Every week I hear questions or comments regarding metabolism. Everyone is posting, tweeting or blogging about basal metabolic rates, MET training, metabolism reduction during aging, etc... While these are all hot topics, many people don't actually understand the different ways we can currently measure metabolism or even what one's metabolism really is!
Metabolism is loosely defined as the combination of reactions performed by the body that both breakdown substances (catabolism) as well as build molecular structures (anabolism). This can be seen as clearly as gaining or losing fat and or muscle! Typically, catabolism is an energy generating process while anabolic processes take an input of energy to occur (there are some exceptions to this rule, however).
The basal metabolic rate (BMR) is the amount of energy required for homeostasis (bare-minimum amount of bodily function for survival). Typically, these processes (breathing, heart rate, brain activity, etc...) can use around 65% of the calories a person consumes. That means that the rest of the calories are used during activities of daily living (ADL) or through exercise.
There are also other important and useful metabolism measurements that a trained healthcare professional or trainer may be able to administer. These measurements are aerobic threshold (VO2 Max) and anaerobic threshold. An easy way to explain these two measurements are as follows:
1. Aerobic Threshold: If you imagine that your body is an automobile, the aerobic threshold is the maximum miles per gallon that the car can achieve. Physiologically speaking, aerobic threshold refers to one's maximum rate of oxygen processing to provide fuel. This number is very important to have during training so that clients can have a benchmark to measure their progress as well as a reference point for how intense they should be training.
2. Anaerobic Threshold: Using the car analogy, anaerobic threshold is the car's red-line. Physiologically, anaerobic threshold refers to the body's ability to process energy when there is not enough oxygen being delivered to the tissue. In this hypoxic state, a biproduct called lactic acid builds up and eventually causes fatigue. The body's ability to deal with the accumulation of lactic acid ultimately defines the anaerobic threshold.
All of these metabolic measures are incredibly important numbers for both controlling weight gain as well as for making exercise progress. It's vital to familiarize yourself with the numbers and where you fall on the fitness spectrum. Use these measurements as an aid to continued progress and feel free to post the improvements that you see!
What's your benchmark?
Russ
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