Muscle-building usually brings up predicaments about many things related to the human body. As soon as you start hitting the weights, you start noticing changes too: your body gets bigger, you get more muscle definition, you get stronger, and people may even check you out here and there as well. Given the stated reasons, it’s a no-brainer that hitting the gym entails many benefits. Yet, does having more muscle increase your metabolism? The answer is only a couple of words away…
The Truth About Metabolism
Before even going deeper into the topic, we need to understand the concept of what the word “metabolism” is. According to Wikipedia, metabolism is defined as a series of chemical reactions that take place so that organisms can keep themselves alive.
Metabolism has a number of useful purposes: The first one is being able to transform food into energy in a way that cells can use it for cellular processes. The second one is storing food. The digested nutrients are shaped into the essential blocks we all need, such as carbohydrates, fats, amino acids, and proteins. The last one is eliminating waste material out of the body.
If you get to think of it, metabolism in the human body is what it does to keep itself alive. Even when you are doing activities such as watching TV or even sleeping, your body still metabolizes. This is called basal metabolic rate, or BMR. The bigger you are in size, the higher your BMR will be, mostly because your body will need more energy to carry on with its functions.
The cool thing is that when you work out, you are actually boosting your metabolism, as a bunch of bodily reactions ensue in order to return the body back to normal, usually defined as “homeostasis.” When you lift weights, your metabolic rate will rise, as your body will need to use protein to make muscles bigger, as well as perform other things along the way.
How to Increase Your Metabolic Rate
Here we will show you some of the ways you can level up your metabolic rate. The most intuitive one you can think of is exercise. Try exercising more frequently, harder, and longer. If you feel like you have hit a plateau when it comes down to getting results, it is likely that you are not stimulating your body enough. Make the increases gradual and steady. Be careful with overtraining!
One last element that can aid in elevating how fast the metabolism works is simply making minor lifestyle adjustments. Instead of opting for rather sedentary transportation resources such as cars or motorcycles, try to walk or use bicycles to go to nearby places, or use the stairs more often instead of the elevator.
Take the Issue Into Your Hands
If you feel like you hit a plateau, please don’t give up. We are here to help you out. Visit VIP Fitness to receive personal training counselling from a top-notch personal trainer in Orange County.