1) Don’t work out on a machine doing isolated muscle workouts.
If you’re training for a show or at that point where you have the trim physique and now you want to add shredded definition than you may need a Leg Press or Leg Curl but in simply talking about your metabolism speeding up to allow fat to leave and muscle to grow we want to do more!
We want to pick exercises that require our bodies to do multiple actions at once, recruiting multiple muscles at once and of course burning more calories.
In order to boost your metabolism, your heart rate has to be raised to a certain level. But when you’re only working ONE muscle at a time, it’s virtually impossible to recruit enough muscle fibers to increase your heart rate significantly, so you’ll never be able to spike your metabolism or maximize your calorie burn.
2) Don’t do long bouts of Cardio.
This probably comes as a shock to most. We’ve always been told or believed by some preconceived notion that if we run for an hour or more we will be thin and that long cardio sessions are the only way to get to our dream body.
You do NOT have to torture yourself any longer than necessary. Steady-state cardio (like jogging or doing the elliptical) increases the production of a stress hormone called cortisol. Cortisol causes weight gain and makes it more difficult to burn off stubborn belly fat. This is why you consistently plateau.
Another alarming fact, too much cardio accelerates aging! When you put your body under prolonged stress, you start producing free-radicals, which damages your cells and causes inflammation, and inflammation is what makes you feel old. Boom!
3) Stop doing the same thing and expecting a different result.
Repeating the same workout routine over and over is a guaranteed way to get the same results, poor ones. We’re creatures of habit and we tend to stick to things we’re familiar with and good at. But when it comes to working out, if you want to make progress and keep seeing changes in your body, you’ve got to start switching things up.
You have to do the exercises you don’t like and the movements that you are weak in. You have to take periods of time to bump up training with a personal trainer who can customize such a program for you.
You see, your body has an amazingly ability to adapt quickly and when it does, that’s when you hit the dreaded plateau and you STOP making progress.
4) Start Planning.
They say abs are made in the kitchen and while I half believe that, I will say you can’t have them without prepping in the kitchen first.
You spend 30 minutes at the gym 3-5 days a week so why can’t you take 30 minutes twice a week to prepare and make the food that is going to ensure you see changes?
Majority of failure stories start with one simple question, “Did you meal prep?” The answer to anyone with a body you envy is “Yes,” every single time.
If you don’t know what to do then that is why we are here for you. We can tell you what, when and how. You must be feeding yourself the right foods at the right times in order to speed that metabolism. End of story!
