Anaerobic Exercise and Metabolism

1. The King and Queen of Health and Fitness:
Nutritional and physical activity go hand in hand. The working body demands energy-yielding nutrients in order to build lean tissue.
Exercise requires the body to dip into its stores of fuel - namely, fat, and glycogen (sugar). By using up fat and building lean tissue, exercise pushes body-composition toward lean and thus, raises the body's rate of energy expenditure (metabolism).
To the contrary, a lack of exercise, or an "exercise deficiency" can lead to accelerated development of the diseases associated with sedentary life - cardiovascular disease, obesity, intestinal disorders, apathy, insomnia, accelerated bone loss, etc.

Make your exercise enjoyable.
Don’t know how? Have a fun custom designed program made just for you.
You will be much more likely to find time for things you enjoy.

Take a couple of days to write down how you spend your time everyday, and then determine how you can better use your time to fit in exercise. Don’t know how? Ask our life coach Jill, it’s what she does.

Visit with your spouse or friend while walking around the neighborhood rather than sitting on the couch. Taking a class or group coaching together is a great way to spend some quality time.

Muscle Tightness:

Muscle tightness, which has been associated with an increased risk of muscle tears, can be reduced before of after training or competing in sports with dynamic stretching. Competitive sport can have quite an unbalancing effect on the body. Take racket sports for example. The same arm is used to hit thousands of shots over and over again. One side of the body is placed under different types and levels of stress compared to the other. The same is true for sports like soccer where one kicking foot usually predominates. A flexibility program can help to correct these disparities preventing chronic, over-use injury.
Of course, a more flexible person is a more mobile person. It allows enhanced movement and dexterity. Some other benefits may include an increase in body awareness and a promotion of relaxation in muscle groups stretched - both of which may have positive implications for skill acquisition, performance and everyday movement.

Will I get bulky muscles if workout?

This is difficult to answer. Much depends on the nature of your workout and the parameters. Much will depend both on your genetics and the amount of testosterone in your body. Generally, if you do not want bulky muscles, it is easy to participate in a muscle toning program rather than a muscle building program.

Spend 30-45 minutes or so exercising on your lunch break. Pack a lunch, or better yet we can order one from many of the local restaurants around here and have it waiting for you after your shower.

Wake an hour earlier in the morning to exercise.
Try going to sleep a little earlier and getting up a little earlier to get your exercise done first thing in the morning.

Can I Touch a Calorie?:

Here's another confusing issue. Calories. Some think calories are something you remove or add to the diet. It's as if a calorie is an entity all in and of itself. This is false.
A calorie is a unit of measure. It's used to designate the body's energy requirements. The word calorie relates to the "combustion" or, to produce energy. By definition, a calorie is: The amount of heat required to raise a temperature of 1 gram of water 1 degree Celsius.

Turn off the television at home and watch it here during your cardio.
The average adult spends 16 hours per week watching television. One of my clients told me that she resolved to only watch television while she was exercising.

The Role of Hormones and Nerves:

Throughout your body, all processes are precisely and automatically regulated by hormones and nerve activity. It is done so without conscious effort. The central nervous system acts a control unit. It evaluated all activities both inside and outside your body to monitor and adjust to changing conditions.
The stress response illustrates how the entire body reacts to anything perceived as a threat to your stability or equilibrium.
Both physical and psychological stressors elicit the body's stress response. Major physical stressors include, surgery, burns, and infections. Other major physical stressors include, an extreme hot or humid climate, toxic compounds, radiation, and pollution.
Also, chronic "little stresses" or hidden day-to-day issues can lead to real physical ailments.
Good examples are:
1. Family conflicts;
2."I hate my job";
3. Lack of time, or lack of organization;
4. Too much responsibility;
5. "No one understands why I'm stressed";
6. Rush hour traffic.

And then there are major life changes such as:
1. Death or loss of a loved one;
2. Serious illness or accident;
3. Divorce or separation;
4. Death of a close relative;
5. Getting fired or laid off from work;
6. Marriage;
7. Major personal property loss (fire, theft, vandalism);
8. New household member.

Stress response begins when your brain perceives a threat to your equilibrium. The sight of a car hurling toward you; the terror that an enemy is concealed around a nearby corner, the excitement of planning for a party, the feeling of pain; a snarled traffic jam or any other such disturbance perceived by the brain serves as an alarm signal. 

Block out the same time period everyday for exercise.
This way it becomes part of your daily routine just like brushing your teeth. Guard this time period because you are worth it. It is your time to take care of yourself.

Make exercise a priority.
We all make time in our lives for the things that are most important to us. If I told you I'd give you a million dollars if you exercised everyday for the next 30 days, would you do it? Sure you would, because it would suddenly become a priority. If you're serious about finding time for exercise, then it must be a priority in your life. It has been shown that people that exercise are on the whole 20% more productive in day to day life.

Cardiovascular Exercise: The Truth About Fat-Burning

For activities more than three minutes, continuously, the body will continue to burn sugar (carbohydrate). However, it will begin to burn and breakdown the sugar in the presence of oxygen. This is known as aerobic glycolysis.
There is only one difference between the anaerobic glycolysis and the aerobic gylcolysis. Lactic acid does not accumulate in the presence of oxygen.
In other words, the presence of oxygen inhibits the accumulation of lactic acid.

Cardiovascular Exercise: "I'm Melting Away My Fat"

Unfortunately "spot-reducing" exercises don't work. If they did, then everyone who chewed gum would have a skinny face. Doing hip and thigh exercises will not take the fat off of them. Hundreds of crunches will only help tighten and strengthen your core, not flatten the fat.

The fact is, stomach and thigh exercises (and their related machines) are not aerobic or fat burning exercises. That's because they fail to meet one essential requirement. The activities do not last for more than three minutes in continuous duration. Therefore, the exercise remains anaerobic. The burning sensation is not fat being burned or "melted away." Instead, it's the muscles storage of lactic acid as glycogen (not fat) that has been used for energy during anaerobic metabolism.

Fitness Terminology: A Rate and A Negative

Rate is the speed you perform a repetition. It is usually expressed in reps per second. A rate of one rep every 2 seconds with a bicep curl would mean that you would lift up in one second and lower the weight in one second.

Working the Negative is the motion that is done when you lower the weight or load to its original starting position. As indicated above in the rate description, usually the negative lift is done at the same rate as the lift portion of the rep.

Weight Training and Fat Loss

A structured weight training program is the most effective way to increase and improve the quality of muscle. This should be of particular importance to anyone interested in achieving optimal fitness and health. It should particularly be of interest to anyone interested in losing body fat.

Cardio: "How Long Do I Do It?"

In general, the longer the duration of exercise, the greater the percentage of energy produced by fat. Keep in mind however, that during the first 20 minutes the body is merely preparing to burn fat at a more efficient rate. After the 20 minutes the body will start to metabolize stored fat at a more efficient rate. Therefore, if you wish to burn fat by exercising, you should know that patient, persistent, consistent low intensity training is the road to maximum use of fat and conservation of glycogen. It is agreed, then, that frequent hours of long and consistent exercise is the preferred methodology to optimize a fat burning metabolism. In other words, your personalized program should include exercise as much and as often as possible.

Why Touching Your Toes is Important:

Flexibility training is perhaps the most undervalued component of conditioning. While recent and ongoing debate questions its role in injure prevention,your health can still gain much from a stretching regime. The body's muscles and joints play an integral part in movement. In general terms, flexibility has been defined as the range of motion about a joint and its surrounding muscles during a passive movement. Passive in this context means no active muscle movement is required to hold the stretch. Instead gravity or a partner provides the force for the stretch.

Proteins are Complex Structures:

Protein is the group name to designate the principle nitrogen constituents of the protoplasm of all plant and animal tissues. Proteins are necessary for tissue synthesis and regulation of certain body functions. However, to say that proteins are more important than any other nutrient in the body can have serious consequence.
Proteins are complex, structures made up of amino acids. The type of amino acid vary with each protein. However, nitrogen is always present. Carbohydrates and fats doSaved not contain nitrogen.

Stuff You Should Know About Fat:
There are two dominant forms of fat in the body known as the "Cis" and the "Trans form." Food and body-fats exist principally in the "Cis" forms. This is an important point although a little mysterious. In the manufacture of vegetable shortenings and margarines, some, but not all, of the oil bonds are hydrogenated. They are thus changed from their origin- “Cis form” to a “trans form.” Both forms are utilized in the body. But, the Cis form may be better utilized.
Hydrogenation also reduces the linoleic acid content of the fat. These changes have significance in digestion and are believed to affect the rate and manner in which fat is accepted and used in the body. The body does only one of two things with fats. It either stores fat or converts fat to energy.

Fat Is A Great Source of Energy:
One of the many complexities about lipids is that they digest slowly in the body. Thus, if you eat a meal heavy in fats, they stay in the stomach longer and you feel "full". Eat too much and you start a nice collection of fat in the liver, metabolic system and in various storage points around your body. (Usually these storage places are where you don't want fat to be stored).
Fat also is a rapid source of energy -- but only if you work at it.

Classified Fat:
Fats can be divided and identified as:
Simple lipids known as triglycerides which are eaters of fatty acids and glycerol. Waxes (or wax like substances) are also esters of fatty acids and long-chain or cyclic alcohols. This group includes the esters of cholesterol, Vitamin A and Vitamin D.
Compound lipids including phospholipids such as lecithin, cephalins and sphingomyelin.
Derived lipids including phospholipids such as glycerols, sterols, carotenoids and the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K.

Fat Can Be Invisible:
Also, there is so-called "invisible fat". It represents about three-fifths of the total fats you consume. These sources include meats, poultry, fish, dairy products (excluding butter), eggs and baked products. All of the fat in an egg is in the yolk. Whole milk, cream, ice-cream and whole milk-cheese have appreciable amounts of fats. Fruit, vegetables, legumes, cereals and flours are very low in fat. Nuts, however, have an appreciable amount of concentrated fat in the nut oil.

Infamous Fat - Also Known as Lipids:
Lipids include fats, oils and fat-like substances that have a greasy feel. Oil, lard, hydrogenated shortening, butter, margarine, bacon and salad dressings are the most concentrated sources of fat.

Conversion Rates:
The conversion numbers 9-4-4 are used to convert a given amount of food (1 gram) into calories. Thus 100 grams of protein (x 4) is worth 400 calories. 10 grams of fat (x 9) is worth 90 calories, and 200 grams of carbohydrates (x 4) is equal to 800 calories.

Combustion of Proteins, Fats and Carbs:
Generally speaking, proteins, fats and carbohydrates provide different rates of combustion. Fat is one of the most efficient, compact sources of energy in all the foods you eat. One gram of fat when burned in the body will yield 9 calories. Proteins and carbohydrates are not as efficient. The rate of combustion for both of these fuel sources is 4 calories per gram. Thus we have a 9-4-4 ratio of values applied to the main elements of a menu.

Body-Fat vs. Lean Mass:
It is lean mass that plays the key role in any type of weight-management program. Whether you are interested in fat-loss or muscle gain, lean mass requires certain conditions in order to make a change in body-composition. It is imperative to understand that the lean mass of an individual is directly related to metabolism.

Being Over-Fat:
Did you know that excess body-fat can lead to a multitude of health problems? For one thing, excess body-fat can precipitate hypertension thus increasing the risk of stroke. Fat gain can also increase the likelihood of diabetes in genetically susceptible people and, thus, bring on its associated ills. Excess body-fat (especially in the central abdominal area of the body) also increases the risk of heart disease by worsening atherosclerosis. Other physical conditions associated with over-fatness include abdominal hernias, some cancers, varicose veins, gout, gallbladder disease, arthritis, respiratory problems, liver malfunction, complications in pregnancy and surgery, flat feet and even a high accident rate.

GOAL SETTING AND KEEPING SCORE:

That's the bad news. The good news is most people do not have to live their lives at an unhealthy weight. Most people desire to lose some degree of body-fat. Therefore, the extent of our over-fatness-- and the amount we wish to lose-- must be determined. This way, goals can be set and progress monitored. Once your goals are established, you should record your progress in your daily Exercise and Nutrition Journal.

Its Body-Composition That Matters:
The original weight-table standards were designed for insurance purposes -- not as guides for nutrition and fitness. These tables never considered body-composition. Most world-class body-builders (usually less than 8% body-fat) would be categorized "obese" by the original weight-tables.
The way to measure and determine one's fat to lean muscle proportion is to determine body-fat percentage. The body-fat percentage is the percentage of an individual’s weight that is fat.

Quit looking at the Scale:
Here is the best advice you will ever hear in regard to weight-management -- “Quit looking at the scale”. In fact weigh-ins should only be done with a trained professional. The focus (obsession) on weight is the very reason why most people fail. It’s misguided and dangerous.
The focus on weight began back in the 1950’s when the definition of appropriate weight was simple. Your weight was compared against the "ideal weight" tables developed by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. If your actual weight was twenty percent (20%) or more above the table weight, then you were considered obese. If it was ten percent (10 %) under, you were underweight. Today, however, the term ideal weight is irrelevant.
Beware: Some medical doctors still use the Metropolitan Life Tables.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT YOUR BODY:

Your body is approximately fifty-five percent (55%) water, twenty percent (20%) protein, fifteen percent (15%) fat, nin percent (9%) minerals, and one percent (1%) carbohydrates and vitamins.
These basic components must constantly be replenished through the foods we eat, but not necessarily in the same proportions for each of us. Some foods enter our bodies as fuel and are burned on consumption to meet energy needs. Others become the basic building blocks of tissues and fluids. Still, others are vital to the delicate interactions required by the body's many functions.

. Slow Down:
Muscles must instead draw more heavily upon their limited supply of glucose. When this happens, glucose is spent rapidly. As a result, fragments of glucose molecules accumulate in the muscle tissue and cause fatigue. This is why, if you exercise intensely, you may have to stop or slow down to "catch your breath" (replenish your oxygen supply). By slowing back down your body will once again rely upon aerobic metabolism.
Therefore, exercising with too much intensity will inhibit the body's ability to burn fat. Keep intensity in check by engaging in moderate, low-intensity aerobic activity. This includes activities where energy demands do not exceed the available oxygen, and fat can supply much of the energy, permitting glycogen to be conserved.

LADIES LIFT TOO:

The thought of increased muscular size may not appeal to some however the average pound of fat contains nearly three times the amount of overall mass than one pound of muscle depending upon the type of musle fiber or fat molecule within the body. In the past, women were reluctant to weight-train for fear of becoming too muscular or bulky. For most women, however, muscular gain is not as great as in men due to hormonal differences, even when they make the same relative gains in strength.
A study that compared muscular size between men and women, demonstrated that "muscular hypertrophy in women as a result of weight-training programs will certainly not lead to excessive muscular bulk or produce a musculinizing effect" (Wilmore, 1974).

“I’m Melting Away My Fat!”:
Unfortunately “spot-reducing” exercises do not work. If they did, then, everyone who chewed gum would have a skinny face. Doing hip and thigh exercises will not take fat off of them. Hundreds of crunches will only help tighten and strengthen you core, not flatten the fat.
The fact is, stomach and thigh exercises (and their related machines) are not aerobic or fat-burning exercises. That's because they fail to meet one essential requirement. The activities do not last more than three minutes in continuous duration. Therefore, the exercise remains anaerobic. The burning sensation is not fat being burned or "melting away." Instead, it's the muscles storage of lactic acid as glycogen (not fat) that has been used for energy during anaerobic metabolism.

BIOTIN!

Biotin is a coenzyme necessary for a variety of important functions in our bodies. Biotin helps in the metabolism of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. It is needed for normal growth, healthier hair and skin and maintenance of nerves, bone marrow, and sex glands. Sources are yeast, liver, eggs, whole grains, and fish.

“How Intense is Intense?”
As well as duration, intensity plays an important role in the efficiency of fat-metabolism during exercise. In general, the percentage of energy contributed by fat diminishes as the intensity of exercise increases.
Fat can only be broken down in the presence of oxygen. Oxygen serves as the catalyst that enables proteins and enzymes of the body to burn fat during an exercise metabolism.
The heart and lungs can provide only so much oxygen -- so fast. When muscle exertion is so great that the demand for energy outstrips the oxygen supply, the body cannot process oxygen fast enough. Therefore the body cannot burn fat. Instead, it reverts back to anaerobic metabolism and burns more glucose.

The Principle of Arrangement of Exercise

A weight-training program should include exercises for all major muscle groups. For optimal efficiency during weight-training, the exercises in a weight resistance program should be arranged so that the larger muscle groups are exercised before the smaller ones. Smaller muscles tend to fatigue sooner and more easily. Therefore, in order to ensure proper overload of larger muscle groups, they should be exercised first. The larger leg muscles should, for instance, be exercised before the smaller arm muscles.

FAT CAN BE INVISIBLE:
There is so-called "invisible fat". It represents about three-fifths of the total fats you consume. These sources include meats, poultry, fish, dairy products (excluding butter), eggs and baked products. All of the fat in an egg is in the yolk. Whole milk, ice-cream and whole milk-cheese have appreciable amounts of fats. Fruits, vegetables, legumes, cereals and flours are very low in fat. Nuts, however, have an appreciable amount of concentrated fat in the nut oil.

Muscles Are Trained Fat-Burners:
The more time spent during aerobic activity, the more trained the muscles will become in fat metabolism. Trained muscles can burn fat more efficiently and require less glucose, even during strenuous exercise.
After physical activity has ceased, "fat-burning" may continue at an accelerated rate for some time. Some reports suggests that fat metabolism remains elevated for at least six hours after completion.
Another report suggests there is increased fat use 24 hours after an hour-long aerobic session. The body's adaptation to strenuous and prolonged aerobic exercise burns more fat all day, not just during the exercise. In other words, consistent exercise for more than one hour will most likely raise an individuals resting metabolic rate, which means you consistently burn more fat even while not exercising.

Wellness is generally used to mean a healthy balance of the mind, body and spirit that results in an overall feeling of well-being. It is not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. In order to achieve a state of wellness, one has to work on its factors that contribute to being healthy and happy. One way to think about health is by looking at how effectively and successfully a person functions.

ANAEROBIC OR AEROBIC??
Since most weight-training activities last less than 3 minutes in duration, (regardless of actual workout time), weight-training is an anaerobic activity. This means that the primary fuel sources will be either ATP or Glucose. The aerobic (oxygen/fat) fuel system does not come into play. Therefore, fat isn't burned as a fuel source during weight-lifting activites. Remmeber, even though weight-traing does not burn fat, it does increase the body's fat-burning potential.