5 Reasons Why Muscle Building Helps Increase Metabolism
By Richelle Melde
1. Burn Major Calories: Metabolism can be simply defined as the “rate” in which calories are turned into energy. Many people are very interested in the idea of increasing their metabolism so they can avoid weight gain. Weight gain takes place when the body doesn’t burn off calories immediately, but stores them away for later. When the muscles are engaged during muscle building exercise they can burn upwards of 1000 calories per hour depending on the specific routine. This means the metabolism must convert almost 1/3 of a pound of body fat per hour into energy. If there is one sure way of increasing the metabolism, muscle building is that way.
- Muscle building not only burns major calories during exercise, but the calorie burning can continue for upward of 2 hours, even after exercise has stopped.
2. Build New Muscle Mass: The process of muscle building will not only burn major amounts of calories, but the process forces the body to create more muscle mass too. Again this requires the metabolism to convert food into the needed components for muscle mass. Now building new muscle occurs as a result of two approaches to training; 1) during strength training exercise, a muscle has reached its limit, and failed, or 2) as in body building exercise, a muscle has been pumped with blood to the point of ripping. Both of these approaches require the muscle to be repaired with new muscle mass, whether it produces a new strength level or just a bigger muscle size.
- Forcing the body to build new muscle mass, either through strength or body building techniques, will ultimately help to increase the metabolism.
3. Energy Production: It takes a lot of energy to move the body around. If you introduce additional weight, such as in strength training, the energy demands increase significantly. If the athlete is toning leg muscles and forces the body to produce higher levels of energy, the more likely the body will increase its metabolic rate to adapt to demand. If the energy demands are inconsistent and irregular, then the metabolism will probably not increase substantially. As the body adapts to the need for high levels of energy on a regular basis, the metabolism increases its rate of calorie burning also.
- Muscles require a great deal of energy, and large muscles require even more. Muscle building exercises are a sure method to increase the rate in which calories are burned.
4. Stronger Bones: Whether you are using weights or other methods to build muscle, the bones will be strengthened in the process also. The muscles are attached to the bones through tendons and ligaments, therefore the bones are strengthened through the same movements as muscles. When performing bicep curls to tone arms for example, the bones of the upper arm, shoulder, and wrist are all strengthened in the process. This requires an increase in bone density through the metabolizing of minerals such as potassium, and calcium. The additional nutritional requirements force the metabolism to work harder, more often, and help increase the rate calories are burned during the process.
- Engaging in muscle building exercises not only strengthens bones, but places more demand on the metabolism to produce new bone and muscle mass.
5. Encourage Metabolic Efficiency: The impact on the body due to muscle building is dynamic, and requires the body to respond in an efficient manner. Part of the definition of fitness is when the body, mind, and metabolism work in unison toward the efficiency of movement. If you want the maximum number of calories that can be burned during an abs workout, then muscle building exercises will be necessary. Not only will these exercises promote an increase in the rate of calories burned, but your abs will strengthen more rapid too.
- As the result of muscle building exercises an efficient and increased metabolism will help those unwanted pounds to come off quicker, and easier as well.
About the Author:
Richelle Melde is a CHEK Practitioner Coach and Boot Camp Expert Instructor. She has owned and operated Ultimate Body Boot Camp for nearly 5 years and has helped hundreds of people achieve their goals.
Visit her online at www.cometobootcamp.com for more information or call
