Written By Logan Sherwin, Certified Personal Trainer
Logan Sherwin is passionate about helping people take care of their bodies and be their best selves. He believes fitness is a primary piece of wellness, and that physical fitness extends across every area of your life. He helps people learn how to move correctly, what their bodies are capable of, and ultimately supports his clients in achieving their wellness goals.
In my previous article, “Enhancing Energy…” I discussed why resistance training is beneficial for all age groups, discussing three distinct beneficial categories. Positive energy balance, muscle and joint longevity and resting metabolic rate. This article breaks down the categories of metabolic change and teaches how to manipulate them to help create a faster and more beneficial metabolism.
5 Categories of the Metabolism
There are 5 major categories of the metabolism, the first is basal metabolic rate, which is the energy expenditure for breathing, heartbeat, body temperature regulation, and brain functionality. The second is resting metabolic rate, which is the energy your body expends at resting heart rate. This is what happens when you’re watching TV, sitting reading a book and playing a board game. The third is the thermogenic effect of food, which is your body using calories to digest food. (Yes, the body even uses energy for eating!) The final two categories are thermogenic effect of exercising and non-exercise activity thermogenesis. Exercising such as walking, running, resistance training, hiking, biking, and weightlifting (resistance training) fall into the exercise thermogenic effect. Finally, non-exercising activity include activities such as pacing, standing up talking on the phone, cleaning the house, and taking out the trash.
There is a lot to think about here when it comes to metabolism, but to summarize: resting, exercising, eating and the small activities you do around the house really add up! There are some incredibly simple ways to also expend the energy throughout the day which over time can really lead itself to incredible amounts of weight loss. For instance, if you parked in the back of the lot at the grocery store you could end up walking a little more than normal, the extra 50 calories means a significant weight loss reduction over time. Compound this with taking the stairs if possible, going to a farmer’s market, or walking the dog more often and it could lead to a massive calorie deficit, up to a pound a week!
Metabolism & Resistance Training
Resistance training does it all. Your body at rest, when it is active and when just going for a walk will burn more calories with more muscle. More energy expenditure means more calories out, without even needing to exercise every day. For instance, my client recently lost 2.8lbs of fat in a month and gained 7.7 pounds of muscle, he went from a very deconditioned state to burning an additional 300 calories everyday just breathing. He is active at work and spends more calories doing the exact same work. At home, he is burning more calories cooking and cleaning, mowing the lawn, and washing his car. He burns more calories working out and has more energy than he’s ever had. Get rid of the story your told, the story of “bad genetics and a low metabolism” that’s holding you back and start resistance training. Start walking and start burning!
If you are interested in learning more about metabolic rate, Jeff Nippard and Dr. Eric Trexler break it down even further in regards to resistance training in this podcast episode.
