5 Little-Known Metabolism-Boosting Workouts
I’ve been obsessed lately with five different forms of workouts—workouts that some people might call “woo woo,” but that really do get me a lot of bang for my buck.
Ben Greenfield
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5 Little-Known Metabolism-Boosting Workouts
Here’s the deal: I’ve been in the fitness industry for two decades. From bodybuilding splits to power lifting to all different forms of stretching to strongman training and beyond, I’ve seen plenty of workouts come and go.
Some work pretty well and, well, some don’t. but when it comes to workouts and workout modalities that fly under the radar, I’ve been obsessed lately with five different forms of workouts—workouts that some people might call “woo woo,” but that really do get me a lot of bang for my buck.
Why do I like to experiment with different workout protocols so much? The answer is simple: when it comes to throwing a curveball at your body, the best workout is often the one that you’re not currently doing because it exposes your lungs, legs, and more to new forms of stimulus. It forces your body to burn more calories and to get more fit by doing things it’s not used to doing.
So in no particular order of importance here are my five latest ways to boost your metabolism with new workouts.
1. Treadmill Packhikes
I like this workout because it is mentally simple but deceptively difficult. Here’s how works: find whichever treadmill at the gym or at your home that will go to the highest possible incline. Next, put on a backpack and put a sandbag, a dumbbell, a kettle bell, or any other heavy object in the backpack. For women, I recommend 20 to 30 pounds for a starting weight. For men, I recommend 40 to 60 pounds for a starting weight. It’s pretty simple from there: simply start one game and walk as hard and as fast at a steep incline as possible for 15 to 30 minutes. That’s it. You will be amazed at how deceptively difficult this is… even more difficult than running without the type of biomechanical discomfort, jostling, and impact that running can sometimes create.
2. Kundalini Yoga
At the risk of any yogi that is reading this article absolutely cringe, I would roughly define kundalini yoga as a form of yoga that involves intense breath work, lots of fast movements, meditation with your eyes closed, and a big focus on energy moving up and down your spine. I’m now using it for everything—from recharging my body at the beginning or at the end of the day, stepping into airport bathrooms and closing the door to do quick 5 to 10 minute routines, and doing full-blown 30-90 minute routines in a hot sauna. I really dig this form of yoga because it opens up the lungs, earns a bunch of calories, gets a bunch of blood flowing, and frankly, makes you feel like 1 million bucks when you finish. Here’s a link to a podcast that I recorded that goes into the nitty-gritty details. But ultimately, if you haven’t yet tried this form of yoga, you definitely need to add it to your repertoire.
3. Neuro-Sets
I recently finished reading a book called Neuro-Mass by author Jon Bruney. The relatively simple routine outlined in the book has absolutely blown my mind. It basically goes like this: you start with what is called an “grind,” which is basically a super slow set. For example, if you are doing this type of neuromuscular training for your legs, you might do a super slow lunge with one leg forward in the back leg elevated on step. Next, you moved into some kind of a power, explosive movement. For example, using the leg training analogy above, you could do lunge jumps. Then you finish with an isometric hold that builds up a time of lactic acid and finishes off the muscle group. For this, you would use something like an isometric lunge hold. And that’s it. You can do these type of workouts with kettle bells, dumbbells, body weight, you name it and I’m now doing these workouts about three times a week in a hotel room. The workouts are somewhat unconventional, but I highly recommend.
4. Body Weight Ladder
Like many of the other workouts in this episode, this workout has a very low barrier to entry. It kind of tricks you into doing a long workout by starting off a little bit easy. Here’s how it goes:
- Do 5 jumping jacks.
- Do 5 push-ups.
- Do 5 bodyweight squats.
Next…
- Do 10 jumping jacks.
- Do 10 push-ups.
- Do 10 bodyweight squats.
Working up by multiples of five (or ten if you have less time to spare), try to get all the way up to 50 of each. That’s it. When I’m tired at the end of the day or don’t seem to have much cognitive willpower at the beginning of the day, this is a workout that gets me going, gets the blood flowing, and “tricks” my body into jumping into a very effective full body workout routine.
5. Hypoxic Swimming
OK, let’s start with a disclaimer: anytime you’re holding your breath near water, swimming underwater, exerting yourself in water, or doing anything else that involves exercise and water, you need to be careful. There is indeed such a thing as shallow water blackout and I talk about it in great detail here.
That being said, if you’re an extremely experienced swimmer and/or have a good swim buddy, there are some really cool things you can do without necessarily having to just swim laps back and forth in a pool while staring at the black line at the bottom of the water. For example, one workout that I will do is I will get into a squat position at the bottom of the pool and then do an explosive jump squat up and out the surface of the pool as high as I can go while clapping my hands above my head. I’ll do 10 to 15 repetitions of this, and then move into “eggbeater style” kicking in which I’m keeping my hands above my head and exhausting my legs. I’ll then finish by swimming as far as I can holding my breath in a full on sprint. Just try 3 to 5 rounds of this and you’ll be absolutely blown away by the cardiovascular training result.
Are each of these workouts a bit unconventional? A bit woo-woo? Flying under the radar? Absolutely. But if you’re looking for a way to shock your body into a metabolic stimulus or new muscle growth or fat loss response, pulling out some of the lesser-known, less popular workouts can be just the thing to get this done.
Do you have questions, comments or feedback about these five ways to boost your metabolism? Join the conversation at https://www.Facebook.com/getfitguy.
About the Author
Ben Greenfield received bachelor’s and master’s degrees from University of Idaho in sports science and exercise physiology; personal training and strength and conditioning certifications from the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA); a sports nutrition certification from the International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN), an advanced bicycle fitting certification from Serotta. He has over 11 years’ experience in coaching professional, collegiate, and recreational athletes from all sports, and as helped hundreds of clients achieve weight loss and fitness success.