METABOLIC CONDITIONING: WHY YOU SHOULD DO THIS INSTEAD OF CARDIO.

​Build muscle, lose fat, and improve endurance:
 
Cardio has its place, steady state, HIIT, Zone 2; I love to do them all and reap benefits from them all.  Its what people think of first when they think about loosing fat.  While cardio can definitely help, I am also a big believer in Metabolic Conditioning and make sure to schedule it into my training program every week.  I know that it will help me stay lean by burning calories and increasing my Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) (read more: Metabolism: Can You Change It?), improve my cardiovascular endurance, and build muscle at the same time.  

*All nutritional and fitness info must be discussed with your doctor before any changes to diet or exercise regime are implemented. ​

​What is Metabolic Conditioning?
 
Metabolic conditioning, or MetCon, is resistance training done HIIT style; work at high intensity and then rest (read more: HIIT vs Steady State). The goal is to perform exercises at a high enough intensity to increase your heart rate (80-90% of your Heart Rate Max - HRM) and work your muscles with enough frequency and intensity to create a metabolic disturbance.  This disturbance creates an increased metabolism that can stay elevated for hours afterwards, thereby giving you the afterburn advantage of increased RMR. 
 
As we’ve seen in my article HIIT vs Steady State vs Zone 2, working in the high intensity, anaerobic, Lactic Acid Threshold (LAT) zone uses primarily your fast twitch muscle fibers, relying on glycogen to provide energy.  Glycogen is our body’s energy source; sugar from carbohydrates are converted to glucose, then stored as glycogen in our muscles (and in our liver and fat cells).  Glycogen provides our muscles with energy, but is limited, and once it is depleted it needs to be replaced.  This process has two benefits:

1. When we consume carbohydrates post workout they will go directly into our glycogen stores instead of being stored as fat (read more: Workout Nutrition).
2. The process of replacing this glycogen takes energy, ie. burns calories, and it is this extra calorie expenditure which gives us the increase in RMR post-workout. 

 
In one study in 2002, Exercise Post Oxygen Consumption, EPOC, was significantly elevated for 38hrs after subjects performed a circuit training protocol of 12 sets in 31 minutes.  This elevated EPOC is associated with increased metabolism as well as increased hormones that help stimulate muscle growth, like Human Growth Hormone, HGH.  This means that for a day and a half after performing a MetCon workout effectively you will still be burning more calories without more exercising.
 
How do we perform MetCon?
 
MetCon is hard!  That’s the goal, if it’s not hard, you’re not working hard enough and therefore not gaining full benefits: 

• Full body workouts using non-competing muscle groups – ie quads and back – put a larger metabolic strain on our muscles because our Central Nervous System – CNS - must mentally switch gears and redirect our energy focus.  You can perform these several ways:
  • Circuit training (read more: HIICT, High Intensity Circuit Training) is performing one set of exercises after another in a circuit fashion, alternating between muscle groups ie. Squats, pushups, lunges, pullups etc.
  • Compound training is performing sets of exercises with a fluid transition from one to another without putting done the weight, ie. Squats to overhead press.
  • Complexes are a form of compound training where you string together a set of exercises performed in a row without putting down the weight.  A great example is a landmine complex where you move from squat to overhead press, to lunges, to single arm rows, to RDLs, all without putting down the weight.  As our lower body can handle more weight than our upper body, the challenge is finding a set of exercises that you can perform in the desired rep range, with the same amount of weight for each exercise.  Be mindful that your focus should be on increasing the weight – with good form – not increasing speed.  Don’t worry, your HR will get up into the necessary 80-90% of MHR even without performing the exercises at a break-neck speed.
• No matter what form of MetCon you choose, the exercises must be performed in a rep range that generates lactic acid.  This generation of lactic acid production puts us at the top of the Lactic Acid Threshold (LAT) which is where we cross over from aerobic activity (using oxygen), to an aerobic activity (not using oxygen).  Once we are in the lactic acid producing, anaerobic zone we know that we are using glycogen instead of oxygen for fuel.  Perfect!  This rep range is generally in the “hypertrophy range” or 12-20, vs the lower “strength” rep range (generally 1-8) (read more Strength vs Hypertrophy).

 
Who should perform MetcCon?
 
MetCon, performed at high enough intensity to be considered MetCon, is typically not for beginners.  If you are just starting out and are determined to get in shape fast, lose weight, and stick to a program that might make you feel like vomiting and leave you sore for days, then feel free to go hard (with your Dr’s clearance!).  Otherwise, you might want to ease into it.   Start slow and increase your intensity, load and frequency gradually; you will still be getting the benefits from increasing muscle mass and improved aerobic (cardiovascular) performance, as well as allowing you to focus on form.  Maintaining good form throughout a MetCon workout is essential to prevent injury and as a beginner you might need to work on certain mobility or form issues first. 
 
If you are an experienced lifter that is looking for either a new challenge or a new way to help you reach a body composition goal, then this workout will be perfect for you.
 
How to schedule it into your training regime.
 
Depending upon your goals, I would recommend adding a MetCon workout into your program at least once a week, more if you’re really focused on fat loss.  I often add it to the end of a workout, either after cardio or after lifting to really amp up my gains.
 
If your goal is rapid body re-composition and are looking for a relatively quick workout that you can perform each training session then a daily MetCon workout would be perfect.  

*All nutritional and fitness info must be discussed with your doctor before any changes to diet or exercise regime are implemented. ​

​​Change nothing and nothing will change; without change, there can be no progress!​

Related articles:
Our metabolism: can we change it?
Cardio: HIIT vs Steady State vs Zone 2 ​

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