Metabolism 101
“Simply put, metabolism is the process of breaking down proteins, carbohydrates, and fats to yield the energy your body needs to maintain itself. The rate of your metabolism depends on the interaction between the number of calories you consume, the number of calories you burn while eating and exercising, and the calories you burn based on your individual genetic makeup.
How can you increase your metabolism? Well, there’s not much you can do about your genes (they only account for a measly 5% of total daily calorie consumption anyway), which means the best way to rev up your metabolism is to increase your body’s need for energy.
“Your body can burn calories from either fat, protein, or carbs,” says John Berardi, PhD, CSCS, president of Precision Nutrition, and author of The Metabolism Advantage. “Of course, you’d rather it burn fat calories, but your body isn’t wasteful; it will burn fat only when it needs energy.” One such time is during exercise, but it’s difficult to exercise all the time, especially if you’re stuck at a desk all day. Luckily, your body requires extra energy at other times, too, such as during the first hour or two after intense exercise like interval training and weight lifting. This is called the “afterburn” effect, Berardi says, and it can last for up to 24 hours. Strength training with heavier than usual weights uses up energy, too — in order to repair small (healthy) muscle tears.
And simply being more muscular boosts your body’s energy needs. Each extra pound of muscle you carry can burn up to 50 additional calories just to maintain itself — and with no effort on your part. You can also increase your metabolism by eating foods that require extra energy to digest and metabolize; for example, protein. Your body burns twice as many calories digesting high-protein foods as it does foods that are high in carbs or fat, he says.” - WebMD
“I don’t strength train because I’ll bulk up like a man… I don’t want to look like a body builder!”
“News flash ladies – it’s physically impossible for you to bulk up without hormone treatment or some other artificial intervention. Women lack the growth hormones required to get as muscular as men. We simply don’t produce the amount of testosterone required to gain muscle mass like men (or female body builders who are taking supplements to support growth) do.
The fact of the matter is, if you want to be fit, lean and toned, you need to do more than just cardio. You should be incorporating strength training workouts into your routine IN ADDITION to your cardio workouts! The COMBINATION of cardio and strength training is what will get you the results that you’re looking for – feeling strong and looking lean!
But that’s not all! There are so many benefits for women that come from incorporating strength training into an exercise regimen:
- Improved muscle tone (and increased self-esteem)! I don’t know about you, but I always feel better about myself when I am looking fit and trim – lean muscles are sexy!
- Increased bone density! A healthy bone is more dense; meaning that it has more calcium stores, is stronger and has a higher bone density. Weight bearing exercises, or strength training, help to deposit calcium stores within your bones, leading to healthier, stronger bones!
- Increased immunity to illness! Several studies have now found that strength training increases both the number and the amount of activity of immune cells whose primary jobs are to detect and destroy cancerous and virus-infected cells! In addition, muscle is your body’s way of storing protein – which is essential in the production of antibodies when your body is fighting an infection.
- Ability to slow (and even reverse!) the aging process! A recent study conducted at McMaster University Medical Center showed that lifting weights can actually reverse the aging process in the muscles. Participants in the study not only got stronger, but the molecular mechanisms which generate power for their muscles became as active as those found in much younger people.
- Your body will metabolize food and drink more efficiently! When you strength train, you experience a boost in your resting metabolism… so if you are trying to reduce bodyfat, you’ll be able to do so more easily! The reason for this is that strength training increases muscle fibers, and as such, they consume more energy – which boosts our metabolisms.
So now we know the benefits of strength training… but why else aren’t’ we doing it?”
By Janine@ThePurpleGiraffe
Full Article: http://shesafitchick.com/2012/01/weights-for-women/
Oh great. Juuuust great. This is cute as hell, and now there’s no way I’m not turning vegetarian. Dumb ol’ cute lobster baby. No more lobster for me, no more calamari rings, no more clam chowder because of your dumb cute face. Pffbt.
Photography Ania Wawrzkowicz www.aniawawrzkowicz.com
Styling Aliki Kirmitsi www.alikikirmitsi.com
