There are a lot of variables that come into play with this one, but let me give you an example of the most common…
Here we have Sarah who works in admin and comes to the gym after work. She does a solid session working hard for a good hour in the gym.
Then you have James who works in construction, who is on his feet all day and very active. He meets one of his mates at the gym, does a couple of bicep curls, but mainly chats to his friend throughout the duration of the workout.
In this example, Sarah puts in a lot more work at the gym than James does. However, James has a much higher level of NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis, which you can read more about by CLICKING HERE). Overall, James will be burning more calories due to his activity throughout the day.
Don’t get me wrong I’m not trying to say don’t go to the gym and don’t train hard, but I want you to realise how your NEAT has a massive impact on what you do.
You might be thinking “I don’t have a physical job?”. That’s fine. You can still massively increase your NEAT in the following ways:
- Walk to the local shops rather than drive.
- When on the phone, put your headphones in and walk or get on with tidying while you talk.
- Taking the stairs and not using the lift.
- In the car park, park furthest from the shops.
- When taking public transport, stand rather than sit.
Remember that this is all in your control. In this day and age we tend to choose the easy route. Try and be that little more active in other areas of your life, it’s not just in the gym that we use energy.
