The Basic Weight Loss Principle Behind Exercise

Did you know that the basic weight loss principle behind exercise is catabolism?

For example, as you exercise, your body temperature rises and your heart beat increases.  As this happens, your body requires more oxygen, so your breathing increases.  If your body couldn’t adjust to this enhanced requirement for oxygen, you would collapse. And all of this requires additional energy. 

Presuming that you aren’t overdoing it, your body will begin converting food into energy in a metabolic process called catabolism.

Essentially, if you can engineer your body to require more energy, your body will comply by breaking cells down to deliver it. And the process of metabolism burns calories.

So based on that logic, interval training fits in with the overall plan.  Interval training is simply adding a high-energy burning component to your exercise plan on an infrequent, or interval, basis.

For example, if you can jog for 20 minutes every other day, you're boosting your metabolism and burning calories/energy.  But you can actually burn disproportionately more calories if, during that 20 minute jog, you add a 30 second or 1 minute sprint. 

Why?  Because during this 30 seconds or 1 minute, you give your body a bit of a jolt. 

Not an unhealthy jolt, but enough that your body has to turn things up a notch. And to compensate for your extra energy requirements, the body will burn more calories.

Interval training only works when it’s at intervals.  The metabolism-boosting benefits you enjoy as a result of interval training are primarily due to the fact that your body suddenly, needs to find more energy. 

While it was chugging along and supplying your energy needs during your cardiovascular exercise, it all of a sudden needs to grab some more for 30 seconds or a minute; and in that period, it will boost your metabolism even further.

If you decided to extend your 30 second or 1 minute sprint into a 20 minute sprint, you simply wouldn’t experience all of the benefits. 

Yes, your body would use more energy if you extend yourself to the higher range of your aerobic training zone.  But your body won’t necessarily get that jolt that only comes from interval training. 

So remember: your goal with interval training is to give your body a healthy jolt where it suddenly says to itself:

“Whoa! We need more energy here fast; this person has increased their heart rate from 180 beats per minute to 190 beats per minute.  Let’s go to any available cell, like those fat cells down at the waist, and break them down via catabolism so this person can get the energy that they need.”

Interval training can last longer than 30 seconds or a minute.  Some experts suggest that you can use interval training for 30-40 minutes, depending on your state of health and what your overall exercise regimen looks like. 

The reason we’re focusing on 30 seconds to 1 minute is simply to give you a clear understanding that interval training is a kind of mini training within a training program. 

And, as always, don’t overdo it with your interval training.  Your goal here is to become healthier and stronger, and lose weight in that process. 

You gain nothing if you run so fast or bike so hard during interval training that you hurt yourself.  You will actually undermine your own health, and possibly have to stop exercising while torn muscles or other ailments heal. 

Live Fit Live Strong!!