Seven Workouts To Get Your Metabolism Running
August 19, 2009
Strength training is in these days. Bodybuilding and fitness has made a long journey together full of myths and facts.
Today we would start with an age old myth of “fat turning into muscles” by bodybuilding. Yes you heard it correct, this is a myth indeed.
However, it has a fact associated with it as well. The fact to this myth is: while we practice resistance weight training we build muscles. Now a volume of muscle burns almost twice as much calorie than a similar volume of fat.
Hence, bodybuilding boosts and fires up the metabolism of the stored body fat resulting in an improvement of the BMR/ “Basal Metabolic Rate”. Moreover, our body remains in the state of high metabolism for long hours after a good session of bodybuilding.
Here we would discuss seven workouts that fire up the Metabolism rate.
The big daddy of all the workouts is “Squats”
This one is performed by standing with feet placed at shoulder width distance. Now put the barbell on shoulders. Now, by flexing the hip back and bending the knees we go down to the posture of sitting on chair till the femur or thigh gets parallel with the floor.
Then slowly and steadily we need to come back to the starting position. It should be repeated for some comfortable number of times in an increasing mode every next time of practicing the exercise.
The next in line is the “Leg Press”.
We need to lie down with our back resting on seat of the Leg Press machine. We place our feet at the same distance as before we need to push the weight equally with both legs. This should be followed by lowering the weight slowly in controlled pace till a ninety degree angle is formed by the hamstrings and calves at the knee joint. Then we go reverse to the earlier position with the back resting on the seat of the machine.
The two of the heavy workouts get followed by “Stiff Leg Deadlift”
We have to stand with feet at a shoulder width distance, holding the barbell with the arms lowered in the front. Now keeping the back flat and the legs stiff and straight, we need to tighten and push our buttocks back and locking the knees bend forward. Once the hamstrings are fully stretched stop the motion, and come back to starting position.
Now we concentrate on the low weight stamina builders
“Leg Curl” is a workout done with strict forms compromising on the weights carried. We need to lie on the stomach on a “Leg Curl” machine. While placing the knees to the front edge of the bench we put the Achilles tendon below the pads followed by flexing the knees and tightening the buttocks and hamstring muscles for lifting the weight.
“Leg Extension” is also a workout done by focusing more on the form than the weights. This is done by sitting on a “Leg Extension” machine with back supported by the chair and the feet placed behind the padded bar placed at ankle level. We need to extend the legs squeezing the quadriceps at the joints of the knees. After holding this position for a second with the thighs squeezed, we return to the primary position.
The last but not the least, two of the very crucial workouts are that of the calf muscles.
Standing Calf Raise: Done by positioning oneself on a slightly elevated object and holding the weights with both hands e need to start lifting the weights by pressing completely on the calves.
Seated Calf Raise is a workout very similar in style and objective with its standing version. Only difference in this workout form is that here we sit with the weight on our lap and lifting it with our calves with the toes placed on an elevated object.
Any of the above workouts should be performed with complete safety in presence of a trainer and only after a proper set of warm-ups.
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