Metabolism – you’ve heard the word a million times but do you really know what metabolism is?  Is it something you can touch? Is it located in a certain part of your body? Can it be operated on by medical doctors?  And most importantly, can you speed it up?
 
Well, although you can’t touch or operate on the metabolism, the good news is that you can speed it up with the right exercise and nutrition strategy.  This is good news because the average North American loses about 10% of their metabolic power each decade, starting at age 25. Yet by focusing on improving each of the 5 metabolic targets below, it’s entirely possible to prevent this metabolic slow-down.  And this means a high metabolism for life!

METABOLIC TARGET #1 LEAN MASS

A gain of 5 to 10 pounds of lean mass muscle will rev up your resting metabolism – the number of calories your body burns to maintain life – by roughly 100 calories – each and every day. Of course, you can build this lean mass through regular resistance exercise.  Interestingly, not only will this added lean mass speed up your resting metabolism, keeping it revving all day and night, the metabolism will get independent boosts from both performing the exercise and recovering from it.

METABOLIC TARGET #2 THE AFTERBURN

Through targeted and “energy system” training (otherwise known as interval exercise), you can increase the number of calories you burn during your workouts (about 300 to 600 calories per day depending on your body size and workout duration). However, assuming you integrate these high-intensity efforts frequently enough, you can also burn through another 100 to 200 calories per day – a post-exercise energy burst that eats up calories even when you’re sitting on your butt.  This is called “the afterburn” and it’s one secret that those who build a fast metabolism have taken advantage of.

METABOLIC TARGET #3 THE FOOD

That’s right, even food can increase your metabolism.  Under-eat and the metabolism will drop.  Eat the right amount and it’ll remain high while still allowing you to burn fat.  Further, prioritizing metabolically costly proteins, metabolism-boosting fats, antioxidant-rich fruits and veggies, and the right carbs at the right times (nutrient timing), can boost your metabolic rate by another 100 to 200 calories per day.

METABOLIC TARGET #4 EXERCISE VARIETY

Whenever you perform a new activity, it’s likely that you’ll fumble around a bit before you get it right.  In other words, we’re inefficient when performing new activities.  In life, we’ve been taught to avoid inefficiency but in more metabolic pursuits, inefficiency is a blessing. When regularly changing your exercise program you’ll become a less efficient calorie burner. Much like a car in need of a tune-up, your body will consume more fuel than it needs to operate, wasting away the excess as heat. Unlike with your car, however, when it comes to your metabolism, inefficiency is a good thing. It will coax your body into burning more calories – and more fat – for fuel.

METABOLIC TARGET #5 MOVEMENT

Thanks to that desk job, family commitments, and a great lineup of must-see TV, most of us move less at ages 30, 40, and beyond than we did during our teens and twenties. So the final secret to a lifetime of metabolic maximization is to move more. In addition to the resistance exercise, the interval exercise, and the exercise variation discussed above, it’s important to “top off” your metabolism with some low-intensity physical activity.  Yoga, walking the dog, bike rides with the spouse – they all count. By accumulating at least 5 hours of physical activity each week, you can increase your calorie burning by about 300 to 600 calories per day.
 
If you’re young and haven’t seen the effects of Father Time, that’s excellent. But that doesn’t mean you won’t! Make sure that you use a combination of smart eating, training, and supplementation to keep that metabolism revving for life.
 
And if you’re older and your current lifestyle has negatively impacted your body, know that it’s not too late. Turn things around now and you can reverse the damage that’s been done. I’ve seen it happen time and time again.