Making your metabolism work for you

Many fault their metabolism for the lack of progress towards their fitness goals. I hear a lot of “It’s too slow,” or “I have bad genetics.” Knowing how to get your metabolism operating at maximum efficiency is crucial no matter what your fitness goals are and, unbelievably, strength training plays a key role in jump-starting it.

“Metabolism” is defined as the set of chemical reactions that occur in every living organism to maintain life. The rate at which these processes occur determine how efficiently your body functions. Although most associate metabolism with fat loss, it actually dictates how EVERY process in your body happens. From healing an injury to converting carbohydrates to glucose, your metabolic rate sets the pace at which all these things happen in your body.

When you strength train, you force your body to repair torn muscle fibers and create new ones. This process of adding muscle results in your metabolism having to work more efficiently as you now must burn more calories to maintain the new living tissue you created. This results in an overall increase in daily caloric expenditure – even while you are at rest! Consequently, your metabolism slowly adapts by increasing the rate at which it performs the many processes that take place in your body every day. In other words, strength training is like giving your body a tune-up!

Some people are leery of strength training for fear of becoming bulky or too muscular. I submit that the level of resistance and the number of repetitions you perform while strength training are what dictate whether or not you actually get bulked up. Do not let the misconception of mass increase detract you from a smart way to jump-start your metabolic rate.

Whether it’s using weights, elastic bands, or even your own bodyweight, strength training can help you give your metabolism that much needed boost to get you on your way to a slimmer, harder YOU!

- Jeff