Optimizing that metabolism
Want to get the most out of your training whether it be weight loss or body composition? Your first goal is to control the release of insulin and cortisol. Dont let these two hormones get chronically high as they can have serious metabolic effects. Sounds simple but is step 1 in getting the physique you want..
1 Drink more water
Cortisol (the strees hormone) is boosted if we are dehydrated, given most north americans diet of processed carbohydrates this can be a real problem.
It has been documented that hunger pains and cravings can come from simply not getting enough water.
If its too bland for you try adding lemon and lime to your water for taste and it adds to alkalizing your cells which boost metabolism.
2 Try Using digestive enzymes
Gut health is an extremely important variable when you decided to get lean. In strength coaching literature remarkable transformations have been made in athletes after attention was brought to gut health.
Due to our typical diet of processed carbohydrates, additives, growth hormones and corn syrup the healthy bacteria in our guts can be significantly reduced resulting in inefficient digestion , amino acid deficiency, vitamin and mineral imbalances, all resulting in a reduced metabolism.
Supplementing with probiotics and digestive enzymes can help with goals in body composition change. Digestive enzymes are also very inexpensive supplements.
This approach will help restore health guy flora resulting in better moods and reduced cravings for junk food.
3 Drop the long stow steady state cardio
This is going to be a hard one for most of you if you are into it now. but it is critical to your success.
To keep this post simple there are two types of training.
#1 aerobic endurance training which we can define as long duration, low speed, low intensity exercise that is focused on heart health and the aerobic energy systems,
#2 anaerobic resistance training, which is short duration, higher speed, higher intensity exercise that is focused on the nervous system, the muscular systems, endocrine system and the anaerobic energy systems.
Resistance training (option #2) is a far superior tool for controlling cortisol and insulin than endurance training.
This may be hard to swallow as those big gym in a boxes are packed with people looking to get fit jogging on treadmills.
But let’s look at why it is popular? It’s not popular because it gets results…its popular because it’s easy, requires no learning curve to do correctly, and is recommended by doctors who look after sick people.
In all it has been completely miss understood by the fitness community.
cut back on the endurance training and learn how to resistance or interval train properly, this is a vital to your success, more on this point in a later chapter.
4 Supplement with omega 3 fats.
There are four different kinds of fats.
The bad fat is called Trans fatty acids and comes from boiling vegetable oil, This you want to avoid at all costs.
Next is saturated fat and mono unsaturated fat, which is found in animal meat, nuts and oils.
“Depending who you talk to and what diet you follow this is in the middle so overall good to have in moderation. Don’t over do them especially the animal meats.”
Then there are polyunsaturated fats, the omega 3 and omega 6 fats.
The omega 3 fats are particularly metabolic and have a major role in balancing hormones and health. This fat works very well to lower stress and cortisol levels while helping the body to develop insulin sensitivity as opposed to insulin resistance.
To sum up, these fats are very important to body compositions change. You can get these fats from fish, supplements, nuts, avocados, and quinoa. Make sure to include them with every meal.
5 Respect your circadian rhythms
This is your body’s natural hormonal sleep clock. This means doing cortisol stimulating activities in the morning and cortisol reducing activities towards the evening.
All coffee or any stimulants should be taken first thing in the morning upon rising, while cortisol reducing supplements and activities should be done in the evening. In order to assist with this, activities such as meditation, static stretching and cold baths are excellent strategies to add to your sleep preparation regimen.
Make sure your bedroom is dark and there is no electronic devices turned on in the room. Electronic devices and artificial light raise cortisol which will cause sleep and recovery problems. Also night time supplementation and snacking can also help with this
Side note regarding the E.P.O.C effect
The “E.P.O.C” effect (excessive post oxygen consumption) is simply when your body speeds up its metabolism at night in order to repair itself from strenuous exercise. This is one reason why sleep is so important. Resistance training triggers the E.P.O.C effect while cardio training does not. In order to burn fat in your sleep, make sure you are using progressive resistance training and you’re maximizing your sleep time and circadian rhythms.
