STRONG Ideas: The Word is Metabolism; Move More to Burn More
By Emily Stapleton on January 28, 2013 from Strong Ideas
This is a common question — and the answer is both! Cardiovascular exercise burns more calories during the short term in the form of calories burned during the session and a boost in caloric burn for a period immediately following the session. Strength training builds muscles and boosts metabolism in the long run. According to www.webmd.com, muscles burn more calories than fat. Unfortunately, research has not been able to show us exactly how much more. A pound of muscle burns anywhere from 6 to 35 calories per day, while a pound of fat probably burns only 1 calorie per day. Without getting too caught up in the numbers, we can be sure that adding lean muscle through strength training will boost overall basal metabolism.
Just to clarify, basal metabolism happens all the time: While you are sleeping, eating, exercising, watching TV, playing with your kids, etc. Wikipedia tells us that approximately 70 percent of energy expenditure comes from basal metabolism, with the remaining coming from activity and digestion. The take away here is that an efficient basal metabolism is the answer to burning calories.
This one is a little tricky, but suffice it to say that the higher your intensity level, the more calories you burn both during the exercise session and in the long run.
A more intense workout increases your lean muscle mass at a faster rate.
Now you have the answer to half of the metabolism equation. Tune in next week for information on how eat right to complete the equation.
Emily
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