It is widely agreed that it is not possible to alter the metabolism you were born with. If you have a slow metabolism you cannot suddenly flick a switch and have your metabolism accelerate. Whilst this might not sound like good news to you there are a number of things you can do to compensate if you have a slower than average metabolism. In this article I will discuss how regular exercise can help boost your metabolism.
The act of exercising itself will burn additional calories. For example, if you go for a rigorous 30 minute run this will burn more calories than sitting watching TV for 30 minutes. However, exercise is also significant in boosting your body’s overall natural ability to burn fat. In the majority of cases, the best way to achieve this is through a combination of aerobic exercise and weight training.
The reason exercise is so effective in boosting your metabolism is it attacks the calories in two ways. First, regular aerobic exercise gets your body used to burning fat that is already present in the body. Secondly, weight training increases your body’s muscle mass. Muscles require calories to be maintained and so the more muscle you have, the more fat you can burn. However, you need to be aware that the calorie burning properties of increased muscle mass have been heavily exaggerated in the past. Increasing your muscle mass will increase the amount of calories that your body burns each day but the effects are not groundbreaking. You will need to combine your weight training with aerobic exercise to achieve optimal results.
So what are some good exercises to achieve the desired effects? For aerobic exercises anything that gets the heart pumping is useful. This can range from gentle walks to more rigorous physical activities such as running or football. The key to success with aerobic exercise is finding something that you enjoy and sticking with it.
With weight training you need to be a little more cautious. If you just go into the gym and start throwing the weights about you can quite easily cause yourself an injury. You need to start slowly and exercise with weights that you are comfortable with and then gradually increase them to build muscle mass. If you are unsure of where to start then seek the advice of a fitness trainer at the gym. They will be happy to help and should be able to create a weight training plan that is suitable for you.
As I have already explained it is impossible to change your metabolic rate completely. However, by incorporating aerobic exercise and weight training into your lifestyle you can increase the amount of calories you burn on a day to day basis.