Increasing Metabolism Accelerates Weight Loss
Increasing your metabolism is one of the best ways to accelerate your weight loss. You’ll be burning more calories while at rest, and people who have a faster metabolism can cheat on their diet here and there with fewer negative repercussions.
In this article, we’ll look at 10 ways you can increase your metabolism with exercise. While it won’t happen overnight, you’ll burn slightly more calories in the first week. After the first month, your metabolic rate will be higher… and by the third month, you’ll have a high metabolism and have more energy for life.
10 Ways To Increase Metabolism
1. Running
Without a doubt, this is one of the best ways to burn calories and shed the stubborn fat. Running must be done at high speed. Sprinting is best because it puts you in fat burning mode for hours. This is how your metabolic rate skyrockets.
Avoid jogging which doesn’t put you in an excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) state. In other words, the calorie burning benefits ends once the exercise session ends. All you’ll get is impact on your joints and minimal fat burning benefits.
2. Train legs more
When working out at the gym, focus on squats, box jumps, lunges, etc. The legs are huge muscles and training them more will not only help burn more calories, but you’ll develop lean muscle too. This will translate to more calories burned while at rest, because muscle is ‘calorically expensive’ and energy must be used to maintain them.
3. Focus on compound exercises
Pullups, deadlifts, squats, bench presses, etc. are examples of compound exercises. These exercises recruit several muscle groups and you’ll be burning more calories as compared to isolation exercises such as calf raises and dumbbell curls which only work one specific muscle each. Your workouts should mostly comprise compound movements.
4. Interval training
Interval training twice or three times a week will help to raise your metabolism and put you in fat burning mode for hours. They’re far more effective for fat loss than slow, steady state cardio.
You really do not need to do more than 3 sessions a week – and always have a one-day break between sessions. Interval training is so potent that if done daily without breaks, you can tax your central nervous system causing chronic fatigue and other problems.
5. Increase the resistance
Your goal should always be to increase the weight you move or the resistance you add in your training. If you run, you may use ankle weights to add resistance. If you lift weights, you should aim to lift as much weight as you can while maintaining good form and train safely.
The more resistance you add, the harder your muscles will work. This will increase lean muscle growth and boost your metabolism.
6. Work your core
Hanging leg raises, planks, v-sits, etc. are all core exercises that work your core muscles and entire body. Incorporating a few of them towards the end of your workout session will help you tone your core and midsection. Your metabolism will also increase because many muscles are used to stabilize your core during core training.
7. Activity throughout the day
Drops make an ocean. The same principle applies in your daily life. You can spike and maintain your metabolism throughout the day by not slouching into a kyphotic position over your computer and being sedentary throughout the day.
Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Walk instead of using a car, if possible. Use a Swiss ball instead of a chair when you’re at your desk. Do 10 pushups, 10 half-squats and 10 jumping jacks every half an hour.
Not only will the short bursts of activity wake you up from the daily daze of monotony, but the short exercise sessions will work your muscles too.
8. Stay hydrated
Drinking sufficient water throughout the day has been shown to increase one’s active metabolism. The colder the water, the better. So, guzzle down those glasses of iced water.
9. Change up your activities
The human body is a highly intelligent and adaptive organism. If you subject it to the same workouts every week, it will get more efficient at handling the workouts. This is why you see improvements in performance.
To stimulate your body’s metabolism, it would be a good idea to keep it guessing. Do new exercises and engage in a variety of activities. If you do CrossFit today, try indoor rock climbing the next day. A spinning class the day after that will be a refreshing change too. What’s next?
Kickboxing classes, rowing machine training, yoga, etc. You’re spoiled for choices. While you don’t have to vary your workouts daily, adding a new activity once a week will keep your body in ‘constantly adapting’ mode.
10. Slow your movements
This is applicable to weight training. When lifting weights, it’s best to check your ego at the door and stop comparing the size of your muscles with others. Some people have a natural tendency to want to lift the most weight just for bragging rights.
Very often, form goes out the window and jerky movements are used to lift weights that are far too heavy for them. This is counterproductive.
Instead, you should lift weight in a slow and controlled manner. One count to lift the weight up and three counts to slowly lower it. The eccentric phase of the movement stimulates the muscle fibers and causes growth. This will lead to a higher metabolism.
The 10 pointers in this article are highly effective if you apply them.
Warnings
Of course, you should consult your doctor first and tailor an exercise program to fit in with your current level of fitness. If you’ve led a sedentary lifestyle for years or you’re obese, you’ll not be able to handle high intensity training initially. It will be best to walk more, clean up your diet and lose several pounds till harder exercise becomes possible.
Once you’re lighter and can move more fluidly, you can apply the more ‘hardcore’ tips mentioned here. What matters is that you make exercise a part of your daily lifestyle.
You have everything to gain from it. The only bad workout is the one that didn’t happen.
Get moving today.