How to Boost Metabolism

activities fat fitness metabolism muscle Jun 24, 2022

Wonder why you can’t eat the same way you did in your teens, twenties and early thirties? Your metabolism changed! Why?

Sarcopenia is the loss of muscle tissue due to aging process.

As we age, our body composition changes. Muscle is lost and it’s replaced by fat. Which not only changes the shape of our body, it also reduces the metabolic rate.

It starts in our 30s and continues at an average pace of 8% each decade. Which means, by the time we are 80 years old our body’s lost 34.1% of its muscle… almost 1/3 less muscle!

Resist Aging

Resistance training can slow the pace of sarcopenia and aging. Lifting weights maintains muscle tissue and strength! When you activate your muscles, you keep the mitochondria in the cells strong, which increases the efficiency of your metabolism.

65% of Muscle is Below the Belt

The most muscle is in your legs, thighs, glutes, hamstrings and calves. That’s why, maintaining a healthy metabolism requires activation of the muscles in your lower body. Standing at least 3 minutes every hour will keep these muscles from hibernating, but it won’t keep them strong. That’s why you need resistance training!

Lose Fat, Lift Weights

Yes, resistance training helps to lowers body fat. You can do cardio to burn fat too, but weight lifting helps muscles to absorb glucose from the blood stream and store it as glycogen to use later. If the muscles are inactive, excess glucose isn’t used for energy, it’s stored as fat.

How Much?

The minimum effective does is twice weekly, activating all the major muscle groups. A minimum of three sets of 8-15 repetitions. So for example, if you’re working biceps, you’ll want to use a weight or resistance that will properly challenge the muscle. I like to shoot for 12 repetitions of bicep curls and rest, 30 seconds to one minute between sets, repeating three times.

Major Muscle Groups:

Legs
Glutes
Chest
Triceps
Back
Biceps
Shoulders
Abs

Learn More

Listen to Episode 6 of my podcast, Exercise: How to Kick-Start Your Metabolism for more information on the benefits of exercise.

Ovvia Members, check out the Member's Video Library and watch the video series about Exercise, WHY and What & When to Exercise! So you can maximize your time spend and get the best results!