We can workout to expend energy. That energy expenditure will invoke a response from the body expressing a need for energy to properly recover. It will take stored energy (body fat) or supplied energy (food) to recover and adapt to the work applied.
If our energy balance is in a deficit – Burning more calories than you’re taking in. Over TIME…our body will start to utilize stored fat as energy. That is the process of thermogenesis and that is how we get rid of body fat.
You’ve probably heard, “you can’t outwork a bad diet” and that’s exactly why. If we have stored fat and we consume excess calories then no matter how intense we workout we will not move the needle in a positive direction.
WHAT’S GREAT ABOUT EXCESS BODY FAT IS DURING THIS TIME, WE CAN FOCUS ON PERFORMANCE.
Graded exposure over time, increasing intensity to meet endurance, speed, power, strength or hypertrophic demands/goals. Excess energy means we have a higher likelihood to recover from that demands placed on the body. Repairing tissues (even bones) to the extent of making them more resilient, robust and increasing size and/or density.
Additionally, focusing on performance actually burns more fat over time due to its high caloric needs to meet the demands of the individual. It also provides more mental stimulation and engagement because we have more structured goals in the gym besides waiting (wishing) for the needle to move. Which can largely be demotivating depending on your understanding of this process.
We miss out on so many positives of quality training focusing on fat loss. It almost undoubtedly leads to low calorie diets, mixed with excessively long or higher frequency workouts. All being unsustainable over time, and a lot of cases leading to reversal of progress.
Fat loss is a fools errand.
IMPROVING PERFORMANCE IS THE WAY.
That is why we focus on TRAINING, not working out.