Possible to be in good cardio shape but very fat?

[ms7dc]

I’m very fat, but, for 6 months, I have been working out very vigorously 4-5x/week with hard rowing and now lifting.

Cardio of 30-45min per workout at 75-80% max heart rate for the whole workout.

My resting heart rate is now consistently 58bpm.

Recently, I’ve been checked out for the bradycardia that fat people with low heart rate often have. Don’t have it. Recent labs and EKG are excellent.

Genuinely curious since my google search hasn’t found this scenario. I know I’m not the only one. lol.

Has anyone seen this scenario before?

 

[tongdtbds3]

@ms7dc Absolutely you can have a high V02 max and great cardio function if you are fat. Look at some football players. Doesn't mean you aren't at risk for the multitude of long term health conditions though.

 

[skye4him]

@tongdtbds3 Maybe high compared to other fat people? “Kg of body weight” is literally in the denominator of the unit for VO2 max. They do not have high VO2 max vs non fat people or less fat versions of themselves. I get what you’re saying but VO2 max isn’t the term to use.

 

[tongdtbds3]

@skye4him Thanks for correcting me. My observations come from observing performance in cycling both stationary and road. There are tons of people BMI 25+ that put out and sustain a LOT of watts. Their mortality is probably decreased significantly vs less conditioned peers of similar BMI.

 

[skye4him]

@tongdtbds3 Gotcha, that all makes sense and I agree. I’m also a larger/higher power cyclist. Big guys can put out a lot of watts and have excellent cardio function, but that doesn’t mean their VO2 max is high. I’d be a pro cyclist if I weighed 60 kg instead of 78 kg.

 

[mvelis15]

@skye4him The hills don't lie when you're cycling!!

 

[ecce]

@tongdtbds3 I think bmi is a bad measurement. For instance my bmi is 26+ and I’m sub 15% body fat. My VO2 is about 40 but I haven’t really trained specifically to raise it

 

[tongdtbds3]

@ecce You're right it is a bad measurement. 55% of people 'normal' by BMI actually carry excessive bodyfat. Only 5% of people classified as "overweight" (like you) actually have a healthy body composition. It's flawed in that it far too frequently indicates to people that they don't need to mind their body composition. People want to think that everyone with a BMI 25+ is actually just really strong and muscular and BMI is broken, but the data says they're usually wrong. You need to acknowledge that you are an outlier and your anecdotal body composition isn't reflective of societal norms. What BMI is good for is identifying with a high degree of precision when someone is at serious risk of metabolic disorders, and that's what 'obese' designation comes in handy for. If you're 'obese' by BMI, there's a 99.8% chance you are carrying excess fat. Only 2 people out of 1000 are jacked enough that BMI misclassifies them.

 

[ecce]

@tongdtbds3 That makes sense. You could be in the “normal” bmi range but have a poor body composition and vice versa. I suppose it can be useful for some in conjunction with other markers of health.

 

[tongdtbds3]

@ecce Right, it's a very easy screening tool, but people like to point to edge cases where it misclassifies and say it's worthless, especially if it has 'bad news' for them. BMI + waist circumference would be a much more accurate way to identify people with adiposity issues, but that's a bit more 'invasive' than just weight + height I guess.

 

[mw99nd]

@tongdtbds3 You're not qualified to give health advice with made up statistics.. Also you shouldn't be riding a bicycle on the road, it's unsafe and you become a hazard to other drivers. I personally write my city council to keep bike lanes off the road to save road space.

 

[tongdtbds3]

@mw99nd Woah what's up! LOL I got in your head huh? Have a nice evening

 

[mw99nd]

@tongdtbds3 Thanks I'm just correcting you. I wrote my city council years back about no bike lanes. Don't want any pests on the road

 

[ms7dc]

@tongdtbds3 Yea, I know the risks. Trying to lose the weight. Slowed down metabolism sucks. Day by day.

 

[tongdtbds3]

@ms7dc Been there! Enjoying fitness along the way makes it so much better and definitely improves your health along the way too. Stoked for your journey!

 

[ms7dc]

@tongdtbds3 Thanks for the encouragement. I’ve been discouraged at my fatness and have considered saying fuck it.

 

[tongdtbds3]

@ms7dc Oh man no way! Don't give up. If you feel stagnant mix up your program or try a new sport. Keep it going! I lost 120lb from my biggest and being able to enjoy sports and fitness has been the best part of being leaner. I get so pumped up at the gym when I see a person working hard to improve themselves at the gym, I know what it means and how hard it is

 

[ms7dc]

@tongdtbds3 Thank you. I feel better health wise. Physically, I just look like shit. Lol.

 

[tongdtbds3]

@ms7dc Been there. How much do you need to lose?

 

[goutam]

@ms7dc I felt the same for so long and then one day, almost magically...I didn't look like shit anymore and it felt fucking amazing. So, you can look forward to that if you keep going