Best forms of exercise to boost your metabolism

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is a highly efficient workout method that combines short bursts of intense training, lasting between 10 seconds to 3 mins, followed by slow recovery/rest intervals. These intervals are repeated throughout the workout.  During the intense interval, you work your maximum heart rate to ~80-95% and then lower it to around 50% during the recovery phase (note: you shouldn’t wait for your heart rate to get back down to baseline). This method results in more calories burned when compared to longer, less intense workouts. 

 

Why? 

Short, intense bursts of exercise lead to excess post-oxygen consumption (EPOC), which is the period following a workout where the metabolism stays elevated and you continue to burn additional calories. Your body is using energy to replace the fuel that you lost and repair the work-out-induced muscle damage. Your body needs to tap into your fat stores to receive the energy required to return to your normal resting state, leading to increased fat burning. This is why this method results in more calories burned when compared to longer, less intense workouts. 

 

Science shows that using HIIT, people can burn the same amount of calories in 20 minutes as a continuous 50-minute workout. 

 

Additional health benefits of HIIT:

 

• It improves cardiovascular health by increasing your VO2 max 
• Improves overall performance: during HIIT, you work both your aerobic and anaerobic system leading to increased stamina and endurance. 
• Improves insulin sensitivity: HIIT helps your muscles use glucose for fuel.

 

Why cardio isn’t enough…

 

Muscle is our metabolically active tissue (aka the tissue that burns calories). The more we have of it, the more calories we burn at rest. Every pound of muscle you have burns ~6cal per day at rest (yep, burning calories without doing anything). For more technical lingo: the more muscle you have, the higher your resting metabolic weight (RMR), and the higher your RMR, the more calories you burn at rest. 

 

So how do we maintain muscle while losing weight? This is where resistance training comes in. No, you don’t have to bulk up. But you do have to engage in some strength exercises to increase muscle mass. 

 

These don’t have to be heavy-weight exercises. Best way to tone up and not bulk up, is to do a lot of repetitions with light weights or a resistance band. Orrr, if equipment isn’t your thing, then you can stick to the traditional like push-ups, sit-ups, squats, burpees, etc.

 

There are many great strength HIIT workouts on youtube for FREE! I usually choose a 20 minute one and BOOM DONE. 

 

Bottom line?! The best combo for fat loss and boosting metabolism is: HIIT plus some muscle building. The HIIT gets your metabolism going and the muscles keep it going at baseline.