The Best Way To Work Out To Boost Your Metabolism

If you’ve seen the term “metabolic workout” pop up on your social feed, you’re not alone. “Metabolic workouts are definitely having a moment,” says internal health specialist and endocrinologist Hayley Miller, M.D., the medical director of Nurx Weight Management. 

The term may sound fitness mumbo-jumbo, but “it’s just a term that describes a well-balanced exercise program that supports how efficiently your body produces and uses energy,” says Miller. In general, that means combining strength and cardio in a way that challenges your body without pushing it past its recovery capacity, she says. 

Talking specifically about the metabolic potential of your workouts might sound niche, but it’s actually an excellent framework for anyone with health or fitness goals. “The approach will help you build muscle, boost endurance, and support exercise recovery,” says Miller. Not to mention, maximize calorie burn, support a lean body composition, and boost metabolism. 

Here’s a closer look at the best workout program for metabolic health. 

• ABOUT OUR EXPERTS: Hayley Miller, M.D., is an internal health specialist, endocrinologist, and the medical director of Nurx Weight Management. Rachel Brief, R.D.N., is a registered dietitian nutritionist specializing in weight management and metabolic health with The Lanby concierge care. Jake Harcoff, C.S.C.S., is a certified strength and conditioning specialist and head coach and owner of AIM Athletic.  

What Is A Metabolic Workout? 

The internet is abuzz about “metabolic workouts”—and they are a thing. However, revving your metabolism via exercise is a bigger picture than a single gym session. Instead, it’s an approach to training that supports how effectively and efficiently the body uses energy from the different energy systems, says Rachel Brief, R.D.N., a registered dietitian nutritionist who specializes in weight management and metabolic health with The Lanby concierge care. 

When you exercise, your body can tap into three different energy systems for the chutzpah you need to get through them. Which it leans on depends on factors like intensity and duration, explains certified strength and conditioning specialist Jake Harcoff, C.S.C.S., head coach and owner of AIM Athletic.  

Your body relies on the phosphagen pathway, which uses stored ATP (a.k.a. cellular energy) during explosive movements lasting less than 10 seconds (think one-rep max deadlifts or 100-meter sprints), Harcoff says. After that, the glycolytic pathway, which relies primarily on carbohydrates and supports high-intensity activities lasting up to three minutes, kicks in. For any workout lasting longer than that, the oxidative system powers up, relying on fat and oxygen as its primary energy sources. 

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Metabolic training programs hit on all three of these pathways. Plus, “they are often geared to help your body switch between these various energy systems,” says Brief. This adaptability—known as metabolic flexibility— improves how efficiently your body produces and uses energy both during workouts and throughout the day (though the benefits don’t stop there). 

The Benefits of Metabolic Training 

“Supporting your metabolism through exercise is about far more than just ‘speeding it up’ for weight loss,” says Brief. “Metabolic function influences nearly every system in the body.” So, training in a way that optimizes your metabolic function and flexibility offers both short and long-term benefits.  

For starters, training this way can boost everyday energy. “How efficiently your body converts food into energy will give you more energy throughout your days,” says Miller. When your metabolism is functioning optimally, your body becomes better at turning the food you eat into steady energy, rather than experiencing quick spikes and crashes, she says. The result: You’ll likely feel more alert and focused throughout the day. 

Other major benefits of metabolic training involve your hormones. “Metabolic training can help you use sugars and fats for fuel all while keeping hormones like insulin and cortisol in check,” says Miller. 

Without exercise to maintain healthy insulin function, your body can become less sensitive to the hormone, making it harder to use carbohydrates for fuel and more likely to store them as fat. The results can include stubborn weight gain, low energy, and a greater risk for long-term health conditions like diabetes. 

Meanwhile, when cortisol levels remain high due to chronic stress or inadequate recovery, your body can become less efficient at burning fuel and more prone to holding onto it, says Miller. When paired with adequate rest and recovery protocols, metabolic workouts can help regulate cortisol, helping your system handle stress more efficiently. 

The variety of workout styles incorporated into a metabolic workout plan also offers other benefits, such as greater muscle mass and strength, improved cardiovascular function, and more, adds Harcoff. And, of course, this type of training boosts the speed at which your body burns calories even at rest, says Miller. This increased burn supports weight loss and body composition goals. In fact, the modalities associated with metabolic workouts were shown to support fat mass loss in a 2021 review published in Frontiers in Physiology. 

Strength Training Is The Foundation Of Metabolic Training 

“If you’re going to make just one change to start boosting your metabolism through movement, it should be to incorporate strength training into your routine,” says Brief. 

Whether it’s weightlifting, bodyweight exercises, or resistance bands, strength training helps build lean muscle mass, which translates to a higher metabolic rate, she says. Muscle is the metabolically active tissue in the body, so the more of it you have, the more energy (calories) you burn at rest, which makes shedding body fat easier, says Harcoff. On top of that, muscle stores sugar more effectively after strength training, which research shows facilitates insulin sensitivity and decreases the risk of type 2 diabetes. 

How you strength train matters here, though. ​​The best way to continuously see muscle and metabolic benefits from your workouts is to gradually challenge your body to work harder—a concept also known as progressive overload, says Harcoff. You can do so by tweaking variables like time under tension (how slowly you lift and lower the weight), your rep and set counts, how much weight you lift, and your rest periods. 

Read More: How To Avoid Muscle Loss As You Age

Assuming you’re recovering adequately through proper sleep, nutrition, and rest days, your body adapts to the stress of training by building more muscle and becoming more efficient at using energy, he says. 

Cardio is Crucial For Metabolic Health, Too 

Cardio often gets typecast as the calorie-burning workout, but its benefits for your metabolism go far deeper. “Cardio workouts can also tap into multiple energy systems, ultimately challenging the body to use different fuel sources,” says Harcoff. 

Incorporating the right balance of sweat sessions here is the ticket to reaping maximum metabolism benefits. High-intensity sprint efforts, for one, rely on the glycogen and anaerobic pathways, Harcoff explains. Over time, it builds your capacity to generate quick, powerful bursts of energy. On the other hand, Zone 2 training, which involves steady, moderate-intensity work during which you can still hold a conversation, primarily relies on fat oxidation for energy. It improves aerobic efficiency, helping your body burn fat more effectively and recover faster between sessions, he says. 

For metabolic and overall health, “both styles are valuable,” says Harcoff. “Incorporating a mix helps train the body to efficiently switch between fuel sources like fats, carbohydrates, and stored phosphates.” Again, it’s that metabolic flexibility that marks stellar metabolic health. 

Marry Cardio With Strength For A Metabolic Boost 

No doubt, strength-focused or cardio-only sessions boost your metabolism. And while upleveling your metabolic function is more about your overall workout program than a single sweat, there are workouts out there designed to incorporate all of these different elements. Need proof? Just step into a bootcamp studio or CrossFit box! 

The twofer workouts involve doing intervals of strength exercises at a high intensity, with short stints of rest built in, explains Harcoff. Typically, the movements are compound exercises that recruit multiple muscle groups at once—such as squats, thrusters, push presses, or deadlifts—because they require more energy (calories) and elevate your heart rate more than isolated, single-joint exercises (like bicep curls). Meanwhile, rest periods are brief enough to prevent full recovery but long enough that you can sustain your effort, he says. 

You’ll find this metabolic-style training at bootcamp classes or CrossFit gyms, but you don’t have to become a group fitness fanatic to try it. You can easily turn your usual strength session into a metabolic one. The format can vary, but the goal of metabolic workouts is to keep your heart rate elevated and your body working in the moderate-to-high intensity zone, which “challenges multiple energy systems at once,” explains Miller. 

For example, instead of fully resting for two or more minutes after heavy squats, you might jump right into push-ups or jumping rope, suggests Miller. Similarly, you can add a metabolic kick to a classic cardio session by incorporating a bodyweight strength exercise every two minutes, she says. Or, alternate between 30-second all-out sprints and one to two minutes at a recovery pace for a more classic HIIT approach. The short, explosive bouts will strengthen your phosphagen system, while the longer, more moderate efforts will train the glycolytic and oxidative systems, she explains. 

The Best Workout Plan For Metabolic Health 

There’s no question that the idea of a do-it-all metabolic workout is appealing. But experts recommend against overhauling your entire workout routine for two-in-one metabolic workouts. Correct, that means doing bootcamp classes every day (or even most days) isn’t a good idea.

“It’s difficult on the central nervous system to effectively train multiple energy systems in a single workout without creating too much fatigue,” says Harcoff. Hitting these pieces without also taking rest days, getting quality sleep, proper nutrition, and effectively managing your stress can lead to overtraining or under-recovery, which can negatively impact the very metabolism you’re looking to boost, he says. 

While you can absolutely sprinkle these twofer workouts into your routine, “for metabolic health, it really is less about one magic workout style and more about maintaining variety in your training,” Miller says. The bigger picture of your week is what matters most.

So, what’s the ideal formula? Two to three strength sessions, a few days of zone 2 cardio, and just one to two metabolic workouts, the experts suggest. “The muscle mass from strength training will build a base that allows your metabolism to stay healthy and active over time,” says Harcoff. Meanwhile, including both low-intensity cardio and high-intensity bootcamp- or HIIT-style workouts will train your body to seamlessly switch between fuel sources without overstressing your system.

The Bottom Line

So-called ‘metabolic workouts’ can certainly benefit your metabolic and overall health when done in moderation. But a healthy metabolism isn’t built from just one workout style; it’s built through a strategic program that balances variety, consistency, and recovery.