This week’s STRONG Idea is: move more to burn more, or said differently: exercise to burn more calories.  And I’m not just talking about the calories posted on the treadmill at the gym.  Metabolism: that’s what it’s all about!

 

www.freedictionary.com defines metabolism as: 1. The chemical processes occurring within a living cell or organism that are necessary for the maintenance of life. In metabolism some substances are broken down to yield energy for vital processes while other substances, necessary for life, are synthesized.

 

Sounds pretty complicated!  Let’s simplify.  Metabolism is the energy expended to maintain your body, or the calories burned to maintain life.  More specifically, basal metabolism can be defined as the calories burned when your body is at rest.  You may burn 200 or more calories during your regular workout, but you are likely burning over 1200 calories just to exist.  So, the question becomes, how can one increase basal metabolism and burn more calories all day everyday, even while sleeping?

 

 

The bottom line is basal metabolism can be increased through the right kind of regular exercise:

 

Should I focus on cardiovascular exercise or strength training?

This is a common question — and the answer is both!  Cardiovascular exercise burns more calories during the short term in the form of calories burned during the session and a boost in caloric burn for a period immediately following the session.  Strength training builds muscles and boosts metabolism in the long run.  According to www.webmd.com, muscles burn more calories than fat.  Unfortunately, research has not been able to show us exactly how much more.  A pound of muscle burns anywhere from 6 to 35 calories per day, while a pound of fat probably burns only 1 calorie per day.  Without getting too caught up in the numbers, we can be sure that adding lean muscle through strength training will boost overall basal metabolism.

 

To make your workouts super efficient, include both cardiovascular exercise and strength training in the same workout session.  In addition, interval training is most likely the most efficient means to increase metabolism. Interval training involves exercise bouts performed at a high intensity for a short time, with short breaks in between. 

 

How much of my overall caloric burn happens through basal metabolism?

Just to clarify, basal metabolism happens all the time: While you are sleeping, eating, exercising, watching TV, playing with your kids, etc. Wikipedia tells us that approximately 70 percent of energy expenditure comes from basal metabolism, with the remaining coming from activity and digestion. The take away here is that an efficient basal metabolism is the answer to burning calories.

How intense should my workout be?

This one is a little tricky, but suffice it to say that the higher your intensity level, the more calories you burn both during the exercise session and in the long run.

A more intense workout increases your lean muscle mass at a faster rate.

Now you have the answer to half of the metabolism equation.  Tune in next week for information on how eat right to complete the equation.