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Fitness

These 3 EASY Exercise Hacks will Boost Your Metabolism More than Anything Else

Fit women
by megan dahlman
June 28, 2022

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Everyone wants a faster, more efficient metabolism, and getting that is NOT as hard as you think. I’m about to reveal 3 super easy things you can do right now with your workouts and physical activity in general that make a huge difference on your body’s metabolism, so that you can have the energy you want and feel really great in your body.

A couple weeks ago on episode 159, I taught you the nutrition hack that is hands-down the best way to boost your metabolism. (If you haven’t listened to that yet, make sure to go back and listen.) And so today, I want to teach you the flipside of the coin, the fitness side of things.

I’m going to teach you 3 really simple exercise hacks that are easy ways to boost your metabolism.

This is important for all of us, whether you want to lose some weight or not, because as we go through seasons of life, our metabolism will adapt and change - often adapting down especially as we age.

Remember, your metabolism is the total of all the living processes in your body. Think of your body as having a TON of different departments. And you want each of these departments to be as efficient as possible, humming right along, doing their job to the best of their ability.

When your metabolism is spunky and everything is doing their jobs well, then your body is going to operate at its absolute best.

  • You’ll have less fat composition on your body
  • More energy
  • Greater mental clarity

And we can wake up and boost your metabolism more through some very simple tweaks to your fitness routine.

Lots of methods

There are lots of methods out there that can help improve your body’s metabolism, but I want to stick with the simplest and the easiest tweaks to implement right now.

  • Fitness and working out regularly is already a really challenging thing to do, so the last thing I want is for you to feel this pressure that in order to improve your metabolism you have to become a ironman athlete. That’s simply not true.

After I tell you the 3 easy things that you can do to help your metabolism, I also want to share a few things that are absolute metabolism killers.

  • Because if your mission is to improve your body’s metabolism at all cost, the last thing you want is to be doing something that sabotages your efforts.

3 Easy Workout Hacks to Improve your Metabolism

I’m sharing these with you in order from easiest to hardest (i.e. make sure you’re implementing the first one first)

Increase your NEAT (non-exercise-activity-thermogenesis) - intentionally build in more non-exercise movement every day

  1. This can improve your metabolic output over the course of the day by over 10%!
  2. Go for a walk every day
  3. Use a fit bit to give yourself a target number of steps
  4. Example: I like to do a purposeful workout everyday (either strength training or yoga), but then I always try to go for a walk in the evening after work, and then even later, I do a bunch of full body stretches before bed.
  5. Just keep moving!!

Use heavier weights

  1. You’re stronger than you think you are!
  2. I remember the first time I got a real weight set and started pushing around 20 pounders and even 25’s. That simple increase dramatically changed my body.
  3. Start with an exercise that you feel the most confident with (e.g. a basic squat). Increase your load gradually, being mindful of your technique
  4. You know that you’ve got the right weight if the last couple reps feel really tough to do, but you can maintain good form (use a mirror if you need to!)
  5. One extra tip: As the weights get heavier, you might be more likely to grip harder. Keep a soft grip! (This is something I teach A LOT in my Getstrong 30 program... how to hold weights properly so you don’t hurt yourself.)

Do combo moves

  1. Years ago, I used to spot train. The moment I switched from spot training to moving many body parts at once in a functional way, I saw my fitness dramatically improve and my body composition improve as well.
  2. I love this for multiple reasons:
  3. you’re a busy mom and don’t have tons of time to train, so pairing up movements makes the workout far more efficient
  4. Seriously increase your metabolism
  5. Take two common exercises and mesh them together - the more body parts involved the better!
  6. Squat to overhead press
  7. Deadlift to bent-over row
  8. Reverse lunge to chopping lift

If you have no clue how to implement this on your own, don’t worry, I’ve got you covered. My GETSTRONG 30 program lays it all out for you...all you have to do is just follow along.

Ok, 3 simple things: increase your NEAT, use heavier weights, do combo moves. I want you to think right now which of those three things you’re going to implement today and in your next workout.

Metabolism Killers

Now, I mentioned that I would share a few things that crush your metabolism, or what I like to call metabolism killers. Maybe they don’t totally kill your metabolism, but they certainly don’t improve it.

  • Steady state cardio
  • Spot training
  • Using light weights
  • Just being sedentary (duh! but sometimes we really need this reminder!)
  • Doing the same thing over and over - not changing things up enough

TAKEAWAYS

The big idea here is that all of us women should desire a metabolism, or all the individual departments in our body, working as efficiently as possible. And we can ensure that that’s happening by just making some easy tweaks to our workouts and physical activity in general.

I mean, just imagine yourself 10 or even 20 years from, completely confident that your metabolism hasn’t slowed down at all, you still have plenty of strength and energy, you’ve got great body composition, you can go on vacation with your family and wear that swimsuit with confidence and eat the foods you want because you know that your body is efficient and adaptable, and you just feel great.

Totally possible. Especially if you start putting today’s tips into practice.

So let me break down your action steps:

  1. Move more
  2. Don’t be afraid to use heavier weights
  3. Make sure your routine includes combo moves

And you’ll be well on your way to having a great metabolism no matter what age you are.

More Resources

Find out your body type! Take the FREE Body Type Quiz now!

Check out Megan’s GETSTRONG 30 program here. Get strong, feel confident, truly thrive.

Follow Megan on Instagram

Trainer, nutrition coach, and Christian mom — in a culture that’s obsessed with “gym-selfies” and a number on the scale, I’m passionate about helping moms discover what it feels like to actually love their bodies and thrive in them.
Read More About Megan
Hi! I’m Megan.
Self-Care Simplified is for Christian moms that want to be equipped and encouraged to take simple steps towards the healthy life you want for yourself and the people you love.
Be sure to subscribe to Self-Care Simplified wherever you listen to your favorite podcast.
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Read More About Megan
Hi! I’m Megan.
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Self-Care Simplified is for Christian moms that want to be equipped and encouraged to take simple steps towards the healthy life you want for yourself and the people you love.
Be sure to subscribe to Self-Care Simplified wherever you listen to your favorite podcast.
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