When you hear the phrase "speed up your metabolism" what do you initially think? Did you know that you really can speed it up - and what effects does this have?
To lose weight and then manege to keep it off one of the things you will need to know is which type of workout will have the most dramatic effect on the speed of your metabolism.
Speeding up your metabolism helps you to burn more calories all day every day. Therefore, you need to find fitness workouts that both work for you and also achieve the desired results.
There are really two key types of workouts that will fit the bill - one being a cardio and one being more a workout type option :
- Interval Training (cardiovascular workouts with short bursts of speed mixed in). These give your metabolism a boost, so that your body continues to burn calories for several hours after your workout.
- Resistance Training (free weights or machines). Performed with minimal rest, a hard weights session is as tough as an interval workout - if you wear a heart rate monitor during weight training, you should find that it fluctuates between 60 - 85% MHR (Maximum Heart Rate) during the workout - just like intervals.
In addition to these 'medium-term' metabolic effects, both of these forms of training have another benefit that will contribute to long-term weight loss.
Interval training, if performed regularly, dramatically increases the body's output of HGH - Human Growth Hormone. This is definitely a good thing, because HGH facilitates two crucial processes in your body - building muscle and burning fat. Enough said!
Similarly, resistance training not only raises your metabolism in the short to medium term, it also adds lean muscle - for each extra pound of lean muscle you carry, you burn 15 - 35 calories per hour, 24/7, 365 days a year - even when you're asleep!
So if weight loss is your goal, be sure to include weight training and intervals in your regular workouts to maximise the benefits of your training time.
