Metabolic damage is a topic that has heated up of late thanks to Dr. Layne Norton's videos on the topic. Today we will look at the second video in his series about Metabolic Damage. In this video Layne speaks about Metabolic Capacity. He explains how it works and how he fixes things when they've been messed up.
Listen to the video first if you haven't already.
[pro-player type='video']http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EY1DsZMNfNw[/pro-player]
What's the Deal?
Metabolic Damage is defined as a situation in which the caloric intake and cardio output is not proportionate to the weight loss or weight gain results. Many coaches seem to think that simply lowering calories, cutting carbs and increasing cardio is the answer to getting their clients into stage ready shape.
What is Metabolic Capacity?
Anyone who wants long term fat loss and maintenance of that fat loss needs to be wary of metabolic capacity. The description of this is as follows. Two are twins. They are genetically the same. They both have the same amount of body fat. One maintains their weight on 3100 calories a day while the other maintains their weight on 2100 calories. The one at 3100 calories is more readily able to cut down because they are at a higher starting point for calories. This is the metabolic capacity.
Get Through the Sticking Points
By starting out eating as many calories as you possibly can with as little cardio as possible and still losing weight, you can get through sticking points more easily. You will hit a sticking point every 3 to 6 weeks. This is stuff you should be paying attention to in the off-season.
Adding Calories in the Off-Season
By adding calories extremely slowly you will allow your metabolic capacity to grow. For some reason the body absorbs the additional carbs and fat added to the diet. There is no research on this, but Layne has seen it happen many times. Amazingly, you can be eating a lot of carbs and still not be gaining weight/fat.
