Build Muscle for a Faster Metabolism
I’m seeing a trend in today’s health and fitness space which I believe is problematic. It is not uncommon to see nutrition plans consisting of calories 1200-1600 per day for men and women to be combined with an hour or two of cardiovascular activity. The problem with this approach is participants will lose weight; but keeping it off will be the difficult part. From where we stand you are doing two things wrong following this approach: Number one you are barely covering your bodies minimum needs. For the average body to function it requires 1200-1800 calories minimum. This is what is known as BMR (Basic Metabolic Rate). Also known as; the minimum calories needed to support all of your bodily functions (breathing, sleeping, heart pumping, muscle contraction etc). The second reason is by doing cardiovascular conditioning and avoiding weight training does little to fix a slow metabolism. A slow metabolism and lack of activity is generally why people become overweight or obese.
There are three ways to fix a slow metabolism (in the order of most effective to least effective). First you can build lean muscle tissue so that you increase your BMR which means you can consume additional calories without gaining bodyfat (bad weight). Second you can do HIIT (high intensity interval training) which increases your EPOC (excess post oxygen consumption) which simply means “burning calories after you are finished with exercise” or afterburn. Disclaimer HIIT is very difficult for novice & intermediate exercisers because it takes time to prepare your body to be “fit” enough to handle the increased “intensity”. Lastly you can teach your body to handle more food (allowing you to eat more without gaining bad fat). This becomes a game of food intake matched directly to activity level. For example if you move often; you can handle more carbohydrates & if you rarely move you can handle less carbohydrates. Protein should always be identical to 1g per ideal bodyweight (the bodyweight where you look and feel your best). If you are 200lbs and look and feel your best at 175lbs (you need 175g of protein daily). Fat will then fill in the remaining calories.
It is not easy to build muscle or to build a faster metabolism but if you want to enjoy normal “real” food and still have some treats or cheats every week muscle is the way! If you haven’t spent time in the gym you may not know that most people who are “ripped” eat clean most of the time because of performance but then they also moderate with their choices. They have alcohol from time to time and indulge in normal foods that you wouldn’t think; mainly because they earned that right. Despite what is shown on infomercials; you cannot eat clean always & if you only have one life; why would you want to?
Do not starve your body of the vital nutrients & fuel it needs. There will be times when you need to take calories low to take off the last few pounds of fat but this shouldn’t last for more then six to eight weights. Learn how to properly lift weights to build muscle, embrace HIIT in your routine if you are a more experienced exerciser, eat all of the proteins & match your carbohydrates to your activity level. See you and your new body soon.
Send us some photos of your new ripped physique!
Michael Hartman
My mission is to give personal training participants a safe and effective workout designed specifically for their goals. Dealing with many sports injuries over the years taught me how to come back stronger every time. The competition is with yourself... Strive to bring out your best self and get better every day!
