Why is My Metabolism So Slow?

Do you feel like your metabolism is slow and getting even slower? Does it feel like your body just holds on to whatever you eat regardless of what it is? Do you find it easy to use your "slow metabolism" as a crutch to justify weight gain?

As an online fitness coach, I've participated in these conversations again and again, so I'd like to discuss it here. At some point or another, you've said 'yes' to one or more of the questions above. In fact, odds are that your feeling isn't just a feeling. Your metabolism might actually be slow and getting even slower.

And here's why.

Reason #1 - Too Much Cardio

"Too much cardio? I thought all that cardio is supposed to speed up my metabolism."

Yes, and no.

Increasing your heart rate will most certainly burn more calories but the long-term effect isn't the same. When you do cardiovascular activity in excess, your body adapts and slows down its metabolism in order to be more efficient. The human body does not understand losing fat and building muscle, especially when it comes to appearance. The human body understands survival.

Think of your body like a car, and your metabolism is its gas mileage. If you're given 50 gallons of gas to travel a really long way, the engine of a Ferrari wouldn't be great, because the car wouldn't be able to make 50 gallons last a really long time. So, therefore, the car gets to a point where it doesn't work (the body would starve and die).

In order to travel the distance and survive, the car would need to adapt and turn its gas mileage into something like a Prius. A Prius can make 50 gallons go a really long way.  A more efficient metabolism can make calories go a really long way, too. Which is fantastic if your goal is to be efficient, or run a marathon. If your goal is to be lean and fit without sacrificing an enjoyable lifestyle, then that may not be so great. Having a Ferrari-like metabolism would be great for that type of goal, because your body would burn through a ton of calories without much effort, allowing you to eat more and take your feet of the cardio equipment.

This is why it is extremely important important to incorporate resistance training into your routine. The more muscle tissue your body has, the more calories your body burns at rest. Resistance training is the key to building that Ferrari-like metabolism.

Reason #2 - Not Enough Resistance Training

As discussed, resistance training can do wonders to improve your metabolism. BUT, not all resistance training is the same. In the context of building more lean mass in order to boost your metabolism, prioritizing a protocol that will improve your strength and promote hypertrophy would benefit you greatly.

Although, strength training isn't where all the muscle growth happens, it's extremely important to build strength and improve the capabilities of your central nervous system in order to move more volume when you are in a muscle building program. An increase in volume over time has been shown to promote the growth of muscle cells. Volume is the amount of pounds used in an exercise multiplied by the reps and sets. So, the more strength you have, the more weight you could be able to move in your sets, allowing your overall volume to increase, causing your lean mass to go up, making your metabolism burn through more and more calories.

Is Cardio Bad?

No, cardio is not bad at all. Cardiovascular activity can be very beneficial for your health and fitness. From improving heart health to burning calories and improving your endurance, cardio is a wonderful thing. However, if you want to have a sustainably lean body and an enjoyable lifestyle, it may be a better fit to rely on your body automatically burning tons of calories, rather than having to rely on cardio every day.

Ya feel?

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Adam is a fitness professional, baseball fan, and cookie fanatic based in Fort Collins, Colorado. After hanging up the cleats, he found a strong interest in the human body and how it performs. Since then, Adam has been transforming lives through fitness in a fun and encouraging atmosphere. As an ACE CPT and Fitness Nutrition Specialist, he is constantly moved to help people improve in all walks of life. If you’re interested in hiring Adam as your coach, fill out an application here.

Five Reasons Women Should Lift Weights

I'm sure you've heard the rumors: "Lifting weights makes women big and bulky. Lifting weights keeps women from being lean and toned. It's too dangerous. Lifting can make you look like a dude."

Well here's the truth:

All of those rumors are complete garbage and they keep too many women from hitting the weight floor to experience the many benefits of weight training.

It turns out that the fitness goals you have might not be reached by hitting the boutique yoga studio or stepping sideways up the stair master. if you're looking for a gym routine for beginners or you'd like to mix up your routine, then weight training can be beneficial. Weight training is the most effective method ladies can use in order to achieve almost any body composition goal.

So ladies, drop those mats and hop off the treadmill. It's time to prioritize those weights!

1. BOOST YOUR CONFIDENCE

Do you remember the first time you tried something? I'd be willing to bet that you were nervous. Take flying for example. Were you nervous as soon as the plane took off? Perhaps the first time you felt turbulence? It's the same with lifting weights. I completely understand the feeling of being intimidated and nervous for the first few times. But after a few weeks, I felt like a pro. And guess what? It's not because I'm a guy. It's because I accepted fear and decided to face it. I realized that everyone there had been in the same shoes at some point in their life. You don't need to be a guy to know what you're doing in the gym. You just need some experience under your belt and it all starts with one workout!

Once you've been at it for a while, people will start complimenting you constantly outside of the gym. Do you know what they WON'T ask you? "Oh my gosh you look great! Do you do yoga?" "Wow, I can't believe your transformation! Did you step sideways up a stair master?" Instead, all they'll ask is "You look amazing! What do you do to look like that?" and all you'll say is "Oh why thank you, I lift." Boom. You lift. And as a result, you're strong, lean, and sexy.

2. MORE EFFECTIVE FAT BURNING

Doing cardio for 30 minutes per day is nice. It's good to get some physical activity and burn some extra calories. Do you know what's even better? Burning fat on a consistent basis while you're working out AND resting. How do you do that? By building lean muscle tissue. The more muscle tissue you build, the more fat you can burn while you train, rest, and sleep. Who could say no to that?!

3. FOR THE RIGHT CURVES

Positively changing your shape can affect the way you fit into your clothes as well as highlight all the right curves. You know that toned shape you've always been yearning for? The one that apparently only comes from lifting light weights? Well, it comes from a well-constructed weight program that highlights strength training and muscle building. Yoga and cardio alone can't do that as well as weight training can. Cardio and yoga are great, but are only best for your goals when incorporated within a weight training program.

4. INCREASED ENERGY

Feelings of being sluggish often come from a sedentary lifestyle. A study done by the National Institute of Health concluded that resistance training showed increases in energy expenditure, fat oxidation, as well as metabolism during rest and sleep (Kirk et al.). Instead of mo' money mo' problems, you'll be saying mo' muscle LESS FAT.

5. STRESS RELIEF

We've all heard that exercise is a great way to manage stress. So what makes resistance training so great for stress relief? On a fact-based level, people who lift on a regular basis have been shown to handle situations more positively than those who don't (Stone, Sands, and S.).

On a Poehlmann Fitness based level, I am a firm believer in the correlation between weights and attitude. It isn't proven through research and studies that I've come across, but I've found in myself and others that lifting weights and sticking to a routine allows us to attack life with more of a tenacious attitude. Whether it's earning a promotion or finishing a book, I believe resistance training can improve our determination to succeed outside of the gym.

LIFT SOME WEIGHTS!

Ladies, lifting weights does NOT make you bulky. You don't have enough testosterone in your system to react to weight training the same way guys do. But, you have the best balance of hormones in your body that can allow you to be fit, lean, sexy, and healthy while sticking to a program that fits your goals. Whether you're looking to see more results with a new workout or you're trying to find a gym routine for beginners that meets your expectations, weight lifting is a step in the right direction.

Have some questions about weight training and/or finding the right program for you? Send me an email at adam@poehlmannfitness.com. I'd love to help you. Thanks for reading! :)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Adam is a fitness professional, baseball fan, and cookie fanatic based in Fort Collins, Colorado. After hanging up the cleats, he found a strong interest in the human body and how it performs. Since then, Adam has been transforming lives through fitness in a fun and encouraging atmosphere. As an ACE CPT and Fitness Nutrition Specialist, he is constantly moved to help people improve in all walks of life. If you’re interested in hiring Adam as your coach, fill out at application here.

REFERENCES

Kirk, Erik P., et al. “Minimal Resistance Training Improves Daily Energy Expenditure and Fat Oxidation.” 41.5 (n.d.): n.pag. Web. 25 Sept. 2016.

Stone, Michael H., William A Sands, and William S. Principles and Practice of Resistance Training. Leeds: Human Kinetics Publishers, 2007. Print.

A Mindset That Will Change Your Fitness Forever

It seems that the more I'm in the online fitness trainer industry, the more questions I get about "the best" this and "the best" that. Whether it's diets, nutrition, supplementation, or programming, everyone wants to know what "the best" is.

Honestly, I can't blame them. If I didn't know everything about something I was dedicating time to, I'd want to make sure that I was doing the best I could for my goal, that way no time is wasted and I have a strong return on my investment.

WHAT IS "THE BEST?"

I find it very interesting that "the best" isn't always what we think it is. I believe that happens for a couple of reasons:

1. "The best" for you isn't "the best" for me and vice versa.

2. "The best" (or any version of that meaning) is often used to sell things that actually aren't so great.

When I get a question regarding "the best", I actually enjoy it quite a bit because I like to shatter people's paradigms. That's what I'd like to do today in this short article. Now, as much as I'd like to sit here and tell you about how much I hate diets and how no single diet is "best" for fat loss, I'd like to head in a different direction. I've been creating a lot of content around nutrition, so I'm going to ask your attention for a couple of minutes to talk about what's done in the gym.

So, the question I'll be addressing today is:

"What's the best rep range for ________?"

Fill in the blank with whatever you choose. Fat loss, toning, muscle-building, whatever. You get the idea.

TIME TO SHATTER YOUR PARADIGM

Here's the quick answer to all of those questions:

There isn't a best rep range for each specific thing all the time. Is there a rep range that is shown to build more muscle than others? Sure. Is there a rep range that will most likely burn more calories? Sure. The thing is, it's not the rep range that's ideal. If 8-12 reps have shown to build the most muscle, that means that I can just go grab a couple of brewskis and start curling those for 8-12 reps. Next thing you know, I'll have some great-looking muscles.

However, it just doesn't work that way. So how does it work?

Well, there is a plethora of answers to that, but as an online fitness trainer, I want to focus on one thing specifically. That thing is what I like to call the muscle mindset.

THE MUSCLE MINDSET

When most people go into the gym (whether they have a program or not) they come to the conclusion that they're going to perform _____ exercise for __ reps. This is the mindset of a beginner. This is the mindset of someone who is going to the gym to get their workout in. Is it wrong? Of course not. Is it ideal? Not really.

An individual that is a little more advanced would normally go into the gym knowing that they're going to perform ____ exercise for __ reps. This individual would then go into the exercise using a weight that is challenging at that amount of reps, understanding that the heavier they go, the more challenging it is going to be, assuming that the more reps or weight that they do, the more they'll get out of the exercise. Is it wrong? Nope. Is it ideal? I don't think so.

Someone who is much more advanced that understands their body well will go into the gym with what I call the muscle mindset. The people (beginners and intermediates) that I talked about going into the workout wanting to move weight in order to work their muscles. Someone that has the muscle mindset flips that thinking on its head and does something different. This individual goes into the workout knowing how the exercises they perform will affect their muscles. But that's not all.

They also take a completely different approach during the movement.

When performing an exercise, someone with the muscle mindset won't just move the weight. This person will ask him/herself the following question:

"How can I engage this muscle in order to move the weight and perform the exercise?"

This changes everything.

For example, when I'm going to the bench to perform an incline dumbbell bench press, I understand that the purpose of the upper chest is to bring the humerus (the bone of the upper arm) closer to the middle of my chest. Therefore, I'll perform the exercise thinking to myself, "ok Adam, you need to squeeze/flex/engage the upper chest in order to bring the upper arm closer to your chest, and that's what will move the dumbbells. Someone that doesn't have the muscle mindset would say something like "ok, I need to push these weights up with my arms for 8 reps."

WHAT'S SO SPECIAL ABOUT IT?

"The muscle mindset? That sounds like something you made up. What's the point?"

That's fair. I mean, I did kinda make that term up on the spot. Put any attractive word in front of a concept and it'll sound wayyyy cooler (thanks a lot, fitness industry).

Although I made up the term, the mindset is very real. Having a good connection with your body and understanding how your muscles work during a certain exercise is extremely beneficial. That mind-muscle connection will allow you to do the following:

1. Get the most out of your exercise

2. Have more control throughout the movement

3. Have better technique and form throughout the movement

4. Improve your strength and muscle growth

Having the ability to master those four things will allow you to make great strides along your fitness journey. Getting the most out of your exercise will allow you to see more change in your muscles, causing more definition from growth. Having more control and better technique will keep you away from injury and will improve your ability to increase your strength. From that improved strength, you'll have a CNS (central nervous system) that will be able to engage more muscle fibers.

THE TAKEAWAY

The muscle mindset is simply a way of rethinking your training. In one sentence, here's how I can explain it best: Instead of moving the weight to contract the muscle, contract the muscle in order to move the weight.

You'll find that you'll get more out of each rep, leading to an increase in muscle growth and definition, bringing you the lean physique you've always wanted.

THANKS FOR BEING HERE!

I love writing, but to have someone like you reading what I write is...well friggin' amazing. Thank you for taking time out of your day to hear what I have to say. My hope and prayer is that the info in these articles gives you a new way of thinking, as well as a tangible takeaway that you can implement in your life. If you have any questions on anything health/fitness/nutrition, feel free to reach out to me. I'd love to serve you however I can with information about online personal training.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Adam is a fitness professional, baseball fan, and cookie fanatic based in Fort Collins, Colorado. After hanging up the cleats, this online personal trainer found a strong interest in the human body and how it performs. Since then, Adam has been transforming lives through fitness in a fun and encouraging atmosphere. As an ACE CPT and Fitness Nutrition Specialist, he is constantly moved to help people improve in all walks of life. If you’re interested in hiring Adam as your coach, fill out an application here.