I know I should do it..
But I just can't motivate myself.
Yep, it's exercise.
The bad news?
Almost EVERY successful LONG-TERM weight loss maintenance study points to exercise
^^^ Not to mention the lower risk of disease, better sleep, less joint issues, fewer falls, increased confidence...
The good news?
Well, I managed to catch the end of 'Trust me, I'm a doctor' (link at the bottom)...
Where they found that just THINKING about exercise CAN increase your strength.
The volunteers had to IMAGINE contracting their calf muscles in a 15 minute training session 5 times a week for 4 weeks.
And guess what?
The muscle DID NOT increase in size...
Yet, their strength increased as they increased their ability to USE their muscle.
In fact, they went from recruiting 46.3% of their muscle to 68.8% of their muscle.
So, can I lose weight by thinking about exercise?
I wish
It's more of a strategy for those who are injured or can't participate in exercise but want to keep their strength up to improve their quality of life.
BUT...
What this does mean is that coupled WITH exercise...
If you can use your mind to stimulate more of your muscle fibres...
^^^ Putting your mind in the muscle (This is where I can get a bit 'WooWoo')
You MAY increase your strength, do more, and burn more calories.
Which in turn...
WILL help you lose more weight.
And keep it off.
Why?
Because being toned and lean...
Is a combination of increasing muscle and losing fat.
Performing better in your exercise will provide the overload needed to force your body to change.
Your body will become leaner and more toned in combination with a nutritional strategy built for you.
The added bonus? (my personal favourite)
This process (increasing muscle) will bump up your metabolism so you burn more calories
^^^ even when you're sat down, scrolling through Facebook and checking your emails
Which is exactly why I teach members of my body transformation programme how to recruit more muscle during exercise...
So, they can:
* Lose weight
* Increase their metabolism so they can keep the weight off
* Learn a new skill which they can apply and progress with forever
* Create a firmer, more toned body (where you visibly see the differences in the now firmer backs of your arms)
Speak soon,
Matt
PS. here's the link to the 'Trust Me I'm a Doctor' programme: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b07kt7ms/trust-me-im-a-doctor-summer-special-2016
PPS. They were in my brother-in-laws lab in Derby the other week so I have to be nice 😉