Burning calories during a workout is very dependent on your metabolism, when your metabolism is running quickly, the odds of burning it all off are much greater. Your metabolism is like an engine, the more it works throughout the day, the more likely you are to burn.
There are many things you can do outside of the gym to help boost your metabolism, some of these things include eating a quality breakfast, drinking green tea, get quality sleep, avoiding stressful situations, breaking routines, and incorporating cheat meals into your diet.
With that being said, there are also some things you can do in the gym to boost your metabolism. Something as simple as incorporating some warm up cardio can elevate your heart rate and boost your metabolism going into the workout. There are also some exercises that you can incorporate that will surely have an effect on your metabolic rate. Here are 12 exercises that can boost your metabolism, enjoy!
12 Plank
A plank is a very unique exercise, which involves a combination of different muscles working, while testing your endurance levels at the same time. With all these different elements involved, this exercise certainly is a great metabolism booster. This exercise specifically eats at your abdominal strength, but requires core strength as well, in order to keep yourself upright for the allotted time you are required to stay up. Make sure to add a plank exercise into your weekly routine, it’s a great metabolism kick starter.
11 Bench Press
So many women just refuse to use a bench press and I’m here to tell you that you are really missing out on this exercise. The bench press is a tremendous metabolism booster which tests your strength and stability. The strength aspect of the bench press causes you to burn at a much quicker pace than other exercises. The bench press targets your chest, but also involves a variety of other muscles working at the same time, including your shoulders and triceps. This workout will not only cause you to burn more, but will also give a 3 in 1 kind of workout. If you haven’t already, I strongly advise you to incorporate this exercise into your routine. Aim for 8 to 10 reps if you’re less experienced, 12 to 15 reps once you’ve grasped the motion.
10 Superset
For those of you that don’t know, a superset is performing an exercise after another exercise without any rest or break (proceed to take a break following the superset). This method is one of the best metabolism boosters out there when you are training. Performing a superset keeps your heart rate at an elevated level, this allows you to burn much more than just performing one exercise at a time. If you feel like your workouts are slumping, incorporating a superset can make all the difference.
9 Dumbbell Curl
Like the bench press, many women tend to neglect bicep workouts. Women are scared that performing this exercise will lead to bulky arms. The odds of this happening are rather slim, unless you plan on competing in some type of fitness contest or are eating a high number of calories the odds are rather unlikely. Performing a dumbbell curl will lean your arms out and will most likely tone them as opposed to making them bulkier. This exercise can also prove to be quite the metabolism booster if it isn’t normally a part of your routine. Make sure to incorporate this exercise once a week, aim for 12 to 15 reps per 3 to 4 sets.
8 Barbell Shoulder Press
This exercise falls into the same category as the bench press and bicep curls. Women tend to neglect these exercises, the barbell shoulder press is actually a great metabolism boosting exercise that not only works your shoulders, but core strength as well. The exercise is a great upper body workout that also works and strengthens your chest and triceps. Incorporating this compound exercise can seriously boost your workout, go for 12 to 15 reps on this exercise.
7 Hanging Leg Raises
This exercise offers a variety of elements mixed into one exercise. Hanging leg raises not only require strength, but also require mobility and stability in order to properly perform this exercise. These elements cause you to burn that much more while performing this movement. The main muscle working in this exercise is your core abdominals. If you are not experienced enough for this movement, you can start by using the machine for it, which has parallel bars to lean on and a back support. Once you gain experience using the machine, you will eventually be able to perform this exercise by simply hanging off a bar.
6 Barbell Or Dumbbell Lunge
The dumbbell lunge is a simple, yet very effective exercise, which targets your hamstrings, quads, and inner thighs. It can also boost your heart rate up quite intensely, while walking with the weights. The goal for this exercise is to step forward with your right or left leg around 2 feet while leaving the opposite leg stationary behind. Keep the torso upright and maintain balance.
5 Deadlifts
This exercise is one of the best core workouts out there. You can perform this exercise with a barbell or dumbbell. This exercise is a pure strength workout that focuses on your lower back and entire core. This workout is quite challenging and involves a lot of muscles working at once. In terms of metabolism boosting exercises, this is certainly one of the best ones out there.
The goal when doing a deadlift is to keep your core tight and locked in, doing so will allow your abs to develop. When deadlifting, it is key to keep your torso from collapsing forward, by doing this, you are strengthening your abdominal in an isometric manner. This exercise is a tremendous core builder, be sure to practice it and add it into your weekly routine.
4 Combination Exercises
Performing a combination exercise can be quite rigorous, but at the same time can boost your metabolism quickly. A combination of exercises is when you perform one rep of a certain muscle group exercise followed by another rep of another muscle group exercise. So for example, performing a bicep curl for one rep and then lifting the dumbbells and performing a shoulder dumbbell press for the next rep, continue to alter between the two until the given rep count. Doing so is a huge metabolism booster, which confuses your muscles, this not only allows you to burn more, but also causes your muscles to lean out at a quicker rate. Be sure to use combination exercises into your program.
3 Strength Training
Strength training remains one of the most effective training styles in terms of calorie burning per session. Activating your muscles causes your metabolic rate to increase significantly. Strength training not only causes you to burn more during your workouts, but also keeps you in a burning state throughout the day. It is important after you strength train to fuel your body appropriately causing the burning to take place all day long.
2 Squats
A squat rounds out the top 3 most significant core exercises which are the deadlift, bench press and squat itself. Squats are considered the best lower body exercise for a variety of reasons, some of which include increased hormone release, improved flexibility and increased overall core strength. Make sure a squat is done weekly, this exercise remains as the best lower body exercises out there.
1 HIIT Cardio
This type of cardio is so effective because of its influence on your metabolic rate causing it to constantly go up and down. This shift in the metabolic rate causes it to work that much faster. Eventually this leads to many more burned calories as opposed to running at a normal pace. HIIT is mostly effective with short bursts, so if you plan on using it on a treadmill go for an intense workout, run for one minute and then jog the next minute, continue this pace for about 20-30 minutes. Feel free to increase your speed and timing as you go along.
sources: health.com, womenshealthmag.com
