Metabolic Meltdown: Get Ready To Burn Some Calories!
Okay, so you lace up your shoes, fill your water bottle and tighten that ponytail, amped to head to the gym and blast that body. You turn up the radio on your drive to the gym, visualizing how awesome, lean, tight and toned you are going to look in no time!
You drop your stuff in the locker room, put the headphones on and head out, only to realize, you have no idea where you are actually going… do you start with cardio, or should you try some machines? The free- weight room looks pretty daunting, as those weights don’t come with instructions, and the cable machine has so many attachments! You immediately walk towards the treadmills and ellipticals, as all you have to do is press the start button and move, right?
WRONG!
Having a plan and process really is the key to achieving the results you desire for your body, helping you to avoid spending exhausting, countless hours at the gym, only to feel that your body is NOT CHANGING, which then becomes a mentally and emotionally debilitating and exhaustive cycle, often leading to giving up entirely.
While all of our bodies are unique, and we process foods differently, repair and recover at different rates and stimulate fat loss at our own specific pace, there are certain techniques and methods that we all should be incorporating into our workout routines in order move our body through these processes more efficiently and quickly.
Total body workouts target the foundational fat burning muscles, which include the legs, chest and back. These muscles are also integral in maintaining proper posture and body alignment during exercise and everyday living, and by the way—these are the largest muscles in the body, so when we use them, they BURN THE MOST CALORIES!!!
The more muscles you can engage in each movement you complete means that you are recruiting more muscle fibers, which equals a greater increase of the key fat burning hormones your body needs to release in order to help you meet your goals!
These type of workouts’ success relies on utilizing your body’s capability to burn calories not only during your workout, but for the 48 hours after as well…um, yes please, this is just MORE BANG FOR YOUR BUCK which is why these need to be incorporated into your workout schedule!
Without weighing you down with too much of the science behind the body’s amazing capabilities, what I have found with all of my studies and training experiences with my own clients is that when we utilize all of these fat-burning muscles at once, while keeping the heart rate elevated throughout your workout session, the body has to continue working hard in the 48 hours following to repair and recover properly.
All of this repair and recovery requires the body to work, and when the body is working, our metabolic rate is increased, which allows us to continue to burn calories and also will train our body to process food more effectively. This means less fat storage and more overall energy; no afternoon crashes here!
The technical name of the concept in exercise science is EPOC, or Excess Post Oxygen Consumption, and requires the body to produce energy in the form of burning calories to replace the oxygen debt your body experienced during the workout. In other words, each session shocks your body during the workout, which means that after, during the repair and recovery, your body will be busy bringing you back to homeostasis, which requires energy, which requires calorie burn!
This means that you will be burning hundreds of extra calories over the course of these workouts each week, which becomes very significant in regards to reducing body fat and building lean tissue.
These workouts are built to make sure that you avoid overtraining, improve your overall conditioning and energy levels and achieve that lean, sculpted, muscular look that you crave and DESERVE!!!
Don’t get discouraged if you feel exhausted or can’t even get through a workout such as this from start to finish on your first try. Any time we ask the body to perform new and difficult tasks, it will adapt and begin to change with consistency.
I suggest keeping a journal of what you actually complete during each workout, how you felt, how long it took and movements that felt particularly awesome or super difficult. This way, aside from your physical changes, you will have an internal dialogue to refer back to of growth, change and progression!
All of my clients receive detailed exercise instructions/video demonstrations when they sign up for my online training and coaching, but the exercises included below are pretty straightforward. If you are unsure feel free to reach out to me! I love hearing from you and want to know how you are doing with these awesome workouts!
What is a Dynamic Warm-up, and why do I need to do this?
Dynamic warm-ups increase the body’s core temperature by moving the body through movements that are similar to what will be completed during your workout, which will help you to avoid injury and increase range of motion. Dynamic workouts also properly facilitate the neuromuscular connection, which syncs the nervous system and the muscular system in order to perform movements with an enhanced coordination. This warm-up will lubricate your connective tissue increasing your flexibility, and increase nutrient-rich blood flow and oxygen to the muscles that you will be working, increasing your overall work capacity and helping the body to more efficiently and remove carbon dioxide and other waste products.
Sample Dynamic Exercises
- Walking High Knees: 30 seconds
- Butt Kicks: 30 seconds
- T-Plank: alternating sides, 20 reps. total
- Frankenstein Walks: 1 minute
- Lunge Rotators: 30 seconds
- Monkey Squats holding a Stability Ball: 20 rotations
- Up and Overs: 20 taps
Don’t forget to cool down properly and stretch those muscles! Check out my blog on foam rolling and Trigger Points: YOUR HOW TO GUIDE ON MYOFASCIAL RELEASE
Workout
Complete this circuit 3 x’s through. If you find you need more of a challenge, implement progressive overload by increasing load (weight lifted) or volume (reps. completed).
- Smith Machine Step Ups (if you don’t have access, use an aerobic step and barbell or body bar): 15 each leg
- Inchworm with opposite knee to opposite elbow: 15 reps. each (pull each knee under for 1 repetition!)
- Hip Thrust with a Chest Fly: 20
- Plank Jacks: 1 minute
- Deadlift with a Row: 15 (perform row at the bottom of the movement)
- Reverse Lunge Gliders with Front Raise: 12 each leg
- Hanging Plank with Lateral Raise: 15 each arm
- Switch Lunges: 30 total
- Stability Ball Hamstring Curls: 15
- Stability Ball Dumbbell Pullovers: 15
- Swing Kicks: 20 each leg
- Skater Hops: 30 seconds
Yours in Health and Fitness,
