Written by Funk Roberts ( over40alpha.com )
Looking to take your workouts up a notch?
Look no further than to metabolic sessions. This style of training is one that is great for any intermediate to advanced trainee and will quickly transform your fitness level – and quite possibly, your view on the best way to workout.
What makes metabolic workouts so amazingly awesome?
Let me share with you five very good reasons why I personally believe everyone who is serious about their health and fitness must give these a try.
#1: Accelerated Fat Burning During And After The Session
Everyone wants fat loss in today’s world, or so it may seem like it. There’s really no better way to burn fat than to turn to metabolic workouts.
The really nice thing about these sessions is that they not only burn fat while you are doing them since the intensity is so high (so you’re burning more minute by minute!) but they continue to burn fat faster for hours after the session is over thanks to the EPOC effect.
This stands for excess post exercise oxygen consumption and refers to the increased energy utilization your body has after you perform intense training sessions. It’s basically giving you a means to burn fat faster all day long.
Who isn’t up for that?
In one study, researchers noted that those who do metabolic style of workouts burn 25-30% more total calories than other forms of exercise1. If you’ve ever wanted to burn fat while you sleep, this is how you do it.
#2: Boost Your Testosterone And Build Muscle
The second reason you must do metabolic training is to help elevate natural testosterone release. Now, you ladies out there reading this, don’t be alarmed. This type of training is NOT going to turn you into a masculine bodybuilder over night. Don’t worry about that. Females can never produce as much testosterone as males, so there is no danger there.
For both genders, however, a slight increase in their testosterone levels over what’s normal is a great way to not only see accelerated rates of lean muscle mass development, but also increased rates of fat loss as well.
Not to mention, your performance might just go up. Those who have more testosterone tend to be stronger and more powerful as well.
Along with boosting testosterone, those who do metabolic style training also generally see a rise in growth hormone as well, which is another important hormone that is involved in burning fat and looking as young and healthy as possible.
These are two hormones that typically decrease with age, so doing everything you can to optimize them is important.
#3: Builds Muscle Faster
In addition to boost your testosterone levels to help assist with building lean muscle mass tissue, these workouts also build muscle faster thanks to the type of exercises they utilize.
When doing metabolic training, you’ll primarily be relying on intense, compound exercises.
Squats, deadlifts, push-ups, clean and press – these are all movements that may be called for during this style of training. These are the exercises that utilize as many muscle fibers at once, which then means more force development and a greater overall level of strength progression.
As you get stronger, you’ll also notice that you are getting larger muscles as well. It really is a win-win scenario for boosting your performance.
#4: Increased Cardio Fitness
Ever been plodding along on the treadmill only to find yourself counting down the minutes? If it feels like that workout is never going to end, you have yourself a case of the cardio boredoms.
The great news is that metabolic training is just as effective, if not more effective, than any type of treadmill or elliptical workout you could ever do3. And, it’s a lot more interesting as well.
Metabolic training works on all levels of your fitness, boosting your strength development, your power, as well as your cardiovascular endurance and peak output, according to research published in the International Journal of Sports Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism2.
Basically, it makes you an all around better athlete. These sessions are constantly changing so they’ll be over before you know it – no boredom included.
#5: Shorter Workout Sessions
Finally, the last big benefit to metabolic style of training is that the workouts are very short and sweet. You’re looking at sessions that don’t last much longer than 20 minutes at a time, so these are very easy to fit into just about any daily schedule.
In a world where we just don’t get enough hours in the day, most of us are fast to find excuses for skipping the gym. With metabolic training, you can do away with the excuses.
Not only are these workouts a lot shorter, but they are a lot more effective as well. So you can accomplish far more in less time. That makes these perfect for anyone with a busy schedule or who is also devoting time to other athletic pursuits as well.
So as you can see, metabolic training is not a form of training to miss out on. It’s definitely not a low-effort workout. These are going to be very demanding, but with that demanding nature comes results that you won’t be able to turn away from. Try it once and I promise you that you’ll be hooked for good.
Ready for give metabolic training a try - Look no further than this 30 Minute Metabolic Dumbbell Drop Set Workout!
