People are always asking me about the best ways to maximize time in the gym and how to get the best calorie burn in the least amount of time.  There are many ways to get in a good workout with minimal time commitment, but I always stress that a shortened workout schedule should never mean that effort and sweat left on the gym floor is sacrificed.   In past articles I have discussed the importance of HIIT (high intensity interval training) for increasing calorie burn and reducing body fat, performing a finisher at the end of a workout will enhance this even more!  Why wouldn’t you want to incorporate these into your workouts?

What is it?

A Metabolic Finisher is an intense exercise or series of exercises performed at the end of a resistance training workout to ensure you have drained every last bit of gas from the ol’ tank and increase the body’s fat burning potential.

Benefits:

• Ramp up the heart rate to keep your body burning calories far after the workout is complete, known as EPOC (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption)
• Test mental toughness and are as challenging as you want them to be
• Can be performed in 12 minutes or less (even just 4-5 minutes!) and minimal space and equipment are needed, most of the time just your own body weight will be sufficient
• Work well to rapidly increase fat burning in both males and females
• Increase total body conditioning and fat burn without sacrificing muscle mass

There are numerous combinations of metabolic finishers, but here are a few examples:

Metabolic Finisher 1:

Jump Rope x 30 seconds (fast as you can)

Alternating lunge jumps – 10 per leg

Push ups – as many as you can with good form

Mountain climbers x 20 (fast)

Rest x 1 minute and perform 3-4 more times

Metabolic Finisher 2:

Place two cones approximately 25 yards apart

Sprint back as fast as you can back and fourth touching each cone for a total of 12 times (6 round trips)

Rest for 3 minutes and repeat 2-3 times

Time yourself each time and try and beat your score!

Those who attend our metabolic group classes at the CORE Conditioning studio get to experience a finisher in our famous “4 minutes to freedom” – This is what we do at the end of every class in order to maximize fat burn and ensure our soldiers are burning calories still hours and hours after class!

In the Surrey/Langley area and want to try out a class? CLICK HERE to check out our class schedule and register for your first class — it’s free!

Michelle Roots BA Kin, CSCS, PES, PN1