Some bodybuilders put on excess body fat in the off-season due to the increase in caloric intake and reduced cardiovascular activity. Most bodybuilders increase caloric intake while neglecting cardio, causing too much storage of body fat. Bodybuilders can still eat large amounts of calories while keeping of excess body fat.
Researchers wanted to investigate whether the level of physical activity would have an impact on the metabolic effects of a high-caloric intake by leading to a different distribution of fat reserves. The researchers examined a high-caloric diet by feeding subjects an extra 2,000 calories a day and had subjects either perform either 1,500 or 10,000 steps per day for a 14-day period.
At the end of the study, the researchers found that MRI scans showed a significant (30%) increase in visceral adipose tissue in the low-activity group but no change in the high-activity group. Glucose levels were also much higher in the low-activity group, which is indicative of a pre-diabetic pathological state. The researchers concluded that normal daily physical activity can prevent increases in the amount of visceral adipose tissue and inhibit the deterioration of glucose and lipid metabolism in the presence of a hyper-caloric diet, suggesting that a level of habitual physical activity may prevent some of the pathophysiological symptoms associated with obesity.
Bodybuilders in the off-seasonmay want to keep their cardio sessions in order to prevent excessive increases in adipose tissue during highcaloric off-season periods.
