Fuel-Sipping Cars and Gas-Guzzling Bodies

If the oft-imagined "visitor from another planet" was visit the USA, he would likely be puzzled by our desire for fuel efficiency and high mpg in regards to our cars - while we desire the exact opposite for our own bodies.  Don't you think?  After he would have acclimated himself to our atmosphere and conducted a little field research he would soon discover the cause of our love of efficiency in one area and hatred for it in another.  He would discover that food is much more than "fuel" to us American earthlings.  It is also a source of comfort and pleasure.  Food is relatively cheap and plentiful, but bodily activity is not - at least it is not "plentiful." We seem to have to go out of our way to get the activity!  On the other hand, these same earthlings' cars often are forced to be overly-active due to long work commutes and other needed trips while their own required fuel is increasingly expensive and said to be ultimately limited.  Such is life!

With Americans' desire for food (and lots of it!) a given, and with their concomitant desire for a lean, muscular and/or "toned" body also assumed, some practical instruction is in order to allow these same beings to "have their cake and eat it too."

Here are some practical tips:

1. The run/ride/workout includes all those things you want to avoid when driving for high mpg.  
2. (Further describing #1) Make sure you include plenty of hard starts, quick accelerations, and quick decelerations.
3. (Further describing #1) Make sure you push the pace on on the uphills.  
4. (Further describing #1) Avoid coasting.
5. (Further describing #1) With resistance exercise, avoid "coasting" - instead, accentuate the negative portion of the rep by strictly controlling the descent.  This is somewhat equivalent to using the brakes on the downhills.

Of course, the above tips are with the average workout-enthusiast in mind.  This person wants to spend the most fuel (i.e. calories) on their workout as possible so they can eat/guzzle more fuel and still look fit.  If, on the other hand, you're running a long-distance race, you'll want to be very EFFICIENT with your fuel-usage.  To do this, drive your body like you drive you car when you're trying to get high miles-per-gallon...and then your body will get high miles-per-gallon as well.

To get maximum workout benefit, drive your body as if it was a muscle car or a race car - not a Prius hybrid.