Lift It to Lose It:
The Metabolic Benefits of Strength Training!

"You can't ever work too much because there is no such thing as being in too good condition. You can't ever lift too many weights because you can't ever be too strong." -Dan Gable

A safe strength training program combined with cardiovascular and flexibility training will give you optimal benefits.

 

Metabolism

Metabolism may be viewed as a furnace or fire in your body designed to burn calories. At rest that furnace is low, producing a resting metabolic rate. A resting metabolic rate represents the energy (calories) expended by the body to maintain life and normal body functions such as breathing, digestion and circulation. Like a fingerprint, metabolic rate is highly individual; people burn calories at different rates.

Factors Influencing Metabolism

Heredity: You are born with predetermined body shape and size. Bigger people burn more calories per minute

Gender: Women tend to have a larger ratio of fat to muscle, resulting in a lower metabolic rate.

Age: Metabolic rate peaks at age 24 and then steadily declines due to natural decreases in lean muscle mass that is seen with the aging process.

Unfortunately, we have no control over the above factors. However, there is one factor that we do have control over that will dramatically affect your metabolism, and that is strength training.

Fat burns fewer calories than lean tissue (muscle and organs).
· While lean tissues consume energy, fat tissue mainly stores it.
· People have higher metabolic rates primarily because they have a higher ratio of lean tissue to fat tissue.

Exercise: Anaerobic Metabolism
Anaerobic exercise (without oxygen) is defined as activities that require energy faster than the cardiovascular system can provide, thus stored glucose is used as the main source of energy. Anaerobic exercise builds both muscular strength & endurance. Because of the high-energy demand, anaerobic activities cannot be sustained for longer than 20 minutes.

The American College of Sports Medicine, The American Heart Association, and the Surgeon General's Report on Physical Activity and Health have recognized the importance of strength training as a key component to physical fitness and quality of life.

Strength Training Benefits and Tips
- Research reveals that metabolism slows down at the rate of 3 to 5% per decade, therefore every pound of muscle we lose lowers our metabolic rate by about 50 calories per day, and every pound or muscle we gain raises our rate by about 50 calories per day.
- Slows the loss of lean tissue. After age 20, adults who do not perform some type of strength training lose about one pound of muscle every 2 years.
- Maintain/increase muscular strength reducing the risk of injury and increasing performance power
- Slows the loss of bone mineral density thereby lowering the risk of osteoporosis
- Reduces low back pain and other joint ailments through developing muscular balance and improving body weight

Strength Training Guidelines

· Strength training should be done 2-3 times a week.

· Begin each workout session with a 5-10 minute warm-up. End each session with at least 5 minutes of stretching.

· Perform 10-15 repetitions of each exercise.

· Perform 1-3 sets of each exercise.

· The correct weight is one that fatigues the muscles in 10-15 repetitions.

· The speed of the movement should be slow and controlled.

· Be sure to breathe when strength training. Exhale on the exertion (the most difficult part) and inhale on the relaxation. This helps deliver oxygen to the working muscles, and keeps blood pressure at a safe level.

· Work from the largest muscles to the smallest.

· Never lock joints while lifting - there should always be a slight bend in the joint.
 

Along with strength training, try these metabolism boosters:

Quit Starving Yourself
When you deprive yourself of food, your body reacts protectively
against an ancient threat: famine. Your resting metabolic rate - the
calories your burn at rest - drops to a lower level to conserve
energy, and your body therefore works harder to preserve the
food it gets and stores it as fat. That's why people who regularly
diet have higher percentages of body fat than non-dieters do.

Exercise
Aerobic exercise raises your resting metabolic rate; thus offsetting the lowering effects of dieting and helping you burn more calories even when you are not exercising. Strength training is also important because it increases your lean muscle and therefore, your body has to burn more fat to meet the metabolic needs of all this high-energy muscle.

Exercise Large Muscle Groups
Choose high-energy exercise - such as walking, bicycling, cross-country skiing, swimming, step aerobics - that gives your arms and legs a good workout.

Vary Your Workout
Your body gets efficient at doing the same exercise day after day, and you burn fewer calories. Try alternating gym workouts with outside activities. Or change your routine every six weeks. You'll burn more energy and you won't get as bored.

Eat a Good Breakfast
People who skip breakfast burn 5% fewer calories than those who eat a healthy morning meal.

Eat Less Fat
Your body is very efficient at turning the fat you eat into body fat. It takes a lot more energy to turn carbohydrates into fat. That's why cutting back to less than 30 percent of your calories from fat can help reduce your body fat in addition to cutting total calories.

Now that you have the education, take action!

The Strength Solution
Exercising at Proper Intensity
Maintaining Exercise Progress