6 rules for an athletic body

We can always blame our own genetics and anatomy for not having the athletic bodies, toned abs, or just not being able to fit into your prom dress.< /p>

But what everyone should do is learn their own metabolism and develop it to its full potential, instead of complaining that their genes are “screwed up”.

Although the human metabolism slows down as we age, there are various foods that we can use to speed up the fat burning process and achieve the desired results more easily.

1. Eat the right number of calories

Cut unnecessary calories but still eat enough. Gluttony in large amounts leads to obesity, but insufficient nutrient intake is even more dangerous because the body goes into shock and begins to break down its own muscles in order to get energy.

The result is – the scales show less and we look worse. A common mistake in rapid starvation weight loss.

2. Calculate your own calorie burn

Do you want to lose 1-2 kilos in a week? Healthy and without the yo-yo effect? It sounds too good to be true, but alas, believe it! Limit your daily food intake by about 500 calories or increase the duration of your workout.

Of course, it is best to combine both methods. That way, at the end of the week, you’ll be looking a little better and at the same time have enough energy to continue the next week. After all, Rome was not built in a day.

3. Exercise “right”

Wayne Wescott, a professor in Quincy, Massachusetts, advises doing cardio (jogging, running, cycling or long walks) 3-5 times a week. This will speed up your metabolic rate while you are at rest.

Or in other words, you will lose weight faster by resting. Michelle Olson, a professor of exercise physiology at Auburn University in Alabama, advises doing “impact” sets, ie. for 20 seconds, do your best, picking up the pace and increasing the weight, and after those 20 seconds, give yourself a 10 second break.

And so 4-5 minutes. According to the latest research, impact sets burn up to 90% more calories per minute than a regular set. And the best part is that this can be done with almost any exercise.

4. Don’t forget weight lifting

A pound of muscle burns more calories than a pound of fat, 9 times more to be exact. Lifting weights is one of the best ways to prevent your metabolism from slowing down with age. For this, it is good to add 1-2 strength training during the week.

5. Not Yo-Yo Dieting

When you lose weight, you burn both fat and muscle. The ratio depends on how you lose weight, of course with proper training and diet, muscle is much less than fat. But when you regain weight because of the yo-yo effect, you mainly gain fat.

It is good to ride a bike outside or an ergometer (so-called stationary bike) in the gym or at home. Despite rumors and myths that cycling burns calories back, the latest research shows that this is not the case, on the contrary.

So, once you have stopped cycling and then you decide to ride again, there is no point in struggling unnecessarily, chasing the old norms, and you can start all over again, because you will burn the same calories.

6. Eat before bed

Note that this only applies if you exercise regularly. In this way, you provide nutrients to your body while it sleeps and thus prevent catabolism (muscle breakdown).

Also, you start the morning with a pretty fast metabolism. The best foods before bed are skimmed milk or cottage cheese, of course you can do something else, but the goal is that the food you will eat is high in protein and low in carbohydrates and fat.