Posted by R Bear on May 04, 2001 at 12:22:54:
In Reply to: Excessive Fat means you are out of shape posted by Don Lake on May 04, 2001 at 12:00:12:
While there is certainly some correlation between being fat and being out of shape (I happen to be neither), there is not anything like a one to one relationship. As an extreme example, pregnant women gain a lot of fat with out any loss of cardiovascular fitness. An example that is more applicable to divers follows: You are about to go on a live aboard dive trip after taking the winter off. You are 20 pounds over weight and you are unable to jog a mile. Start an exercise program two months before the trip. MANY people will find that in two months they have lost very little weight but they have markedly improved their cardiovascular fitness. In my opinion, if you had to choose between losing weight on a diet while gaining no cardivascular fitness (which is easily possible on calorie restrictive diets) or maintaining weight but getting in better shape by exercising, the diver will be better served by picking the second option.
That last part is my opinion.
The statement that a person can improve cardiovascular fitness without losing weight is a fact. The statement that a person can lose fat (and usually muscle at the same time) by dieting alone and not improve cardiovascular fitness is also a fact.
Think about it. [:]-)
Ron