Calories: Burn, Baby, Burn
You burn most of your calories when you exercise. Despite conventional wisdom, the answer is “false.” You burn between 65% and 75% of your daily caloric intake when sleeping, eating, driving the kids to school…living life. Only 15% to 20% or so of one’s daily caloric expenditure comes from exercising. Each pound of weight gain is the result of your metabolism storing 3,500 more calories than it burned. Conversely, when you lose a pound, your metabolism has run a 3,500 calorie deficit. The best way to boost your metabolism is to increase your muscle mass. Strength training—pumping iron will do this for you.
More Muscles Burn More Calories
According to the March 2003 Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter,
muscle mass decreases about one percent per year after age 45 or so. This is
why weight gain creeps up on us slowly, not on our radar screens until it’s
too late. Each pound of muscle burns between 30 and 50 calories per day…whether
you exercise or not. Fifty calories a day is less than half a Snickers
bar. So what? Just gaining one extra pound of muscle will cause you to lose
over 5 pounds per year---that equates to losing 25 pounds in 5 years. During
a twelve-week strength training program, it is not unusual to gain a pound
or two of muscle and lose four pounds of fat. Losing two to three inches
around the waist is not unusual either. Since extra weight creeps up
on us a little at a time, losing it slowly is the proven way to keep it off---for
good. By the way, ladies, you will not “bulk up.” Your muscle mass
will be lean and smooth.
Additional Benefits
Research indicates there are other good reasons to increase your muscle mass:
What Works Best
The key to growing muscle is to lift weights heavy enough to be very difficult
on the last few repetitions while maintaining proper form. Slow, steady
and progressive increases in the amount of weight and the number of repetitions
are important factors in reaching your goals. Once you’re able to successfully
lift the same weight for several consecutive workout sessions, it’s time
to increase the intensity to make lifting difficult again. This is how muscles
grow and get stronger.
Time to Burn
“I don’t have time to exercise”
is the reason most cited for not beginning or sticking with an exercise program. There is no need to spend hours and
hours at the gym. With proper coaching, a complete fitness session can
be completed in an hour. Time is muscle, and muscle burns calories. There’s
a lot of misinformation about fitness out there, so don’t go it alone. A
certified personal trainer can help set your goals, develop a safe training program,
determine the exercises and the amount of weight you should lift, chart your
progress, and tell you when it’s time to advance to the next level. We
will help you learn it, so your muscles can help you burn it.
Great News! More muscle burns more calories! And there are more benefits too! Improved posture, increased balance and mobility, improved functional fitness, prevention of falls and stimulated bone growth.
