The key to success at just about anything in life is consistency.
You do just about anything often enough you are either going to get better at it or achieve the desired result.
This is very much one of the core values of exercise and nutrition to reach any goal.
For example, let’s take weight loss. A common misconception amongst those trying to achieve substantial weight loss is the idea of burning calories.
It’s fairly common knowledge that a pound of bodyfat is equivalent to about 3,500 calories. Now our keen sense of logic kicks in and makes us rationalize that if we were to burn an additional 3,500 calories through exercise than we should lose a pound of fat.
Accordingly, the same logic would apply to nutritional restriction; if we restrict our bodies from 3,500 calories over the course of a week, logic would suggest that we would lose an additional pound of fat.
Unfortunately, our body does not work on such simplistic mechanics.
Major increases in energy expenditure and nutritional restriction may at first produce good results when it comes to weight loss but it’s almost certain that these results will not be lasting.
As fitness professionals we will attempt to teach you that it’s not about the immediate action you take but rather about the cumulative effect.
Let’s take exercise for example. When we complete a cardiovascular exercise with a sustained elevated heart rate for a period of time, after a while our body responds with a cascade of hormones that elevates our metabolic rate.
Once this occurs continuing to exercise at the same intensity will burn more calories but not have significant further effect on metabolism.
This elevated state of metabolism slowly begins to decrease back to the previous but over a span of hours.
This period of elevated metabolism can also be further lengthened with the addition of an effective weight training program completed on a regular basis.
The effective use of weight training creates a further complimentary hormonal cascade that provides additional enhancement to your metabolism.
So the key to weight loss is consistency.
It’s common for us to have someone explain that they diligently complete long cardio sessions but only a couple times of week.
We’re always busy so it makes sense that on certain days you would just make a bigger commitment and get it out of the way. Unfortunately this is not nearly as effective.
If you are someone routinely completing 60 minutes of exercise 3 days per week I can guarantee that your results will be dramatically increased by reducing to 20-30 minutes per day for 6 days per week.
Mathematically you could burn the exact same number of calories but it’s not about the number but rather the cumulative effect.
Cabel McElderry is a local personal trainer and nutrition coach. For more information on fitness and nutrition, visit the Fitness F/X website at www.oneto1fitness.com.