Thedietsinreview

We are constantly being told that if we want to burn calories quickly and more efficiently we need to increase our exercise. However, sometimes it isn’t clear exactly how exercising affects the metabolic rate at which calories are burned. We know that it takes calories to produce energy to do the exercising, but how exactly does that affect metabolism? Actually, there are two ways in which exercising benefits metabolism. The first is the amount of calories it takes to actually produce the energy to do whatever exercise we happen to be performing. For instance, a brisk walk could burn between 300 to 500 calories per hour depending on the speed and difficulty of the terrain. In effect, your metabolic rate is increased proportionate to the amount of calories needed to perform a given exercise while you are exercising. The second way in which exercise benefits metabolism is in the fact that an elevation in metabolism occurs even after you have completed your workout. This elevation is known to continue for as long as 10 to 12 hours after you have completed your exercise. Also, the larger the muscles used during exercising, the higher your metabolic rate will be and the longer that second elevation will continue. High intensity exercises that utilize large muscles continues to elevate the metabolic rate long after you have completed your exercise. This is especially beneficial if you are looking to loose weight or keep your energy levels high throughout the day. In effect, if you want exercise to benefit your metabolism over an extended period of time you would focus on high intensity exercises that focus on large muscle groups.