Health Upp Physical Activities- For the body to function effectively, it goes through a lot of processes from the moment you digest your food until you excrete your waste. One of these is known as metabolism, which is the process occurring in the body for regulation and maintenance. Your metabolism is responsible for breaking and converting your food into energy, as well as other functions such as digesting, circulating blood, and breathing.
With that in mind, you should better understand how and why a good metabolism is important. There are many things you can do to boost your metabolism like keeping a healthy diet and engaging in physical activities, among others.
These are four physical activities you need to do to improve your metabolism:
Brisk Walking
First on this list is one of the most basic you can do. Brisk walking, even just for half an hour, is a good daily habit to get into. You can do brisk walking either through your treadmill, if the weather doesn’t permit you to go out, or outdoors without the need for any special equipment.
With brisk walking, there are three metrics you have to study to give you insights into whether you’re achieving your intended results:
- Target heart rate. This should be measured through the following:
- During the exercise, your heart rate must be around 70% of the regular maximum heartbeat.
- Talk test. Try talking, so you can have insights on whether or not you’re walking briskly enough:
- If you’re able to talk and only feel a tad bit breathless, you’re walking at a moderate pace;
- If you’re unable to talk easily, you’re moving at a vigorous pace;
- Lastly, if you can hum or sing, then you’re too slow for the walk and you have to move faster.
- Steps per minute. Count your steps, so you can see whether you’re walking fast enough to receive fitness benefits, usually at 100 steps per minute.
Along this line, be sure to couple brisk walking with a healthy diet for you to receive and enjoy the maximum health results. The general rule to follow is your burned calories should always exceed your intake.
Burpees
A burpee is a very quick exercise, which you can do when you’re on the go, you lack time, or you’re traveling. You have to drop all the way to the floor to do a plank, then stand up and jump as high as you can. Repeat it based on the sets you can do or intend to do for the day.
Although it’s fast, it’s an exercise requiring a lot of energy, which means your body is moving and burning calories, thereby increasing your metabolism. Just be sure you’re doing it correctly. Here are some guidelines:
- Wear compatible workout clothes;
- Keep your core tight;
- Don’t push yourself to do a full push-up if you’re still a beginner with burpees;
- Get some air, so you won’t lose your breath.
Yard Work
If you have a garden, taking time to do some yard work regularly is also a good exercise. Not only are you doing a productive chore to keep your home nice and presentable, but you’re also giving yourself that much-needed physical activity.
Here are some health benefits you can receive from doing some yard work:
- It’s a good cardiovascular exercise to increase the oxygen flow and supply to your heart, reducing your blood pressure;
- It may prevent neurological aging because when you do some yard work, you’re also doing a mental load of what you should do next in your yard;
- It’s therapeutic, which makes it a good stress-reliever, particularly for moms who may need to have a break from all the motherhood-related responsibilities.
If you live in a four-seasoned country, during the winter months, the work can also include shoveling snow off your yard.
Mountain Climbers
Mountain climbers are a good exercise, especially if you want to do some work on your abs or midriff. It’s a great cardio exercise to boost your metabolism and it’s also a good resistance training option. To have the right form and position, it’s important to have a lot of core stability and strength.
To achieve your desired results, here are three tips to follow:
- Keep your hips at shoulder level when driving your knees underneath you;
- Do mountain climbers as a pre-workout activity for any exercise you’re going to do for the day;
- Do mountain climbers as a part of your high-intensity workout.
Conclusion
Whether you’re trying to lose weight or you’re in the pursuit of increasing your metabolism, engaging in physical activity and regular exercise is a guaranteed no-fail approach. Boosting your metabolism may not be the easiest goal to reach, but with consistency and determination, it’s doable. With the physical activities listed above, it’s not just your metabolism that’s going to improve, but you’re also able to keep your health in good condition.
