How good would it be to feel like you have more energy throughout the day? Great, right?!
Well, most of the time when people are feeling drained, they put it down to "not enough sleep" or "not eating well." Now, this may be true, and may be part of the equation to some extent. But if we truly want to be having more energy throughout the day, we need to figure where our energy is stored in our bodies, and how we can maximise the amount we store.
To do this, we need to understand our body's cell biology. Our bodies are made up of bones, ligaments, nerves and muscles, all made up of various types of cells. Within the cells that make up our muscle tissue, we have what we call "MITOCHONDRIA." The mitochondria within our cells are the batteries of our body; little units which store energy in our muscles, ready to be utilised when we need it. In order to feel like we have more energy throughout the day, we need to understand how to increase the number and the size of these little storage units.
There are quite a few ways to increase the size of each of these mitochondria units, such as strength and resistance training in the gym, high-intensity interval training, general sport, and so on. However, there is only one way to increase the number of mitochondria in our bodies, and that is achieved through steady-state cardiovascular exercise, whereby we are performing an activity that elevates the body's heart rate to approximately 130-140 beats per minute (although this range may vary slightly due to baseline fitness level, age etc.) and we keep it there for a consistent period of time; let's say, approximately 45 minutes to one hour.
Click on the YouTube video below for a detailed explanation on this topic.
To keep up to date with these educational posts and videos, subscribe to our YouTube channel to get notified of new video uploads, and subscribe to our email list on the bottom of our website to be notified of new blog posts.
Yours in health,
Alex Biffin
Owner and Principle Physiotherapist
HEXA Health Hub