Is it possible that the way you exercise can actually ruin your metabolism?  Yes!  New technology in exercise science now tells us that exercising too hard when your body is not "conditioned" for it can actually have counterproductive consequences to your metabolism.

Most people are familiar with the fact that if they want to lose weight in a predictable way, they have to exercise on a regular basis.  And of the many types of exercise you can do to achieve this, men and women most often elect to do some "cardio-aerobic exercise" in which they spend a certain amount of time exercising on a treadmill, bike, or elliptical in the hopes of burning some of their excess fat away.

But recent studies indicate that most people undertake the endeavor with way too high of an intensity that results in their bodies burning more stored sugar (glycogen) and not as much stored body fat as they had hoped.

When we interview a perspective new client here at Genesis Personal Fitness and talk about their past "exercising history", we often find out that their obstacle to losing weight in a predictable fashion has not been due to the lack of effort or intention, but rather it has been due to the fact that they exercised way too hard before their body's metabolism was ready for it.

See if this has ever happened to you.  You decide to begin or re-start an exercise program that involves exercising on a piece of equipment you have at home or can access at your local gym.  You do some planning and decide to do some exercise every day or every other day.  Your motivation is high and so you start your exercise program with the thought that the harder you exercise, the faster your excess weight will just peel right off of you.

You stick with your program through the first few weeks and notice that your weight hasn't really changed much, but you persevere.  Six weeks goes by and you find that you lost a few pounds, but your clothes don't seem to fit any differently.  What happened?

The "simple" explanation - you exercised way above the "zone" which is right for you to burn fat while you exercise, not sugar.  That's right, there is actually a zone, based on your heart rate, that is ideal for you to burn stored body fat and very little sugar.  And if you're looking to maximize your time and efforts when you exercise to lose weight, it is crucial that you know the upper and lower range of this zone.

For several decades now, exercise physiologists have preached the idea doing cardio-aerobic exercise in a heart rate zone based on your age. They used what has become widely known as your Target Heart Rate.  And since it is based on your age, you simply plug your age into a math formula and out comes a zone that should (??) be good for you to get fit.

The problem with this outdated method of finding your "perfect zone" is the obvious fact that it is based on your age... not your metabolism.  Thus, you could have two people who are the same age, but have far different metabolisms and fitness conditioning, trying to achieve optimum fat-burning results from their exercise efforts. Unfortunately, one of these two individuals is going to fail to achieve their weight loss goal.  How lucky do you feel?

With the recent new technology now available to select research centers, hospitals, and some select fitness training centers like Genesis Personal Fitness, you can actually have your metabolism tested to determine EXACTLY which zone(s) you should be exercising in, as well HOW you should be exercising in that zone(s).

Imagine knowing that every time you step on your treadmill, elliptical, bike, or any other piece of cardio-aerobic exercse equipment, you are going to be doing EXACTLY the right workout for your metabolism that will support maximum fat-burning and weight loss.  You don't have to guess any more, and you won't waste hours and hours exercising without seeing progress week to week.

For more information about testing your metabolism this way, Click Here.

In the meantime, here are 5 ways you can boost your metabolism to burn fat when you exercise:

1. Monitor your heart rate during exercise.  When you monitor your heart rate while you exercise, you can stay within a very specific zone that has a high and low point in beats per minute.  This is necessary if you want to make sure your exercising in your "fat-burning" zone.  If you don't know what that zone is for your current metabolism, you'll have to "wing it" by keeping it between 100-120 beats per minute.  While your body's metabolism is likely capable of exercising in various ways at several fat-burning zones, performing your exercise while in this 100-120 bpm is help you bring about some improvement for your efforts.
   
   
2. Add some strength training exercises.  If you're used to just doing cardio-aerobic exercise, you're missing out on a whole other side of fitness and fat-burning potential.  By doing 20-25 minutes of strength training exercises BEFORE any cardio-aerobic activity on your treadmill, bike, or elliptical, you'll use (and not waste) the fuel your body first provides you when you begin any physical activity: sugar.  And that's okay because by doing strength training first, you actually use the fuel (sugar) best suited for this activity.  Then, as the body runs low on its circulating sugar, it turns to your body fat for fuel just about the time you change your exercise activity to your treadmill, bike, or elliptical.  When our Genesis clients do this, they substantially increase their fat burn rate and see results twice as fast in half the time.
   
   
3. Exercise in the morning when possible.  Research studies indicate that those people who exercise in the morning on a regular basis have been shown to burn up to 3x as more fat as opposed to working out at any other time during the day.  Why?  It appears that during the day, your body's main source of energy is the carbohydrates (sugar) that you get from eating your meals. As you sleep at night for 6+ hours your body uses up all those carbohydrates as energy for various bodily functions that go on even while you sleep. When you wake up in the morning, your body doesn't have any carbohydrates as energy to use and it will look to burn body fat instead for energy.
   
   
4. Don't over do it.  Most people tend to over train their bodies when they exercise.  When it comes to duration or how long you should perform cardio-aerobic activities, there is a lot of mixed information as to what time frame yields the best results.  We found that in combination with our strength-training methods, only 20-25 minutes of cardio-aerobic exercise is needed to bring about the benefits this form of exercise has to offer.  We have found that when you go beyond 25 minutes of cardio-aerobic exercise, it actually becomes counterproductive.  Why?  It has to do with "overstressing" your body.  Too much exercise, particularly if you haven't exercised in a number of years, is perceived by your body as overstress or "overtraining".  Under such stress, your body immediately starts holding onto body fat because it provides security, protection, fuel, and safety.  Many of your body's mechanisms are still being controlled by the genetic blueprints that were established by ancestors at a time when everything was geared or "wired" for survival.  In many respects, your body is survival-oriented.
   
   
5. Fuel you body properly for exercise.  If you're trying to lose excess body fat and using cardio-aerobic exercise as one of your tools to accomplish this, then be sure to fuel your body with a "fat burning meal" 4 hours before your exercise session.  This meal should have a serving of protein that matches your metabolism, along with a low-sugar fruit or vegetable.  Avoid starchy carbohydrates like bread, pasta, potatoes, or rice.  Doing this will "prime your metabolic pump" to search for stored fat when you're called upon to perform your cardio-aerobic exercise.

If you would like to visit with us to see how we design both our strength training and cardio-aerobic exercise programs to meet your specific metabolism, call us for a FREE 30-Minute Personal Consultation at 215-504-0100 or contact us online by Clicking Here.