It is possible that we blame the metabolism for a good part of our ills when it comes to losing weight. Unfortunately, metabolism is not some abstract demon dedicated to torpedo our physical work to try to lose weight. In fact, it can be a great ally if combined with exercise.
Unfortunately, it must be clear that what we call metabolism, since in reality it is the set of chemical reactions that take place in our organism, is conditioned by what we eat, by our own physiognomy, by our age, by genetics and, as is evident, also due to the physical exercise that we carry out.
The problem is that we have ended up synthesizing the concept of metabolism in how our body burns ‘energy’ to carry out the different vital functions. That’s why we traditionally interpreted that fast metabolism is linked to people who are lean, active and not gaining weight regardless of what they eat. It doesn’t have to be that way, in fact it’s a fallacy, but let’s assume that it is. In the other field, we would find people with a slow metabolism, that is, they will tend to weigh more since, no matter how little they eat, they will gain weight.
What is certain is that our metabolism can be much faster if we take into account certain patterns. It is evident that the lighter and less copious our meals are, the easier it will be to digest, something that influences metabolism. In the same way that age influences metabolic rate, since the younger you are, the faster your metabolism.
As we age, as with the rest of our body’s processes, metabolism slows down and it may surprise you how eating certain foods becomes heavier when just a few years ago it did not involve any complications. In other words, the cause of this slowdown is due to many and diverse factors and if we know them, we will know how to try remedy or at least try to get him to sprint a little.
The problem comes when we find ourselves on a slope in January and we are choking on nougat or when we return in September after a copious summer and we remember to lose weight. It is at that moment when we usually put on sneakers and leggings and pretend get in shape to lose extra kilos.
This is the best way to speed up metabolism
Unfortunately, simple cardiovascular exercise it will not burn as many calories as other alternatives within the sport. For this reason, it is easy to fall into the trap of pretending that by going for a run or doing a bit of cycling we are going to burn the unwanted calories that we accumulate. In addition, with a good diet you can also improve this metabolism, even consuming proteins, as we already explained in THE OBJECTIVE, since they require more calorie burning for digestion than carbohydrates or fats.
The secret, although he has been talking about it for years, is that there are much better ways to speed it up and burn fat through sports than cardio. In any case, A little cardio is better than no cardio at all. As is evident, since doing sports is one of the best ways to increase the speed of our metabolism, but it is not enough just to go jogging.
In fact, in these secrets it is essential to understand that there are activities and routines that accelerate basal metabolism, that is, that we then really burn more calories at rest. This win win occurs through strength training, which has proven to be the best way to burn calories in an accelerated way if we compare it with cardiovascular exercise.
Obviously everything adds up, but the truth is that it is not necessary to invest dozens of hours in cardiovascular exercises such as running, swimming or cycling. Especially if they are performed at low heart rate and with low intensity, which does not ‘stimulate’ our body and does not speed up that caloric burn to get going. For this reason, it is convenient performing strength exercises which are coupled with an increase in muscle mass.
No, it is not about becoming Arnold Schwarzenegger in his heyday, but about improving the tone of our muscles and their definition, since even after exercise we will be burning calories. Mainly because our body has to generate and regenerate muscle tissue after these practicesmoment in which we continue spending energy, mobilizing our metabolism and, therefore, losing weight.
In this case, it is convenient to put on the table a concept that may not be as well known as the EPOC effect (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption or what is the same: excess post-exercise oxygen consumption), also called afterburn effect. This phenomenon is occurs more frequently in what are called high-intensity workouts (HIIT, for its acronym in English), which involves raising the heart rate rapidly, burning many calories and that, after sport, the body continues to consume those calories to recover and pay off the oxygen debt. Among the virtues of this COPD effect (not to be confused with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) we find.
- Production of adenosine triphosphate to replace that used during exercise.
- Resynthesis of muscle glycogen from lactate.
- Restore blood oxygen levels and myoglobin.
- Work with protein to repair muscle tissue damaged during training.
- Restore body temperature to resting levels.
- Restore oxygen levels in venous blood, skeletal muscle blood, and myoglobin.
In this way we continue spending that energy after having finished playing sports, which is why it is convenient that any routine fitness that involves cardiovascular exercise is enhanced with strength work if we want our metabolism to wake up.
