Exercise and Metabolism Revisited

In my last few posts I have been revisiting the topic of boosting your metabolism.  I began by explaining exactly what metabolism is and then moved on to explain how eating affects your metabolism.  Today I am going to discuss how exercise affects your metabolism.
As I mentioned in previous articles metabolism is influenced by three main factors:
- Your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) (the number of calories you burn performing the basic functions that keep you alive).
- Your level of Physical Activity.
- The Thermic Effect of Foods that you Eat (the number of calories it takes to digest and absorb the foods you eat).
HOW DOES RESISTANCE TRAINING BOOST YOUR METABOLISM?
Resistance training (also known as strength training or weight lifting) is anything that involves using resistance to build strength and muscle mass.  Examples include bodyweight training, using weight machines and lifting free weights.  Resistance training also burns additional calories during the workout but the main way it boosts your metabolism is by increasing your muscle mass.  Muscle requires more calories to maintain than fat.  The difference is not huge but according to About.com a pound of muscle requires 6 calories per day to maintain whilst a pound of fat requires 2 calories per day to maintain.  Therefore, by performing regular resistance training and building muscle mass you can increase your BMR and the overall amount of calories you burn on a day to day basis.