Let’s look at something called Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) and how it plays a role in our health, fitness and body composition goals.
Basal Metabolic Rate is essentially the amount of calories you would burn in a day’s time if you did nothing but lay in bed.
Breathing, digesting, cellular function, and maintaining body temperature are all things that fall under the category of BMR.
This can be up to 70% of your total calories burned in a 24 hour period!
How do you find your BMR?
The easiest way to find your BMR is by using any of the BMR calculators available online. There are many options to choose from that prompt you to use your own numbers to give you an accurate value. I would recommend using the calculators that show up first during your search.
My individual approach is to use 3 or 4 different BMR calculators and average out my results. Your BMR value is the starting point for how many calories you will be consuming each day based on your goals. Some calculators will even ask about activity level which ultimately plays a role in your calorie burning for a given day, week, etc. This is why it is important. It is not one size fits all. This information is intended to help you realize that we all start at different places. The same principles can be used to achieve our own goals but comparing ourselves to others is simply unfair.
It is important to realize that an increase in lean body mass (muscle) will positively impact your BMR. Your body “costs” more energy to run when it has more muscle.
This is why strength training is so valuable.
Progressive increases in muscle contributes to our overall calorie burning ability each day. This means a greater potential for staying leaner in the long run. I’d say that’s a great benefit to putting in the work and getting stronger!
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Michael Allen
Author Bio
Michael has been working with clients in the gym and countless adults in a physical therapy setting since 2013. He spent 3 semesters working at Towson University with student-athletes from nearly every sport at the school. He served as the Strength and Conditioning Coordinator for Kennard-Dale High School during the 2019-2020 school year. His goal is to always get better and give you the safest and most effective use of your time at First Capital Gym.