Two lobes, each 4 cm long and 1 to 2 cm wide, make up the thyroid gland. The thyroid is attached to the base of your larynx, or voice box, at the front of your neck. The hormones secreted by the thyroid gland, T3 and T4, stimulate your cells to increase their oxygen consumption. The thyroid gland therefore has a significant part in regulating your metabolism. The thyroid gland may react to certain stimuli by increasing your metabolism. Exercises, including pushups, cause an increase in metabolic rate.
The Thyroid and BMR
Your metabolism is regulated by hormones released by the thyroid gland. Basal metabolic rate, or BMR, is a measure of the body's oxygen usage at rest. Typically, the more active your thyroid gland is, the higher your BMR. Basal metabolic rates are dependent on your energy balance, which is the difference between your calorie consumption and your expenditure. Approximately 60 to 75 percent of the calories you burn off each day go to your BMR. Exercises such as pushups will increase the amount of calories your body uses, which will change your energy balance and affect the thyroid activity that determines your BMR.
Scientific Evidence
As early as 1967, Buck A. Rhodes described a study in a letter to the journal "Nature" indicating that the amount of iodine stored in the thyroid gland was dependent on exercise. Rats that did not exercise stored about twice as much iodine in their thyroid gland as those that exercised, according to Rhodes. Pushups, as a form of exercise, could potentially produce a similar effect.
Benefit of Exercise
One benefit of exercising is that tissues become more sensitive to thyroid hormones. This prompts the thyroid gland to secrete more hormones. Combining aerobics and strength training exercises has the best effect. Examples of strengthening exercises that are effective in a thyroid stimulating exercise program include lunges, leg raises and pushups.
Strength Training and the Thyroid
The American Council on Exercise states that strength training exercises increase the number of calories you burn, since muscle building requires a large energy output. You may approach strength training with the goal of increasing your strength and fitness level, but an added benefit is that your metabolism will receive a boost from strength training exercises, including pushups. Increased thyroid activity that boosts metabolism will keep you burning more calories, even during sleep.
