Extra clothes for cardio?

[BryanB]

Just thinking...
Is it beneficial to wear extra layers of clothes when doing cardio to increase body heat? Will the extra body temp promote any extra fat burning or is it just going to make you sweat more?

Most anytime you see the "pro's" doing cardio they are always wearing sweats.

[mentalflex]

I have never seen a real study done on wearing extra clothes and increased body heat to generate a greater thermic effect but I have read about individuals who use those slimming belt and even weight belts while doing cardio to increase heat and help shed excess water. Some claim that this has helped them by making their bodies warmer thus enabling them to burn fat faster.

Personally, after wrestling several years and doing cardio in sweat suits every day, I don't want to do anything to bring back those memories.

IMO, I honestly don't think this will increase your core temperature enough to make a significant difference. I'd love to hear from guys who have used such strategies.

[hammafist6]

I saw something from Ohio State Univ. that said that the only effect wearing extra clothing would have is to lose water weight. Didn't see the specific study but that's what they published as their results

[SNRose07]

I've always thought, but don't know if it would be correct, that extra clothes would keep the areas of "stubborn fat," that is, the ones with higher alpha receptors, warm. Keeping those areas warm would increase blood flow which is important for lipolysis. That is my understanding behind why yohimbine works, it increases blood flow to the high alpha receptor, stubborn fat areas. At least thats something I took away from Lyle McDonald's book. My thinking was that clothes would also facilitate this. Because of my thought on this, I have recently been pulling my underwear and shorts way up high to keep my lower belly and back fat covered and warm haha. You can actually feel the areas that are considered stubborn fat stay cooler to the touch when you are working up a sweat.

[Sammich]

I've always thought, but don't know if it would be correct, that extra clothes would keep the areas of "stubborn fat," that is, the ones with higher alpha receptors, warm. Keeping those areas warm would increase blood flow which is important for lipolysis. That is my understanding behind why yohimbine works, it increases blood flow to the high alpha receptor, stubborn fat areas. At least thats something I took away from Lyle McDonald's book. My thinking was that clothes would also facilitate this. Because of my thought on this, I have recently been pulling my underwear and shorts way up high to keep my lower belly and back fat covered and warm haha. You can actually feel the areas that are considered stubborn fat stay cooler to the touch when you are working up a sweat.

The reason they stay cooler is because adipose tissue is not very vascular at all. It doesn't get nearly the amount of blood to it that muscle does.

Fat burning has nothing to do with outside heat. All that is happening is the body responding to higher energy demands. If anything, cardio would be more efficient when done in a VERY cold room, because then you have to generate heat to stay warm, necessitating more energy production from mobilization of fat stores.

[Macho Man]

^^^^^^Haha, Urkell on the treadmill!! ! !

[SNRose07]

The reason they stay cooler is because adipose tissue is not very vascular at all. It doesn't get nearly the amount of blood to it that muscle does.

Fat burning has nothing to do with outside heat. All that is happening is the body responding to higher energy demands. If anything, cardio would be more efficient when done in a VERY cold room, because then you have to generate heat to stay warm, necessitating more energy production from mobilization of fat stores.

I agree with tossing the whole idea of trying to increase heat and therefor fat loss by wearing extra clothing, but what do you think of the idea of wearing the clothing to warm up the sites of poor vascularity trying to increase blood flow; expanding the blood vessels that are in there to maximize whatever blood flow you can? It kind of made sense to me, I just didn't know if anyone else thought that this might be on the right track or not.

[theroymccoy]

Yeah I don't think pros cover up to create a better thermic effect. I think it's more along the lines of keeping the joints warm and covering up the "final product" before show time.

If anything, staying TOO covered up may hinder performance...you'll hate cardio much sooner because you're uncomfortably hot. I know I would.

[BryanB]

I've always thought, but don't know if it would be correct, that extra clothes would keep the areas of "stubborn fat," that is, the ones with higher alpha receptors, warm. Keeping those areas warm would increase blood flow which is important for lipolysis. That is my understanding behind why yohimbine works, it increases blood flow to the high alpha receptor, stubborn fat areas. At least thats something I took away from Lyle McDonald's book. My thinking was that clothes would also facilitate this. Because of my thought on this, I have recently been pulling my underwear and shorts way up high to keep my lower belly and back fat covered and warm haha. You can actually feel the areas that are considered stubborn fat stay cooler to the touch when you are working up a sweat.

This was sort of my thought as well. I do my cardio at home and started just wearing shorts and no shirt. The lower back and love handle area gets relly cold when no shirt is worn. Completely opposite when I wear a shirt.

It was just a thought

[grit]

Sammich is right (for once )

I sometimes like covering up during cardio to stay warm as there's usually a fan blowing near the cardio machines and once my sweat starts rapidly evaporating, I get chilly.

I also throw on a hoody sometimes because it feels good to break a nice sweat.

[SNRose07]

This was sort of my thought as well. I do my cardio at home and started just wearing shorts and no shirt. The lower back and love handle area gets relly cold when no shirt is worn. Completely opposite when I wear a shirt.

It was just a thought

That's exactly what got me thinking about it... plus reading how yohimbine works. Since heating an area increases the flow of blood to that area, I figured taking yohimbine AND wearing something to keep the area worm would be a double wammy for increasing blood flow to that area and help facilitate lipolysis. URKEL STYLE!

[bbjeff86]

If anything, cardio would be more efficient when done in a VERY cold room, because then you have to generate heat to stay warm, necessitating more energy production from mobilization of fat stores.

THIS!

My wife's professor an experiment in our University's climate chamber where a student sat in the chamber in like 50 degree temperature in just shorts... after about 5 minutes he started shivering so violently that it looked like he was convulsing...

There is a video of it somewhere that perhaps I will try to find later.

That being said I think aside from water loss temperature is pretty irrelevant when talking about exercising in it and calories burnt.

[Sammich]

Also think about this: If ambient heat made you burn fat, EVERY SINGLE PERSON in the South would be skinny. And I think if there's one thing you should think of when you think of the Southern US, it's

FAAAAAAAAAAAAT

[J-Dar44]

Great point

[Jared Ragsdale]

Also think about this: If ambient heat made you burn fat, EVERY SINGLE PERSON in the South would be skinny. And I think if there's one thing you should think of when you think of the Southern US, it's

FAAAAAAAAAAAAT

So true.. Went to dallas.. you guys are just a little bit grosser than we are in the fatty department.