How to increase your metabolism – The Exercises
September 7, 2009 by Shaun
Filed under The Fitness Bug, The Health Bug
It’s been a while since I posted about how to increase your metabolism, and since then I have had conversations with many. It seems to be one of the hottest on going topics in health and fitness, and there doesn’t seem to be one killer answer to the question either. So for the sake of those who ask and for anyone else who is facing this problem, these are a few exercises you can include into your fitness program along with the 13 ways to increase your metabolism.
Instruction
Complete as many exercises as you can of each one within 15 minutes. Take a 1-2 minute break in-between each set
Dumbbell Split Squat
- Grab a pair of dumbbells with your arms hanging at your sides.
- Stand in a staggered stance.
- Put your right foot in front of your left.
- Keep your torso upright and lower your body until your front thigh is parallel to the floor.
- Raise yourself back up into the staggered stance.
- Max out to 8-10 reps
- Switch legs and repeat.
Allow the heel of your rear foot to raise off floor during descent so that the weight is transferred to your forefoot. Your knees should also point in the same direction as your feet throughout movement.
Cross-Body Mountain Climber
This exercise will work your abs muscles and should be performed at high speeds for maximum results.
- Assume a push up position.
- Your body should form a straight line from your head to your heels.
- Tense your abs! You will have to hold them that way throughout the entire exercise.
- Pull your left knee as close as you can to your right shoulder, without allowing your hips to sag.
- Return to the starting position and repeat, this time raising your right knee toward your left shoulder.
- Do 10 reps
If that gets a bit easy, do it on higher ground. That should test you.
Chin-up with Knee up
This exercise can be quite brutal at first, but once your strength increases you will be on your way to staying eternally ripped.
- Grab a chin-up bar with your palms facing your body.
- Do a pull-up so your chest reaches the bar, while also raising your knees to your chest. Slowly lower your body and return to the start.
- If you can’t complete a chin-up, simply raise your knees while hanging from the bar.
- Do 10 reps (or to failure)
All three of these exercises are bodyweight exercises and will work every part of your body. Working all parts of your body with compound exercises is an essential ingredient to maintaining overall fitness, but this is just the beginning. Stay tuned for more exercises and techniques that will boost your metabolism even further.
What metabolism boosting techniques have worked for you so far?
See you in the comments.
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Link to this page
Great tips. Thanks.
You are welcome.
I like the Cross-Body Mountain Climber and the Dumbbell Split Squats because they can be done at home. I guess the Chin-up with Knee up could be too without too much trouble but heavy people like me aren’t going to be ready for that yet. Thanks for the ideas.
Hi Brian
it is for sure harder for heavier people to do chin ups. But knee ups are slightly easier, as you are only lifting legs. Focus on building up your strength. See http://www.stayfitbug.com/the-fitness-bug/unique-bodyweight-exercises
Great post.
I have always found running to be the best all around exercise for me in that it is fairly easy on the body. I use to play squash(racket sport) but had to pack that in due to the vengeance on my hip joints. I am a cardio freak so running does it for me.
As far as arm work…yikes pull ups are definitely a tough challenge for women so I too focus on leg lifts and leave the arm work for push ups and light weights.
I enjoy you very informative posts!
Hi Dorothy
it’s good that you like the post and cardio is important for sure. It sounds like you are a bodyweight exercise enthusiast, have a read of this if you haven’t yet done so already http://www.stayfitbug.com/the-fitness-bug/unique-bodyweight-exercises
I think my metabolism is fast cause i easily get hungry and i’m loving it cause i’m not getting fat even though i eat a lot. These are some useful tips for those that have slow metabolism.
great article.. i love it
really nice article there
Thanks Edd. Have you tried any of these before?
Wow, some really great stuff here. I agree that the chin-up with the knees is definitely brutal. I can tell from experience. I think that any exercise involving a pull up bar is great for you. Most people don’t realize that with minimum equipment you can get ripped in the comfort of your own home. I let myself go this past year and now I’m getting back in shape. I’ve lost a few pounds and getting stronger but my goal is to get to at least 10 reps doing pull ups. I figure, if I keep doing it and losing the extra fat, I’ll be able to do it. Anyway, I ramble. Great post once again!
Lifting heavy things combined with short ass rest periods (60 seconds) will easily blast your metabolic rate for the day. Not the whole day, it’ll taper off but for a good 4-5 hours.
And mountain climbers are SICK, nice job.
Also known as explosive movements
Walking for 1/2 hour per day 4-5 days per week is cheap, easy and has excellent health benefits. Also, yoga is awesome for strength and flexibility. Really amazing benefits.
Yup. Both of those are great additions
Targetted weight loss is a myth. You can’t do ab exercises to burn fat from that area. Your body stores fat in places based on genetics. If you want to lose fat you need to increase you rmetabolism.
Absolutely. Here’s that exact post How to increase your metabolism http://www.stayfitbug.com/the-fitness-bug/how-to-increase-your-metabolism/
You should also drink a ton of water. Health professionals suggest at least eight cups a day, but I suggest over ten. Over 90% of all chemical reactions involve water.
That’s right. In fact I did a special post about that last week. Here
http://www.stayfitbug.com/the-fitness-bug/the-most-important-bodybuilding-supplement-ever/
Always eat breakfast, this kick starts your metabolism and try to eat healthy snacks like fruit and nuts throughout the day because this will keep your blood sugars high, this will keep your metabolism running.
Is there any way to increase your Metabolism. I know like having 10 deep breaths a day increases it. Is there any other ways.
You can use the 13 ways I listed here http://www.stayfitbug.com/the-fitness-bug/how-to-increase-your-metabolism/
There is some research showing women who are low in calcium and vitamin D experience weight gain and have a more difficult time losing weight. The studies I’ve seen recommend all postmenopausal women make sure they get enough of both in their diet.
True.
Well, it is also known that women find it harder to put on muscle mass like men do. Quite simply because of the difference in levels of testosterone.
Hi Shaun,
Great article, I try to keep my metabolism high by eating something every 3 hours. I notice when I do this I’m never hungry and I keep my fat level low.
Keep it up with the articles!
http://www.wanttobehealthy.info/2010/02/body-fat-percentage.html
Hi Patrick
That’s a good start. Also read this if you haven’t done so already http://www.stayfitbug.com/the-fitness-bug/how-to-increase-your-metabolism/
Exercise twice a day if possible. Do your vigorous workout in the morning, and then take a walk after dinner. This way you will continue to burn calories at a higher pace for almost the entire 24 hours.
To improve your metabolic efficiency you only need to alter what you eat and what you do a little bit to experience a difference in how you look and feel.
Diet is a key part of it for sure.
this is a great article on how can you increase your metabolism. I appreciate sharing this with us.
Thanks Luis.
This is amazing! I’ve been looking ways to increase my metabolism, you see I have a slow metabolism and I really don’t know on how to speed it up..
Thank you so much for sharing this, it’s very helpful and useful to everyone who want to have a healthy and fit body.
Hey, really great blog posts… I’ve enjoyed reading through your blog because of the great style and energy you put into each post. I actually run AceHealth.org, a blog of my personal research and experiences. If you’re interested, I would love to have you on as a guest blogger. Please send me an e-mail: bob.mauer65(at)gmail(dot)com, and I can give you more information. Looking forward to hearing from you.
Wow! Great insight here… These simple exercises will really be a big help to improve or increase our metabolism. But we just have to keep in mind that we have to choose what to eat, or else we will grow big which will cause another problem.
Thanks for the great tips. Generally I would recommend workout where you would focus on big muscle groups as, legs, chest, back and shoulders.
Ooh, yeah, the cross-body mountain climber is a good one. I’ve been doing that one daily and am already noticing a difference in my abs. Thanks for the other tips, too.
Any time
Really great post thanks for nice tips.
Hi,
I have been trying a lot of different cardio exercises to tone my stomach and get rid of that stubborn layer of fat.
I have read that rope skipping is one of the best fat buring exercises you can do. My coach tells me to skip barefooted. I find that this is far more difficult than shipping with shoes on. In fact, I can hardly skip at all without shoes on.
Will this kind of exercise increase my metabolism?
Also, do I go back to wearing shoe or should I persist and try to skip without shoes on?