I'll have 2 slices of Pizza and Ice Cream........................... and 600 Burpees!

Burpee Equivalents:  Understanding Junk Food in terms of Your Favorite Exercise!

 

Occasionally people slip up with their diets and sneak in some junk calories. When they do, they have to pay the price…In Burpees!  Here is some research to quantify energy expenditure during the Burpee exercise.  Here is what was found:

	Calories (kcals)	Burpees for 130lb individual	Burpees for 180lb individual
1 large French Fries	500	524	349
1 low cal beer	195	204	136
1 Slice of Dominos Peperoni Pizza	260	272	182
1 8-ounce Bison Cheesburger	730	765	510
1 scoop of Ben Jerry’s Cookie Dough ice cream	270	283	189
1 12” Roast beef sub from Subway	970	1016	677
1 Cola soft drink	200	210	140
1 Fried Calamari Appetizer	700	733	489
1 Plain Bagel	320	335	223
1 Slice of Cheescake	1000	1048	698
1 Egg McMuffin Sandwich	300	314	210
1 Cadbury Creme Egg	59	62	41



First calculated was the amount of work being performed during the Burpee. Calculated work as:

-  Work (w) = force (f) x distance (d)
-  f = weight of the individual in kilograms
-  d = distance from the floor to the maximal height of the head during the jump in meters.

Example:

Male Athlete A:
-  Height: 71 inches (1.80 meters)
-  Weight:  180 lbs (81.8 kg)
-  Average Vertical jump during 5 minute Burpee test:  5 in. (.12 m)
-  Total vertical displacement from the floor to maximal jump height:  1.92 m (height plus jump height).
-  work = 81.8 x 1.92
-  work  = 157 kg/m
-  Given:  1kcal = 426.4 kg/m
-  Thus, 0.368 kcals of mechanical work per Burpee

External mechanical work or the work that is being performed does not equal the amount of work that is being produce internally, humans aren’t 100% efficient.  Efficiency during running and cycling is about 25%, thus for the body to perform 25 kcals of external work, it must produces 100 kcals of energy internally. That means that the body has to produce 1.47 kcals of internal energy to produce 0.368 kcals of external mechanical work per Burpee repetition.

Also calculated was energy production during the Burpee exercise by measuring oxygen consumption with metabolic cart.  Several athletes performed the Burpee exercise at a constant rate for 3 minutes while wearing a portable metabolic measuring system that continuously measured oxygen consumption.  The average Burpee rate was 10 Burpee repetitions per minute and average oxygen consumption during the last minute of exercise was 35 milliliters of oxygen per kilogram of body weight per minute (ml O2/kg/min). We found the measured oxygen cost of a single Burpee repetition to be 3.5 ml O2/kg/Burpee.

To convert oxygen cost to energy expenditure:

Example same athlete as above:
-  Total oxygen consumed during a single Burpee is calculated as the product of body weight (kg) and O2 cost in ml/kg/.min
-  81.8 kg X 3.5 ml O2/kg/Burpee =  286 mlO2/Burpee or .286 liters (l) of O2/Burpee.
-  One liter of oxygen is equivalent to about 5 kcals.
-  0.286 l O2 X 5 kcals/l  = 1.43 kcals/Burpee.

As you can see , there is good agreement between the 2 methods (1.47 and 1.43 kcals/Burpee respectively).

2 slices of Domino’s pizza = 600 kcals or 419 burpees

Pint of Ben and Jerry’s Cookie Dough = 980 kcals or 685 burpees.

Use the chart below to figure out your Burpee equivalent of junk food calories.

Energy Expenditure During the Burpee Exercise (kcals/Burpee)
Body Weight (lbs.)	120	130	140	150	160	170	180	190	200	210
kcals per Burpee	0.95	1.03	1.11	1.19	1.27	1.35	1.43	1.51	1.59	1.67

Example – for a 140 lb person:

2 slices of Domino’s pizza = 600 kcals
600kcals/ 1.11 kcal per Burpee = 540 burpees
 
You can have your cake and eat it too, but be ready to pay in Burpees!

Yours in health,
Greg
www.lakesidefitnessclub.com
 

Weight loss plateau?

Here are 8 reasons why you might have hit a plateau with your weight loss efforts:

1. You're doing too much cardio.
You aren't guaranteed a slim waistline just because you spend an hour on the treadmill every day. In fact, long cardio sessions can actually work against you. That's because your body basically sees exercise as stress, and stress causes the release of a hormone called cortisol, which breaks down energy stores for immediate use. Over the short term, this reaction is healthy and natural, but prolonged increases in cortisol eventually lead to insulin resistance, a decrease in bone density, loss of lean muscle mass, and weight gain.

These studies show that short bursts of high intensity training (like sprints) increase the fat burning potential of muscle, improve the efficiency with which the body burns fat, and is a more time efficient strategy when it comes to fat burning exercise.

2. You're eating too much fruit.
Many dieters turn to fruit as a sweet, low-calorie snack, but the sugar in fruit (like all carbohydrates) gets broken down into glucose in the small intestine. The presence of glucose in the bloodstream causes the pancreas to release insulin, and insulin stores excess glucose as fat. If you're trying to lose weight, fruit intake should be limited to those with a combination of low carbohydrate content and high amounts of antioxidants like berries and pitted fruits.

3. You're skimping on calories.
Some calorie counters assume that if restricting calories will help them lose weight, then restricting a lot of calories will help them lose more weight, more quickly. Unfortunately, the body views severe calorie restriction as starvation and will eventually turn against you, fighting to keep the calories you do eat for dear life.

4. You're not getting enough fat.
When it comes to nutrition, we have to distinguish between healthy and unhealthy fat. Unhealthy fats are the trans fats, omega 6 fats, and processed fats that are used to manufacture processed foods. Healthy fats, on the other hand (fats from fish, nuts, coconut, animal meats, eggs, avocados, olives, etc.), are a necessary part of healthy cellular function. Contrary to what you might think, healthy fats do not translate into added pounds. The consumption of healthy fats instead of sugar actually gives us energy, keeps us satiated longer, and prompts the body to burn stored fat for fuel.

5. You're stressed out.
Any type of stress (physical, emotional, chemical) causes the body to enter into a state of protection, also known as "fight or flight." This results in altered hormone levels as the body shuts down all processes not immediately required for survival. Part of the stress response, as stated above, is the release of cortisol. Again, this is perfectly healthy unless stress is chronic, in which case the result is increased fat storage around the belly.

6. You're overloading on carbs.
The typical American diet consists of large amounts of processed carbohydrates that wreak havoc on blood sugar and insulin levels. Over time, fat cells become insulin resistant which makes it nearly impossible for the body to burn fat no matter how much you exercise or how few calories you consume.

7. You're not getting enough sleep.
Lack of sleep is an often overlooked source of health challenges. That's because our sleep patterns have a big impact on our hormone levels. This study showed that poor sleeping habits cause us to gain weight, and this one showed that the biggest spike in fat burning hormones occurred during deep sleep.

8. You're eating too many diet foods.
Most diet foods (and all processed foods for that matter), contain some form of MSG, which is also known as yeast extract, glutamic acid, and hydrolyzed protein, among others. This chemical has been used in obesity research to induce obesity in rats. It causes a spike in insulin levels, in both animals and humans, which causes the body to store fat. Other chemicals in diet foods can sabotage your weight loss efforts too, like artificial sugars, trans fats, and natural flavors.

In the end, the best way to lose weight is to get healthy. You cannot sidestep nature. This means eating real food, moving your body regularly, getting adequate amounts of sleep, and finding ways to manage stress.


Yours in health,
Greg
www.lakesidefitnessclub.com