Well, first of all, I’ve been reading lately how overused the word metabolism is. Boosting your metabolism is going to do what, burn maybe a hundred calories extra per day? Diet is king and it always will be. There is no amount of exercise that will make up for a poor diet. You can take that to the bank.
Anyway, there was an interesting little factoid in the February issue of Men’s Health.
Lift Slow, Lose Fast
In the weight room, focusing on the negative could yield a positive. A Wayne State University study found that taking 3 seconds to lower a heavy weight can boost your metabolism for up to 72 hours after you lift. The reason? Performing the exercise slowly causes greater muscle damage, and the repair process may elevate your resting metabolism, according to the researchers. In the study, the participants lifted heavy weights, lowering them for a full 3 seconds, for 6 repetitions.
Hmm, interesting. I wonder what the study really says? My experience with journalistic “interpretation” (and I use both words lightly) is that the blurb is usually either competely wrong or leaves out key facts.
If Men’s Health got their facts straight and gave us all the pertinent details, this could be useful. Muscle growth is driven by muscle damage, correct? I’ve personally started doing this. This equates to working out twice per week, if you do a full body workout (and I do). I’m thinking the key would be that on that 6th rep, you are giving just about everything you got to keep from dropping the weight. Keep that in mind when you are choosing the amount of weight to lift. I personally find this hard to do with squats and deadlifts, but found it not too bad for one armed, dumbbell, bent over rows, and one armed, dumbbell flat bench presses. I guess having thrown my back out once before and having had severe hip pain in the past leaves me a little gun shy on the squats and deads.
I also am easing into a HIIT type workout with jumping jacks. 30 seconds of jumping jacks followed by 2 minutes of down time. So far I’ve only done two intervals, but tomorrow, I will add a third interval. I will stay at three intervals until I am able to catch my breath faster than two minutes. Then I will reduce resting time.
So yeah, I’m using exercise as a tool, but I don’t expect it to allow me to eat sweets or starchy carbs. I use exercise to build muscle, to drive hormonal responses, and to feel good.
