My heart rate increases when I lift weights, why isn’t this considered aerobic exercise?
During aerobic activities, the body’s demand for oxygen increases resulting in an increase in our heart rate in an attempt to meet the requirement. This increases the blood circulation throughout the body and results in more blood being returned to the heart. This extra “load” causes adaptations in our cardiovascular system that is beneficial for our overall health.
During resistance activities, there is an increase in our sympathetic activity which causes our heart rate to increase and our blood vessels to constrict as a result. This decreases the blood circulation throughout the body and some becomes trapped in our extremities. Therefore, in resistance training, our heart rate increases as a result of the circulating catecholamines our body releases due to the intensity of the exercise. The increase in heart rate does not load the heart with a larger return of blood to the heart, thus lacks the ability for cardiovascular adaptations.
I am losing weight very slowly but my friend loss 5 pounds last weekend, what’s going on?
The weight did not go on overnight, so neither will it come off. The first step is to look at what period of time you put on the weight and understand it will take that plus some to lose. Fat loss is a slow and gradual process that allows our body to adapt as we progress to ensure that we maintain our ability to function at an optimal level. For your friend to lose 5 pounds over the weekend, he would have had to expend 17,500 more calories than he consumed. Instead, your friend properly deprived themselves of key nutrients like carbohydrates and fats resulting in water loss. When your body does not have enough nutrients to function, it uses the body’s carbohydrate store which releases water in the process showing a decrease on the scale. However, once we are properly nourished again, we replenish those stores and the scale creeps right back up to where it started.
Here at Peak, we often get asked questions that we believe many others must be curious about. If you have any questions, always feel free to ask or leave a note in one of our mailboxes… you may find the answer right here!
