When attempting to transform your physique by losing fat, an individual needs to be aware of how the style of training they are performing is affecting their metabolism. Your metabolism determines how fast your body will utilize calories for energy and repair demands. A slow metabolism will cause your body to require fewer calories for those purposes. This typically results in weight gain due to excess calorie consumption, as your hunger will cause you to eat more than your body actually requires, a scenario know as a calorie surplus. Once your body has met those energy and repair demands it will store the surplus calories as fat.

Conversely, a high metabolism will cause your body to require more calories for these energy and repair demands. If you eat less calories than your body requires for those purposes you will be in what is known as a calorie deficit. This deficit will cause your body to use it’s own fat stores for energy demands. This is very helpful when attempting to lose fat because you will be able to eat more and feel more satisfied while losing fat, making your transformation more successful and easier to sustain.

The style of training that you perform has an effect on your metabolism. Both cardiovascular training and weight training are effective at increasing your metabolism but there is a difference. During both styles of training your body will require more calories for energy demands than it would at rest. The difference comes after the workout is over. Following a cardiovascular workout your metabolism will stay elevated for roughly 3-6 hours during which time your body’s energy demands are elevated. The other 18-21 hours your metabolism will be subject to your activity level. This 3-6 hour increase in metabolism can help you reach the calorie deficit required to lose fat. Following an intense weight training workout, your metabolism will be elevated for roughly 24 hours due to the repair that must take place following the damage done to the muscle tissue. (Weight training damages muscle tissue and your body’s response is to rebuild the muscle bigger and stronger) This will be an even greater help in reaching that calorie deficit as your body’s energy demands will be elevated for an entire day whether your are active or not, allowing you to eat more.

Another factor in metabolism is the amount of muscle your body carries. Muscle uses calories even at rest whereas fat uses none. The more muscle your body carries the more calories will be required even at rest. Very muscular people typically have a very high metabolism allowing them to eat much more food without putting themselves in a calorie surplus situation. This makes fat loss much easier. Weight training can help you add muscle to your body to increase your metabolism thereby allowing you to eat more and still get the fat loss results you are looking for.

Todd Jewell