Strength training is beneficial for metabolism

Unfortunately, some changes occur in our bodies as we enter adulthood that are detrimental to our health. As we age, our metabolic rate declines by about 0.5% annually, and our muscle density begins to decrease as we age between 30 and 40. This naturally leads to weight gain. Unless we take preventative exercise measures to address this muscle loss early on, it's difficult to understand why muscle mass can rapidly and effectively reduce weight and maintain a balanced weight in the long term. Since each pound of muscle can burn up to 209 joules per day, it's easy to see why muscle mass can contribute to rapid and effective weight loss, helping to maintain a healthy weight in the long run.

The "Optimize Your Metabolism" exercise program aims to help you boost your metabolism, reduce body fat, and increase muscle density, thus preventing weight gain. While muscle weighs more than a corresponding volume of fat, it grows much slower. The ultimate goal of this program is to make you leaner, stronger, more energetic, and healthier.

From a traditional perspective, a person's metabolism must remain in balance; only when metabolism is in balance can a person's weight remain balanced. The reason for this weight balance is very simple: it is the result of energy balance in the body, meaning that the body's energy input is exactly equal to its energy output.

Furthermore, according to traditional thinking, if you consume more calories than you burn, you will gain weight; if you burn more calories than you consume, you will lose weight. To maintain a stable weight, the number of calories you consume must equal the number of calories you burn.

While this theory is indeed correct, it overlooks a crucial aspect: human adaptability. It is now widely recognized that adaptability is one of the most important functions of the complex human metabolic system.

To lose weight, you must burn more energy, creating an "energy deficit." This deficit is generally created in two ways: reducing calorie intake and increasing calorie expenditure. These are the two most common methods used by people trying to lose weight. For these methods to work, your exercise routine must be very proper to initially create an energy deficit and lose some weight. However, even then, the weight loss won't last long. It takes approximately 1 pound of weight loss for every 14.65 kilojoules (3500 calories) burned. The more frequently this severe energy deficit occurs, the less effective the weight loss will be.

This adaptive behavior of the human body is particularly evident among today's "shaking generation": the more frequently a "power deficit" occurs and the greater the energy expenditure each time, the more difficult it becomes to lose weight. Even more seriously, it's easier for them to gain weight!

The body's natural physiological response to severe calorie deprivation is exactly the same as the response during starvation: the body utilizes food energy more efficiently, and the rate at which it burns heat energy slows down. This means that when gourmets consume large amounts of food, their slower metabolism causes their bodies to store excess nutrients as fat, conserving energy for future use when the body experiences an energy deficit again.

Let me reiterate this crucial point: the longer you control your calorie intake, the slower your metabolism will become. The slower your metabolism, the more likely your body is to store what you eat as body fat.

The best way to change the body's natural tendency to store energy is to readjust the metabolic rate through a strength training and aerobic exercise program. Both strength training and aerobic exercise are very important for reigniting the metabolic fire, but what can ultimately help you achieve your permanent weight loss goals and have greater personal satisfaction is a balanced fitness program.

While common sense dictates that aerobic exercise is the best way for obese individuals to lose unwanted weight, recent research in the field of health and exercise has increasingly concluded that strength training plays a particularly important role in reducing body weight.

Dr. Wayne L. Wescott, MD, is a physician and a former health consultant for the YMCA. He has written several popular health books and is a leading advocate for strength training. According to Dr. Wescott's research, those who incorporate both aerobic and strength training into their weight loss program generally experience greater weight loss compared to those who only engage in aerobic exercise. This finding is entirely consistent with the author's research. The reason strength training leads to greater weight loss is that it requires the body to burn more calories and increases metabolism through 24-hour fat burning.

Dr. Wescott's research revealed a significant difference in the metabolic rates of human muscle and fat. According to Dr. Wescott, "Muscle is a very active tissue, therefore it requires more energy than fat to maintain its normal function."

The problem is that as we age, we gradually lose more and more of our precious muscle mass. Physiologists estimate that for every pound of muscle lost, the basal metabolic rate decreases by 209 joules per day, which is certainly not a good thing for humans. Therefore, we must regain the muscle mass we have lost and take back control of our weight through regular strength training.

Dr. Wescott also believes that as people age, their basal metabolic rate decreases by approximately 0.5% to 1% per year. Therefore, assuming we eat the same types and quantities of food as when we were younger, our bodies will automatically gain weight unless we take appropriate preventative measures. Dr. Wescott's view is entirely correct. As we age, not only does our body fat increase, but our muscle density also decreases significantly, muscle strength weakens, and ultimately, our bone density decreases. The health of our internal organs (including the heart) also declines. Furthermore, our thinking becomes less clear.

As you now understand, only through a daily health and wellness plan, and by actively participating in both aerobic and anaerobic exercise, can we achieve our weight loss goals while gaining more profound benefits.