greatest Footballers: How Science is Transforming the Modern Game, and Riding With The Rocketmen: One Man's Journey on the Shoulders of Cycling Giants