fat burning furance?

jenzimmer

Has anyone heard of this? I've heard of excersising to fatigue causes your metabolism to increase, but 72 hours after a work out?! If it's true, bring it on!

missykaye1975

Hello! Are you talking weight-lifting or cardio? I know that weight-lifting in general (i.e., building muscle) causes a metabolic increase for hours and even days after you lift because of all of the tearing down/repairing of muscle tissue, etc. Having more lean muscle mass period is CRUCIAL for having a good metabolism!! Most people that lose weight, only to gain it back and then some, do so because while losing their "weight" they lose water, fat, AND muscle. Losing your muscle mass means you have a much more difficult time maintaining that new weight loss because you must eat fewer and fewer calories the more muscle you lose. People also tend to go "off" their diets and return to their old eating habits. Muscle is active and is constantly using calories (even while we sleep!), whereas fat just sits there and does nothing.

As far as lifting to fatigue goes, I keep my lifting heavy (you will NOT bulk up! we do not have enough testosterone for that), and lift to fatigue only during some workouts. I keep my workouts mixed up to keep my muscles constantly guessing, and thus growing and becoming stronger. I've done cardio my entire life, but after a recent weight-gain of 30lbs. from a prescription drug (lithium) I was taking at the beginning of the year, it wasn't until I started lifting in July that I began losing. I've lost 17 of those pounds so far--yes, the slow way. But is has been mostly fat pounds, and my body fat % has decreased to below 30% and is still decreasing (haven't measured it recently). I've gotten so many compliments on how I look and I'm not even to my goal yet! I am an addicted weight-lifter now for life. If you want some extra motivation, go to the "female transformations" at bodybuilding.com. They totally inspire me!

Hope this helps!!