Slow Your Roll

I'm going to give you a run-down on the basic workings of a hybrid vehicle in hope of helping you understand more about how the energy process works in your body. if you can understand the comparison even a little I'm sure it will help you become a better provider for yourself. Here we go!

A hybrid vehicle has two main sources of energy. One is stored battery power, and the other is an internal combustion motor. As long as you are not demanding a ton of energy ie, smashing the gas peddle, hitting the hills, or living your life a quarter mile at a time. Your vehicle can keep up with the demand from the energy stored in the batteries of your car. If you do need the extra power, your vehicle will engage the gas motor to meet the demand, and once the demand becomes less, your vehicle will switch back to using the electric motor that runs off of power stored in the vehicles batteries. That is enough of automotive class, so lets switch gears(Pun intended).

Your body has two main sources of energy. One is stored in the muscles and is responsible for demand that happens now (Your internal combustion motor). If you walk into a gym, and hit the weights or do cardio, this energy makes it possible. without it you would attempt to move and your energy would drop as fast as the DOW in 2006. The other form of energy is stored body fat (Your battery). All of us have it. Most of us have more than we want, and some have barely enough to survive the first few days of the zombie apocalypses. This energy is processed in the body and made available at a slow rate based on energy demand, and recovery. These two systems form a yin, and yang relationship to provide you energy for all of the demands of life.

Much like the Hybrid vehicle, lower demands for energy can efficiently be supplied by a higher percentage of stored body fat. Higher demands of energy require a higher percentage of muscle energy. These two systems work together to meet any demand that you can muster. Just to give you an idea of how that works in a specific situation, lets talk about cardio. If you are like most people you think, man I've got to lose weight, maybe I should jog to make that happen. You hit the pavement, or the treadmill and get started. Good news!!! Believe it or not, taking it slow will work better for losing those extra lbs of stored body fat, while hitting it hard will end up being counter productive to the goal. While you do burn more calories per minute kicking your own ass, more of those calories come from stored muscle sugar, than from stored body fat. If you work at a manageable heart rate somewhere between 120 and 135 beats per minute, you will burn less calories per minute, however you will burn a much higher percentage from stored body fat. You will also be able to perform for much longer periods of time, and your recovery duration is much lower at a slower heart rate. Doing this while watching your daily calorie intake will get you to your goal faster than the flash.

In the race to lose weight The tortoise beats the hare, and has the energy to celebrate the victory at the finish line, every time!

Disclaimer: The information in this post was designed to simplify the understanding of energy in the body and in no way was intended to offend anyone on who likes the way they kick their own ass, anyone on Keto, anyone who drives a Prius, or Barry Allen. If you would like information on the complexities of the systems beyond the basics, feel free to comment and I will write a blog post for you that I'm sure will answer questions for others.

As always, Face your destiny and always move forward!