Metabolic conditioning, often shortened to “metcon,” is a type of fitness training designed to supercharge your metabolism—the engine that burns calories in your body.
Think of your metabolism like a car engine. like how some engines burn fuel more efficiently, metabolic conditioning helps your body become better at using energy. This means you can get stronger, faster, and leaner, all while improving how your heart and lungs work.
Let’s dive into what metabolic conditioning is, why it’s important, how you can do it, and when it’s best to include it in your fitness routine.
What is Metabolic Conditioning?
Metabolic conditioning is a mix of high-intensity exercises. These workouts raise your heart rate using primarily resistance-based moves with little rest between exercises.
Why Do Metabolic Conditioning?
1. Burns more calories. Even after you stop, your body keeps burning calories at a higher rate. This is great for losing weight or staying lean.
2. Improves endurance. Regular metcon training makes your heart and lungs work better together. So, you can do activities like running, swimming, or biking longer without getting as tired.
3. Builds strength and muscle. Lifting weights or doing bodyweight exercises makes you stronger. It also builds muscle. This helps your body burn more calories even when you’re not working out.
4. Time-efficient. This is because they’re so intense. This means you can get a great workout in a shorter amount of time.
How to Do Metabolic Conditioning
Metabolic conditioning workouts usually combine strength training exercises with cardio exercises. For example, you might do a circuit. It includes push-ups, squats, jumping jacks, and mountain climbers. You move from one exercise to the next with little rest. The key is to pick exercises that work different parts of your body and to do them at a high intensity.
Here are some tips:
- Start Slow. If you’re new to metcon, start with simpler exercises and shorter workouts. You can add more challenging exercises and longer circuits as you get stronger.
- Keep it varied. Mix up your exercises to stay interested and to work different muscles.
- Listen to Your Body. Metcon is intense, so it’s important to rest when necessary and not push yourself too fast.
When to Do Metabolic Conditioning
How often you include metcon workouts in your week depends on your goals and fitness level, but 2-3 times a week is a good starting point for most people. Make sure to have rest days between to let your body recover.
A sample training week could look like this:
- Monday: MetCon
- Tuesday: Mobility + Zone 2 Cardio
- Wednesday: MetCon
- Thursday: Rest Day
- Friday: MetCon
- Saturday: Mobility + Zone 2 Cardio
- Sunday: Rest Day
Metabolic conditioning workouts are great for people with busy schedules, as they can be performed in 20-30 minutes from start to finish, with the higher intensity portion of the workout lasting 10-15 minutes.
Final Thoughts
Metabolic conditioning is a powerful way to boost your fitness by improving how your body uses energy. It helps you burn more calories, build muscle, and increase your endurance, all in a time-efficient way.
Adding metcon workouts to your routine can help you achieve many fitness goals. They also keep your workouts fun and hard. Remember to start slow, keep it varied, and listen to your body to get the most out of your metabolic conditioning sessions.
M(eaux)tion Fitness 