Have you heard the new buzzword in fitness town?

MetCon, metabolic conditioning, Metabolic Resistance Training (MRT), and metabolic workouts are having a major moment right now. You may have heard one or all of these terms before this month’s challenge. But what does a MetCon workout really involve? What does it do? 

 

What is MetCon?

MetCon stands for metabolic conditioning, a phrase previously only heard amongst elite athletes but recently has become a favorite amongst trainers and fitness studios. Metabolic training refers to workouts involving high-intensity exercises designed to raise your heart rate and more efficiently burn energy by combining strength and cardio. 

 

Are the BodyFit by Amy workouts considered MetCon?

As you may have guessed, most of my workouts are forms of metabolic training. I’m always trying to help you get the most bang for your buck and get it all done quickly. I remind you often that you don’t need hours of extra cardio. By training with metabolic workouts, we can promptly maximize our body’s metabolic demand while forcing muscular adaptations to build strength, power, and endurance. 

 

What types of moves are involved in MetCon?

MetCon workouts are generally full-body workouts that use compound movements (think, squat) and compound exercises (think, squat, and press) to overload our muscles and cardiovascular system. More extended muscle endurance sets (you know I love ’em!) with short rest periods challenge our body’s capacity, resulting in a more efficient and longer calorie burn. Metabolic workouts result in more energy output during our workouts and after, often called the afterburn effect or EPOC (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption). 

 

So, is MetCon the same thing as HIIT?

MetCon may sound like another name for HIIT (high-intensity interval training), but it’s not quite the same. While HIIT pushes your heart rate and can involve cardio or strength, metabolic training must include strength and resistance training to increase the demand on your body. HIIT workouts tend to go all out for shorter intervals with more extended rest periods. In comparison, MetCon usually features longer work intervals with shorter rest periods. Many trainers (myself included) use these terms interchangeably, but it is essential to understand the difference.

 

What makes MetCon workouts so effective? 

Not only are we increasing our metabolic rate during workouts, but MRT is extremely effective for building lean muscle mass. As both Vivian and I talked about in the BodyFit Athletic Club this week, there are no quick fixes or “hacks” when it comes to our metabolism—it’s largely decided by our genetics, sex, age, and muscle mass—but muscle is a significant factor. The more muscle we have, the more efficient our body is at creating, using, and storing energy.  

What’s the science behind MetCon?

When it comes to producing energy for physical activity, our bodies go through three main pathways: 

1. Phosphogen pathway (intermediate): to fuel short bouts of high-intensity training, generally 10-30 seconds. 
2. Glycolytic pathway (intermediate response): to fuel short moderate exercise, usually around 4 minutes or less. 
3. Oxidative pathway (long-term response): to fuel longer, lower-intensity activities for several minutes (30-45)

Metabolic conditioning works our body through all THREE pathways. Still, it focuses on the phosphagen and glycolytic pathways using moderate to high-intensity exercise to improve our body’s energy efficiency. 

 

My favorite part of MetCon workouts? 

They’re fun! You know I love variety, and it is essential to metabolic training. Keeping our bodies moving and guessing sends signals to our brain to adapt, strengthening muscles, improving lung capacity, and increasing our heart’s ability to pump blood and oxygen, and nutrients throughout our body. And we don’t get bored! So win-win, right? 

 

Check out below for this week’s MetCon workouts, and join us in the BodyFit Athletic Club to hear more about MetCon and all its perks!