Short Intense Cardio Workouts Will Help Increase your Metabolism
Understanding your Metabolism
Metabolism is the set of chemical processes that occur in living organisms, resulting in growth,
production of energy and elimination of waste. Metabolism is the process by which the body converts food into energy or stores it as fat. If you have a quick metabolism or metabolic rate, your body will burn calories rapidly and store less fat. With a slow metabolism, your body will burn calories less efficiently and store more fat.
Weight Loss and Metabolic Rate
To lose weight and maintain a lean muscular healthy body, you should eat fewer calories, follow a specific exercise plan which will not only burn calories but raise your metabolism, and also eat a diet that will help increase your metabolism or metabolic rate.
Lean Muscle Tissue and Metabolism
Do strength training exercises using resistance equipment, free weights or body weight exercises. These exercises will help you maintain and increase lean muscle tissue. You do not have to gain large bodybuilder type muscles. Use moderate weights with a rep range of 12 to 15. Body weight exercises such as push ups, pull ups, free squats and lunges will also help you add lean muscle. To gain more muscle, use heavy weights for a rep range of 6 to 12. Muscle is energy intense, that is, it burns a lot of calories. The more lean muscle tissue you have, the quicker your metabolism and ability to burn fat.
Low Intensity Cardio and Metabolism
Low intensity cardio vascular exercise such as running, jogging, brisk walking, swimming or bicycling will help you burn calories as you exercise. According to the Mayo Clinic a 200 lb person jogging at 5 mph for one hour, burns 728 calories. Brisk walking at 3.5 mph for one hour will burn 346 calories. However these low intensity cardio exercises have little long term effect on your metabolism and ability to burn calories long after you have finished exercising.
High Intensity Interval Training or HIIT and metabolism
Do this outdoors or use a treadmill in your gym.
Warm up with a 5 minute jog, then break into a sprint for 30 seconds. Rest for 90 seconds. Repeat the sprint and rest sequence for 6 sets. This will give you an intense 12 minute cardio workout that leaves your body burning. If you are a beginner, do shorter intervals or do a strong run instead of a sprint.
Use a stationary bike in your gym. Warm up with a gentle 5 minute ride. Break into a fast ride or sprint for 30 seconds, then rest for 60 seconds for your first interval. Do 6 intervals for an intense 9 minute cardio routine which will leave you gasping for breath.
How HIIT or Intense Cardio Increases Metabolism
Your short intense cardio routine will leave you depleted of energy and your body of glycogen–your bodys preferred source of energy. Your body will now seek to replenish and restore itself to its normal state in a process which happens post workout and takes a few hours. This raises your metabolism as your body requires energy for this process, and more so, in the absence of glycogen, it will metabolize stored fat as energy.
Regular HIIT will increase your metabolism over time and induce your body to burn calories more efficiently.
Image courtesy of Mewall82
Sources:
1. MayoClinic.com
2. Intervaltraining.net
