If you've tried all sorts of exercises, the latest diet fads, and even weight loss hacks, but your fitness efforts just keep going south, it may be time to switch tactics. You may need to think out of the box and try something truly different, something more "revolutionary." We're here to talk about metabolic exercises for women, the hottest trend among fitness experts and enthusiasts that actually work.
What are metabolic workouts?
So how do metabolic workouts for women differ from your typical fitness routines? Run-of-the-mill activities typically go for the "one-or-the-other" approach, focusing on isolated body-building routines alone or purely cardio programs. In contrast, metabolic exercises incorporate compound movements that leverage both aerobic and anaerobic benefits into a single workout.
Like a gift that keeps on giving, metabolic programs help you burn calories during and even after workouts. During this full-body exercise, you get little rest in between sets, so you use up more oxygen. When your working muscles lack oxygen, this triggers the building of muscles. More muscle mass elevates your metabolic rate, allowing you to burn calories more efficiently.
Metabolic exercises also exhaust more muscle groups, stimulating the release of the human growth hormone that boosts protein synthesis and scorches fat. Also, your body will take longer to recover from metabolic workouts. So even when you're done, it will keep using up your fat stores for energy. The overall result is improved cardio, mobility, and strength as you stay lean and sexy.
In the next section, we will share ten challenging metabolic workouts for women that can get you super fit. We won't mince our words—you'll get shredded. But the rewards of improved health and enhanced quality of life are immeasurable.
Top metabolic exercises to burn fat
So, let's start blasting away the unwanted fat and get you your healthiest and fittest bod yet with high-intensity, short-interval circuits. Each circuit involves ten fat-burning metabolic exercises. All the rounds are done the same way but with different timed intervals depending on your fitness level.
Just a quick note. Please consult your doctor before proceeding with any physical routine.
Exercise Levels
Have as many reps as you can of each exercise within the allotted workout time with short breaks. When you've completed all ten activities, allow yourself a rest period of two minutes. Here are the recommended schedules for each level of athleticism.
1. Beginner Level
Workout time: 30 seconds (with a total of 90 seconds of rest between exercises)
Rest period: 15 seconds
No. of rounds per set: 3
Total workout time: 30 minutes
2. Intermediate Level
Workout time: 45 seconds (with a total of 90 seconds of rest between exercises)
Rest period: 15 seconds
No. of rounds per set: 3
Total workout time: 36 minutes
3. Advanced Level
Workout time: 60 seconds (with a total of 90 seconds of rest between exercises)
Rest period: 15 seconds
No. of rounds per set: 3
Total workout time: 41 minutes
10 Metabolic Exercises for Women
1. Hindu Push-ups
The Hindu push-up sounds like a yoga move, but it's more associated with body-building or wrestling.
Begin with a plank position. Keep hands slightly apart or wider than shoulder-width distance. Bring your feet together. Then, press your upper body onto the floor, lifting your hips up and back into a downward-facing dog position. Next, bring your hips down until you're back in a push-up stance while compressing your buttocks. Then, make your hips descend toward the floor while curving your chest into an upward-facing dog pose. Keep thighs off the floor and your toes active. Lastly, return to the starting push-up position.
2. Double Kettlebell Swings
This exercise does wonders to the core, glutes, hamstrings, back, quads, delts, and arms all in one fell swoop.
Start by flexing or extending the hip so you can move the kettlebells to an eye-level position. It's vital to get the knees out of the way by transferring to a back squat. Make sure to retain the weight on your heels and keep that back nice and flat. Attempt this exercise only when you've learned single kettlebell swing skills to ensure your safety.
3. Floor Wipers
Trainer Mark Wright used this exercise to shape up the cast of the Spartan movie "300." Floor wipers target several muscle groups all at once, so it can be challenging. Remember to keep your eyes on the prize as you do this workout.
Lie flat on your back. You can lift your arms above your head and hold on to something, or you can bring your upper limbs out to your sides like a post. Keep your feet together and your back and head on the ground. The next thing you want to do is to "wipe the floor" with your toes without touching it. Exhale and inhale as you go from side to side while remembering to keep your core tight.
4. Dumbbell Step-ups
Dumbbell step-ups can seriously tone your legs while improving your lower body strength and stability.
Standing on an elevated platform, bring your back up straight as your hands grasp dumbbells at your sides. Put your right foot on the raised platform. Exhale and step on the elevated platform by extending the knee and hip of your right leg. Next, use your heel to raise the rest of your body. Next, use your heel to lift the rest of your body to the platform. Then place your left leg on the elevation, also using the power of your heel to support your body up onto the platform. Afterward, inhale and step down with your left leg by flexing the hip and knee of your right leg. Return to the original position by placing your right foot on the floor next to your left foot.
5. Power Jacks
Jumping jacks can already be a tough exercise. So, doing them with weights makes them even more exciting.
You may want to start with lighter weights like three-pounders if you're at the beginner level. You need to ensure that you do this exercise correctly to protect your back from damage. Start with your palms facing outwards. Like with regular jumping jacks, your arms will go up as your feet open. You may need to remember that you're carrying weights, so there will be a slight bend in your arms. Keep the center of your belly pulled in and your chest lifted as you jump straight up. Go slow at the start and increase your pace as you become more comfortable.
6. Dumbbell Ground Pound
As with any exercise involving weights, your core will be the critical stabilizer in this workout. You might be tempted to round your back forward as you press into the ground, which can be dangerous to your upper back. Squeezing your shoulder blades will help maintain a neutral spine.
As your hands and knees are on all fours, line up with a single light dumbbell. Then bring one foot out to your side. Take the same hand as the leg that's out and grab the dumbbell. Make powerful punches to the ground as quickly as possible. Repeat the same thing on the other side.
7. Mountain Climber Complex
From the name of the exercise alone, you know it can be quite stimulating. Don't worry, though, because you'll only be "climbing" floors here instead of mountains.
Get into a plank position as you evenly spread the weight between your hands and toes. Make sure your form is correct, with your hands shoulder-width apart, your back flat, your abs tight, and your head in line with the rest of your body. Bring your right knee into your chest as far as it can go. Then, switch to the other leg, extending one knee out as you pull the other knee in. Make sure your knees are down as you run in and out as fast as you can. Alternate between inhaling and exhaling as you change legs.
8. Dumbbell Shoulder Squats
Find your suitable weight for this exercise by starting light. Get heavier dumbbells as you get stronger.
With one end of each dumbbell pointing forward, place one on each shoulder. With your feet hip-width apart, plant your heels securely on the floor. WIth your abdomen in, pull back your shoulders to keep your standing balance. Lower your body by bending the knees while pushing your rear backward. Keep the back from arching forward. Go down to the level where your thighs are parallel to the floor. Don't strain yourself if you can't make it all the way, as it's more important to keep your form. Hold it in that position for 1 to 2 seconds. Then, press into your heels as you go back to a standing position. Make sure to keep your chest lifted so your spine stays neutral.
9. Abs V-ups
If you're looking to strengthen your core, an ab V-up exercise may be just what you need. This metabolic workout for women targets the abdominal muscles, glutes, and hip flexors.
Lie on your back with arms lifted off the ground and over your head. Bring your legs together and slightly away from the floor with your toes pointed outwards. Draw your chin as close as possible to your chest throughout the exercise. Pull in your pelvis and bring your ribs down. Contract your trunk muscles. Remember to start all reps from this stance.
Keep your body aligned as you lift your upper body and lower body off the floor simultaneously. Continue doing so until you can form a "V." Hold it for a second. Then, slowly return to the starting position, ensuring that your core stabilizes your pelvis and spine the entire time.
10. Burpee Push-ups
This full-body exercise can get your heart pumping like no other activity can.
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Then, squat as low as possible, placing your hands on the floor. Kick back to a push-up stance. Do a single push-up. Now, go back to a squat and jump up, briskly extending your hands above your head. Land, and then repeat.
Boosting your metabolic workouts with biohacks
Metabolic workouts are effective because they consider how your body works and leverage that information to optimize energy usage. The same thing is true with biohacking. This practice seeks to make strategic interventions to optimize our bodies' functions based on bio-research and technology. Enhance your metabolic workouts for women with these innovative and effective biohacks.
1. Make nutrigenomics work for you
Nutrigenomics is the scientific study of the interrelationships between our genes, our food, and our health. Thus, it can play an important role in fortifying your fat-burning efforts.
One popular nutrigenomics biohack is synching your weekly meal plans with your menstrual cycle. As your hormones fluctuate and your metabolism changes during your period, your body's calorie needs also vary for each week of the month.
In simple terms, organize your meal plans to match your 28-day schedule. Start by tracking your cycle. Then consider what type of nutrition you need for each menstrual phase. For example, during the middle of your period, when hormone levels are at their highest levels, you'll want to balance your estrogen and progesterone by consuming plenty of fermented and high-fiber foods to flush out unwanted hormones. You can also boost progesterone levels during the follicular stage by eating foods rich in zinc and vitamin B6.
2. Change up your workout routine and intensity according to your cycle
When you're menstruating, it's critical to get enough rest rather than pushing yourself to do extreme workouts. While in the follicular phase, you can do lighter activities such as hiking, light runs, and yoga stretches that can help work up a sweat. When your hormones are all over the place during ovulation, tap into all that excess energy by getting into high-intensity interval workouts. Then, when your estrogen drops and your testosterone levels rise during the luteal phase, go for more strength-training routines or Pilates.
3. Plunge into frigid water
Soaking in freezing temperatures to burn fat is another popular biohacking technique. The theory is that frigid water promotes the production of brown fat. The powerhouse cells in this unique type of fat burn calories to warm up the body in reaction to cold conditions.
Research shows that being in cold water increased the metabolic rate of participants by 350%. In addition, feel-good dopamine hormone levels also improved by 250%. So not only does exposure to cold help you get rid of fat fast, but it can also lift your mood.
To lose weight with this biohack, you can try ice baths and cold showers. Yet another innovation in this area is cryotherapy, which uses nitrogen to bring down body temperatures.
4. Grab a PEMF Mat!
PEMF stands for pulsed electromagnetic field, which mimics the earth's own dynamic grounding and healing frequencies. The energy waves from PEMF trigger our body's cells to generate electricity, boosting their self-regenerative capabilities and boosting blood circulation. Thus, PEMF can hasten recovery from a muscle injury, heal wounds and bones, and relieve pain and stiffness.
Don't let muscle soreness keep you from doing your metabolic workouts. Instead, rejuvenate and recharge the natural way with HigherDOSE PEMF Mats. Our PEMF mats combine the two powerful healing technologies of Infrared and PEMF to create the ultimate recovery tool. PEMF grounds you in earth's magnetic field for a full-body reset, while Infrared's deeply penetrating heat doubles your dose. With HigherDOSE PEMF Mats, you can DOSE up the energy you need to sustain your metabolic workouts. Check it out at the HigherDOSE shop today!
