‘Most women have 30% body fat’: Fitness trainer says stop focusing only on weight and do this instead

Rethinking Fitness: Beyond the Scale

In a recent social media advisory, fitness trainer Chadoy Leon has challenged the conventional reliance on the bathroom scale as the primary metric for health. By highlighting that 30% body fat is a common threshold for women, Leon emphasizes that the focus should shift from simple weight loss to body composition and metabolic health. This perspective aligns with modern physiological research, which suggests that long-term health outcomes are more closely linked to muscle mass and fat distribution than to total body weight alone.

The Hidden Cost of Excessive Cardio

One of the most provocative claims made by Leon is the potential detriment of excessive cardiovascular exercise for women. He argues that engaging in five days of cardio per week can lead to hormonal imbalances, specifically by spiking cortisol levels. Cortisol, often referred to as the stress hormone, is known to encourage the storage of visceral fat, particularly in the abdominal area. Furthermore, he posits that this cycle can inadvertently suppress estrogen and progesterone, potentially hindering the body's ability to maintain lean muscle mass.

The Case for Strength Training

Leon proposes a fundamental pivot toward strength training, suggesting that lifting heavy weights three times a week is superior to traditional cardio-heavy routines. Strength training is widely recognized for its ability to build metabolic tissue—muscle—which burns more calories at rest than fat tissue. By replacing high-impact running with heavy lifting, women can stimulate muscle growth, which may mitigate the muscle loss often associated with extreme caloric deficits.