New study suggests you aren’t a fat burning machine

The “experts” are not going to be happy at the gym today. According to a new study from the University of Colorado, engaging in moderate exercise during the week does not give you a license to eat whatever you want. The traditional view by many trainers and weight loss gurus was that an active person continued to burn more calories all day after a moderate to intense workout. They thought that activity could permanently rev up a person’s metabolism even during rest time on the couch. The evidence from this study seems to debunk this line of thinking.

When you step back and think for a moment, it makes perfect sense. Why would the body stay in an accelerated metabolic state after a workout? OK, your body needs to recover and repair damaged tissue, and that takes some calories. However, it seems reasonable to think that it would be a good idea for your body to return to normal as fast as possible.

Think back to your prehistoric ancestor, Caveman Bob. After chasing wild game for 3 miles in order to feed his family, the last thing his body needs is to burn calories at a high rate for the next 24 hours. In fact, it should be just the opposite.

Moral to the story? Well, first, you are not Caveman Bob. Your priorities are different and you are a bit smarter (I hope). Adopt strategies to keep your metabolism high and keep the pounds off:

1. Exercise in some shape or form every day. Even if it is sitting on a stationary bike reading the paper while pedaling slowly, it is better than nothing. You are going to read the paper anyway, so just add the bike.
2. Do not assume that since you spent 45 minutes working out that you can now inhale everything in sight for the next 24-48 hours. Justifying it by saying “I need to replenish my reserves after that hard workout” does not hold water. You can eat more calories than you burned in a matter of minutes. Use a calorie counter to calculate how many calories you burned after you are done. If you eat 1 calorie more than that during the day, you will start gaining weight. Sorry, that’s just how the math works.
3. Speaking of water, chug that down after a hard workout. It will fill you up and rehydrate you.

It makes us feel better when we are sitting in front of the TV eating a bag of chips to say, “well, I worked out yesterday, so my body burns these chips off more than other people.” Oh, it would be so nice if that were actually true.

Work out your entire body in just 6 minutes with a kettlebell

If you have been in a health club recently, you might have noticed the appearance of a new piece of apparatus stashed in the corner by the Swiss balls and elastic bands. They look like little iron cannonballs with handles on top of them, and they are shockingly heavy. Most likely, you are looking at kettlebells.

Kettlebells are a traditional Russian training tool that is most closely associated with power lifting. However, in the last few years, they have become popular in the United States for providing an all over body workout in a very short period of time. After just a few minutes of swinging one or two of these around, you will notice how it can help you improve your strength, balance, cardiovascular endurance and core stability.

Make no mistake: this is an intense workout.

Kettlebells come in a variety of sizes and are usually measured in kilos (but I will make recommendations in pounds). For women, you should be using a 20-24 pound kettlebell. Men should start with a 36 pound one, but you might quickly progress to the 53 pound version.

It takes practice to become comfortable with this workout, but you will find a great deal of variety of exercises that are available to you. You can also do it in the privacy of your own living room.

Check out the video below of a 6 minute workout available for free on YouTube. Just follow along with the video, including the breaks, and you will quickly learn why this is such a great alternative to traditional resistance training.

UPDATE: This is NOT me in the video, so I take no credit for form, or lack thereof, in it.

Don’t be surprised if you feel a little wobbly or sore the next day. It proves that it works. Try this workout 3 times per week with at least a day’s rest between each session. This should be done in place of other resistance training and not in addition to it. Good luck!