vishwanthar

A client who frequents the gym asked me, “Coach, is it correct when people come and tell me that they burnt some precise number of calories on the treadmill? Do you think that the number provided by these machines is reliable?” Ugh! Don’t be deluded when these cardiovascular machines gives accurate numbers of calories burnt for a stipulated time. Allow me to explain about this falsity and why people should reason rightly and not go gaga about calories burnt on these cardiovascular machines like treadmills, etc.

We should know that basal metabolic rate (BMR) is the largest factor in determining overall metabolic rate. BMR is the amount of energy expended while at rest in a neutrally temperate environment. More importantly, it should be known that each individual will have a different BMR, so the amount of calories they expend is relative, for the same reason none will burn the same amount of calories for a given task. It is because BMR is determined by a combination of genetic and environmental factors, as follows:

Genetics: Some people are born with faster metabolisms, some with slower metabolisms. For example, blacks generally are born with faster metabolism.
Gender: Men have greater muscle mass and a lower body fat percentage. This means that they have higher basal metabolic rate.
AGE: BMR reduces with age. Aging causes muscle loss which slows BMR.
Body Surface Area: This is a reflection of your height and weight. The greater your Body Surface Area factor, the higher your BMR.
Body Fat percentage: The lower your body fat percentage, the higher your BMR.
Diet: Starvation or serious abrupt calorie – reduction can dramatically reduce BMR by up to 30 percent.
Body temperature / Health: For every increase of 0.5C in internal temperature of the body, the BMR increases by about 7 percent. The chemical reactions in the body actually occur more quickly at higher temperatures. So a patient with a high fever would have an increase of about 50 percent in BMR.
External temperature: Temperature outside the body also affects basal metabolic rate.
Glands: Thyroxin (produced by the thyroid gland) is a key BMR – regulator which speeds up the metabolic activity of the body. The more thyroxin produced, the higher the BMR. Like thyroxin, adrenaline also increases the BMR.
Exercise: Physical exercise not only influences body weight by burning calories, it also helps raise your BMR by building extra lean tissue, which can be gained only through weight training and not on cardio machines. Lean tissue is more metabolically active than fat tissue. So we burn calories even when sleeping.
Age: In youth, the BMR is higher; age brings less lean body mass and slows the BMR.
Height: Tall, thin people have higher BMR’s.
Growth: Children and pregnant women have higher BMR’s.
Body composition: The more lean tissue, the higher the BMR; the more fat tissue, the lower the BMR.
Stress: Stress hormones can raise the BMR.
Malnutrition: Malnutrition lowers the BMR.

Now, considering the above facts we can surely make out that calorie burning depends on many factors. Now tell me, how many calories Usain Bolt, three – time Olympic gold medalist, would burn on a treadmill when he walks on the machine for half an hour and how many calories an average guy would burn on the treadmill assuming that the average guy uses the machine for the same duration and speed? Do you think that the calorie burnt would be the same between them because both individuals would have the same genetic and external factors which are mentioned above? Well! I believe you would know the answer for the above questions, for some of the above mentioned factors would compliment Usain Bolt in burning far greater calories.

We should know that a treadmill, for example, as a cardiovascular exercising machine will not recognize the genetics, age, weight, height, body composition, body surface area, body fat percentage, body temperature, external temperature, and glands, of the individual. Contrarily, a treadmill calculates the calorie burning in relation to distance, time, and perhaps the speed in which the individual utilizes the machine. It thus would be erroneous to claim that these cardiovascular machines would have burnt the exact calories. Moreover, calories burnt on a treadmill will be far less when the same individual runs on a field. Please note that when the individual runs on a fixed surface (play ground) he has to exert against inertia (the tendency of a body to resist acceleration) and generate force to move ahead, as the ground surface is inert in nature; whereas, this is not the case on a motorized treadmill, as the treadmill aids you to generate force. Of course, the use of cardio machines as a tool for warming up the body and its contextual use in other circumstances like bad weather, etc cannot be denied. But let it not be sole instrument for you to measure you health and fitness.

Of course, you cannot change your genetics or gender for an elevated BMR, but you can surely work towards an elevated BMR by reducing your body fat percentage, proper diet, and by increasing your lean mass. Fortunately, weight training comes to your rescue, as it has a dual purpose, for it can lower body fat percent, and, at the same time, increase lean tissue. Whereas, relying on any cardiovascular exercise may help you to lose fat in the earlier stages and when it comes building muscle it may never ever help you. Contrarily, any slow paced cardiovascular exercise will have an adverse effect on muscle gain.

Scientific studies have invariably stated that slow paced cardiovascular exercises do have a predisposition towards muscle loss. BEWARE! For, you may be genuinely not assisting yourself in blindly following a cardiovascular regime alone. In all probability you are better off implementing weights into your routine rather than spending hours on the treadmill counting calories. In addition, studies have clearly stated that weight training also helps redeem your cardiovascular fitness, for weight training was touted to be only good for flaunting muscles. For example, performing a set of high repetition squat can powerfully effect your lungs and heart. Also, as an added advantage you can see how good a squat is to build strength and muscle in your legs and the calories it burns.

Weight training burns a lot of calories, in addition, it helps build lean tissue. But please don’t ask me about the number of calories burnt when you weight train, for nobody can accurately state the amount of calories it burns, but the whole scientific community knows for sure that it burns a hell lot of calories, so does high intensity interval training(HIIT), which is exceptionally better than performing steady paced cardiovascular exercise. Engaging in the above mentioned activities would definitely provide you an edge. You have to just take the first step and include weight training into your routine, for you will never regret in doing so.

The demonstration in the accompanying video is a true testament of the human potential. I received an email from a client of mine where this video was attached. The email forward was titled “Strength In Poland, “for I am titling the blog entry with deep respect to the athletes in the video with the above mentioned name. These men are impossible to stop. Watch the video, and you will be amazed and wonder whether this is humanly possible. What interested me more was the functional strength that these two men exhibited: The strength, flexibility, and enduring the pain when the body produces more lactic acid burn. These men are insane and true legends who seem to have crossed the pain threshold. By all means they look very powerful, and didn’t in anyway look like our beefed up bodybuilders who pose huge muscles but never have the strength and power to match their physiques. It unquestionably means that these mainstream bodybuilders use all possible (legal and illegal) ways to flaunt their physiques. Their intention is to build muscle irrespective of strength and power. Strength coaches all over world suggest that the workouts should always be aimed towards strength, power, and endurance as the above gained physical traits would have a positive carryover effect in our day to day life. Moreover, bodybuilding with the sole intention of building humongous muscles puts undue pressure on the tendons, joints and ligaments. Let’s see what Dr Mel Siff has to say about why building muscle with the only intention to exhibit them can be detrimental to our health. For further reading on the same topic please read my blog entry titled Functional Training and its Benefits. Dr Siff says, “Research has found that hypertrophied (increase in volume) muscle fibers need a significantly larger tissue volume to perform a given quantity of work. With the development of non – functional hypertrophy, the increase in muscle mass outstrips the development of the vascular system. This results in diminished nutrition and oxygenation of the muscle, slowing down of metabolic processes in the muscle and less efficient disposal of metabolic waste products from the musculoskeletal system.” In addition, it is needless for us to worry about muscle mass, for gaining muscle is a byproduct of weight training even if the training is aimed towards strength and power.

I hope and believe this video sends a potent message for all of us to train like real men. These men are true legends in every sense. Enjoy the video, which you will for sure. These men have to be applauded for this physical accomplishment, for it is one of a kind.

A scientific research team in Homburg, Germany, showed that 50- year- old men who ran more than 50 miles per week at a fast pace had telomeres (a telomere is a region of repetitive DNA at the end of a chromosome, which protects the end of the chromosome from dietoration) that were almost the same length as those of 20-year-old runners on the German National Team, and more than 40 percent longer than those of inactive men of the same age. This is very astonishing because shortened telomeres represent aging.

A similar finding was reported in London, were 2,401 sets of twins who exercised regularly had telomeres that were longer than those of their own couch potatoes. Other studies show that people who exercise regularly live an average of 12 years longer than non – exercisers. In addition, most middle aged and older athletes look significantly younger than non – exercisers of the same age.

The above findings indicate that older people who exercise regularly, and play other sports at close to the level of much younger athletes stay fit just like their younger counterparts. Apparently, recent studies show that intense exercise may also slow the effects of aging on their cells as well as their hearts and muscles.

The perception of time on the other hand is psychological than being chronological. I am not suggesting that chronological time is irrelevant. Let me explain this phenomenon with an example which is quoted in Dr Deepak Chopra’s Unconditional Life: “The story is about a coal mine disaster in Germany. A small group of miners were trapped underground after a massive – cave – in. They realized that that the air in the mine shaft would last only a limited number of hours. As it turned out, just one of the groups was wearing a wristwatch, and he began to announce the time while the men anxiously awaited rescue. To sustain hope in the others, he did not announce the right time, however; he called out one hour whenever two hours had passed. Six days later, a rescue team found the trapped miners; astonishingly, they were all still alive with one exception – the man who wore the watch.” I believe the above story will explain that time is more of a psychological phenomenon than chronological. To hasten the aging process implies the ability to control it. Adi Shankaracharya once said, “People grow old and die because they see other people grow old and die.” Apparently, the above statement by the great Master seems to be true, as most of us create our realities by comparing it with others.”

In relation to the above findings on age and health, I am eager to post a video of a recent track and field record holder. Frank is 95 years young and currently holds two world records. He recently broke the world record for 5000 meters of his age group. We all consider 60 years to be old enough to retire from any physical activity. Why even some of us think that we should slow down right after we reach the age of 50. But here is another example which proves the above statement wrong, as Frank took competitive running not until he reached the age of 65. He also performs pushups, and in the adjoining video you can watch him hitting a punching bag.

Now the question to ask is, how many of us can run a 5000 meters race? Not many of us I guess. One of the training principle states: “Use it or lose it.” This goes to say that you have to use your body to stay strong and healthy, or it will wither away without any prior indication, and it will be late before realization dawns on you that your body has given up. Staying fit has numerous benefits, for it is a vital requirement to enjoy your life productively. I also believe health to be the first and foremost prerequisite for a better quality of life. As Voltaire (French revolutionary writer) several hundred years ago had rightly said, “Indolence is sweet and its consequences bitter.” Rightly so, because if you spend your time lazing around, it will be late before you realize how significantly it has adversely affected your health and well being. In addition, it amazes me to know that most of us start to care about health only after we have experienced ill health. For example, people who have just realized that their blood sugar is high which obviously indicates the onset of diabetes start to care about their health by exercising and following a strict diet after the disease has dented their health, but never before they will realize the importance of diet and exercise before they are infected by any such diseases. With some amount of awareness if they stop abusing their bodies, it will do a lot of good to prevent such diseases and stay healthy for many years to come by.
I very much hope that Frank will inspire you all to tread the fitness path and realize that time entirely depends on how the person perceives it. Do watch the video. Please remember that PREVENTION IS ALWAYS BETTER THAN CURE.