If you want to change your body, all you have to do is burn more calories than you eat, right? That’s what we’ve been told. And it’s not untrue, it’s just not the whole story.
It’s much more complex than calories in/calories out.
I teach group fitness. And I know that when I do a cardio class, I’ll burn between 500-700 calories. If I do a HIIT class or if I lift weights, my calorie burn will be a lot lower. However, I also know that I’ll be burning calories all day long while my muscles are repairing. If I only focus on the calories I burn
during
my workout, I’m not seeing the whole picture.
If you are only focused on burning calories, you might be picking activities and exercises that aren’t really appropriate for what you want to accomplish. Stop using exercise as a way to burn calories, and instead see it as the most effective way to get the body composition and level of health that you want.
What are you trying to achieve?
What does that look like? Well, it means that if you want to be able to go mountain biking or run a marathon, you want to focus on endurance exercises. That means slow cardio and endurance training.
If you want more muscle and less fat, you’ll focus on lifting weights.
If you’re severely overweight, you’ll want to focus on weight loss in a way that won’t cause injuries. And that means prioritizing steady-state cardio over high-intensity workouts. You want a workout that will keep your heart rate in the right zone.
And ladies, if your focus is on maintaining bone density as you age (which it should be), you’ll focus on lifting heavy things frequently. You’ll choose workouts like HIIT training that make you quicker and faster on your feet. You’ll choose workouts that improve your posture by strengthening your core.
See the big picture and choose workouts that will get you to your goals
As affirming as it can be to see a high calorie-burn number on your smart watch, it’s more important to see the big picture and prioritize the right metrics. It might not look as sexy on your Fitbit, but the right exercise is going to get you directly where you want to go!
Do you know what your goals are with your body and your health? Then let’s find the right workout to get you there! Most of my clients come to me because they don’t recognize their bodies anymore. The things they’ve been told to do, and the things that maybe worked for them in the past, don’t work anymore. Their bodies don’t respond how they want and they feel discouraged and disconnected.
Get support on your fitness journey!
If that’s the place you’re in, trust me, you are not alone. I am here to help you connect with your physical health. My programs are built to help you physically connect with things that you love to do and with things that will give you energy. So let’s figure out what that is. Let’s figure out what your goals really are and then let’s move away from the things that aren’t working for you. There are a lot of amazing ways to exercise, but if you don’t have your destination in mind when you go on the journey, you’ll never get there. Set up a time to chat
with me and let’s get you heading towards your destination!
