You have undoubtedly seen exercise claims on television or in the gym that talk about calories burned with this or that exercise: “Do this stair tread master and you will burn more calories than running!” Is this true? If so does it matter? The amount of calories that are burned during a workout can often pale in comparison to the meal eaten after exercise. In fact it is most likely the case!

Working out and exercising is NOT about burning calories. That is crucial to understanding how to keep your progress going in the right direction. Simply stated exercise is about how hormones talk to your metabolism. What does this mean? If you exercise in a certain way you will stimulate hormones to increase your metabolism. If you exercise in another way you may not stimulate your hormones at all. Not fair but true.

Perhaps you have heard us or others talk about High Intensity Interval Training or HIIT. This is exercise that is hard, that makes you sweat and challenges you. This is the best exercise studied that will increase your metabolic stimulating hormones. This type of exercise could be alternating walking and running or changing the elevation of the tread mill or even walking up and down hills. The important thing isn’t what is done but that it works your body.

The more you focus on intensity vs. calories burned the more likely you are to make progress. If you can keep all your exercise sessions intense enough to sweat in the first 10 minutes that is a great rule of thumb. In some cases the intensity can be high enough that your exercise doesn’t need to be longer than 10 minutes.

High intensity exercise will stimulate your growth hormone and testosterone production. This will stimulate your body to lose fat and build muscle while you’re NOT exercising. That is the secret to a productive diet and exercise program, properly stimulating your body’s machinery to work toward your goals, on its own, all the time.

Simply stated, exercise with high intensity five days per week on average and that is the most important thing that can be done from an exercise perspective to get stronger, leaner, and more fit. Next weeks article will focus on doing the same thing with your diet. Visit the top chiropractor in Overland Park today!