Boost Metabolism and Improve Calorie Burn Potential
Your metabolic rate spikes when you get up and move (basically, you improve your calorie burn). It naturally slows down when you sleep or remain sedentary. That is why inactive lifestyles plummet your burn rate. Efficiency is key to great burn rates and metabolic increases. (Sorry folks, an hour on the elliptical won’t change your body for the better).
Check out our four efficient training methods to burn calories and increase metabolism.
HIIT
High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is one of the best metabolism boosters aside from Tabata. It is a type called Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption, or EPOC, which boosts fat-burning mode for up to 38 hours.
Specifically, you alternate periods of lower intensity and short bursts of intense effort. HIIT routines provide a long-term burn in short sessions. During the training, your body has to deal with a more intense workout. It requires your body to work and recover harder, causing more calories to burn, significantly increasing your calorie burn and your metabolic rate.
The following are 10 of many HIIT total body exercises you can do within 10 minutes:
- Charleston – plank, step one foot forward, then lift the other leg up
- Thread the Needle – plank, weave one leg long under your body, then reach for your toes
- Pop Jack – plank, then sumo squat
- Push-Up Side-to-Side – plank, then push up
- Thrust – plank, tuck, then leap up with arms outstretched
- Plank Jack with Tuck – plank, jump your leg out, then tuck
- Superman – plank, then do superman pose
- Lateral Tick Tock – plank, jump both feet outside of your right hand and left hand after doing another plank
- Inchworm – plank, walk hands to reach feet then return back
- Leggy Burpee – plank, push-up, two lunges, and leap high
Due to its high energy requirement, muscle cells burn more calories than fat cells, even at rest. Hence, you reap benefits long after you stop sweating the more muscle you have.
Tabata
Tabata is a form of high-intensity interval training with short bursts of all-out movement followed by short periods of rest, completed within four minutes. Not only can it burn calories and rev up metabolism by increasing body temperature and doing ultra-high intensity exercises, but Tabata also gives you the benefits of EPOC.
According to one research, the supramaximal anaerobic training method of Tabata allows one person to burn about 13.5 calories every minute. This increases one’s metabolic rate twice after every 30 minutes.
Choose to perform activities that require most of your muscles, including chest, back, glutes, and legs. For instance, perform squat jumps for 20 seconds, break for 10 seconds, and repeat this pattern eight times or more. You can also try doing burpees, mountain climbers, cycling bursts, swimming or running sprints.
Cold Workouts
You might not have heard of it, but exercising in the cold can boost metabolism and calorie burn. Winter weight gain has little to do with not sweating!
Shivering (shivering thermogenesis) and brown fat (nonshivering thermogenesis) are our body’s adaptive mechanisms that burn calories. Scientifically, shivering thermogenesis (ST) and nonshivering thermogenesis (NST) add on to a typical basal metabolic rate (BMR), increasing your optimal metabolic rate.
First, shivering improves calorie burn and increases metabolic rate about five-fold. Our bodies generate heat when we shiver. This process is called shivering thermogenesis. Consequently, the more heat produced, the more your metabolic rate increases.
However, shivering makes a person feel uncomfortable, so researchers suggest going out during mildly cold temperatures. Research shows that regular exposure to mild cold (around 64 degrees Fahrenheit) is a sustainable alternative way to increase energy expenditure. In response to mild cold exposure, NST increases up to 30% for most young and middle-aged people.
Lastly, apart from shivering thermogenesis, your body keeps warm by your brown fat, a metabolically active fat tissue. When we are in a cold space, our bodies naturally make ourselves warm. That is because we are burning calories. Cold temperatures establish an immune response in your body that turns white cellulite-like fat to brown fat.
Weights
It is scientifically proven that building muscles equals better metabolism. Improve your metabolic rate by 4-5% by increasing your muscle mass to 20%. A 5’4, 135-pound woman in her 30’s needs to add 65 calories each day to increase muscle mass (while training hard, of course).
Both cardio and weight training improves muscle growth adaptations. However, studies show that one’s cardio and weight training order makes a difference in muscle retention.
For instance, there is no need to do cardio first if you plan to do heavy weightlifting. Instead, mix cardio into circuits each day and speed up the weight-training pace, bumping up your heart rate on the next sessions.
In addition, lift heavier loads off the rack rather than standard barbells. Preferably, choose those weights that wear out your muscles while finishing the last few repetitions. Generally, lighter weights do not stimulate muscle growth that much, but rather increase endurance. Then, immediately after working out, consider refueling with a protein powder.
Takeaway
Nonexercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) is as essential as working out with regard to a healthy metabolism. Improve calorie burn daily by working at a standing desk, cleaning, or stretching your legs with a short walk every 45 minutes. These small changes can add up to an extra 350 calories burned each day.
There are many unique ways to workout while working your job as well. Take a walk during lunch breaks, do 20 jumping jacks intermittently, or simply take the stairs! Let us know in the comments below which small steps you will make!
This article was written by a guest blogger:
KENNY KLINE
A long-time entrepreneur, fitness enthusiast, and Columbia Business School Alum, Kenny has built his career around creating high-quality, reader-focused digital brands.
