Metabolism is the rate at which the body burns calories. Metabolic rate of your body depends on factors like age, gender, body type, heredity, physique, and body fat level, level of activity, body surface area, muscle tissue, nutrition, and intake of drugs, dieting, fasting and overall health.

Some people tend to eat a lot but do not seem to put on weight whereas some people put on weight easily after eating a small amount of fattening food. This characteristic of the body to break down the fatty food and build up energy is attributed to metabolism. A higher metabolic rate means more energy is being built up in our body and fats are broken down. Thus you become more energetic to do your daily activities tirelessly.

One way to achieve a healthy and fit body is to workout in such a way that the whole body is targeted and not just a specific area of the body. Boot camp exercises which were initially designed for the military personnel are practiced with the purpose of exercising the entire body. In recent years, due to increase in popularity they are included in the normal workout routines to increase endurance, heart rate and fat burning.

Boot camp exercises focus on provide benefits including cardio and muscular endurance, fat burning, weight loss, full body strength, increase in agility, balance improvement and flexibility. Since there is a range of body movements involved in a boot camp workout, it helps burn fat and also tones the muscles. Boot camp exercises involve running, squats, pushups, suspension training, jumping jacks, crunches and other body weight exercises. They are an easy and effective way to increase fitness levels and keep your body in shape.

Another way to increase metabolism levels is to eat the right kind of food. What we eat and how often we eat is one of the important factors that affect our metabolism levels. Eating the right kinds of food helps the body build up more energy and breaks down body fat. Long term fat loss can be achieved by eating the right food and burning up calories by proper exercise. Three main constituents of food and their effects on our metabolism levels have been discussed below:

Proteins – Proteins play an important role in the weight loss process. In order to process proteins, the body needs to put in more amount of energy as compared to fats or carbohydrates. Your body ends up using more number of calories to break down proteins, thus helping in the weight loss.

Carbohydrates – There are some carbohydrates that help boost metabolism. Complex carbohydrates take more time to break down as compared to simpler ones like sugars, fats and white bread. The process of breakdown of complex carbohydrates leads to less insulin entering the blood stream and thus creates a more stable flow of energy while improving metabolism.

Fats – Fats that are good for your metabolism include walnuts, flax seed oil, coconut oil, and avocados. They have an ideal ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 fats that is between 2 and 3 to 1.

Other foods that help speed up metabolism include cabbage, blueberries, grapefruit, oranges, tomatoes, yoghurt, oatmeal, broccoli, berries, apples, pears, chilli, hot peppers, mustard, green tea, soup, lean turkey etc. It is extremely important to stay sufficiently hydrated if you wish to improve your metabolism. Foods that slow down the rate of metabolism and that must be avoided include fried foods, cakes, ice-creams, alcohol, nicotine etc.

It is very important to have a good metabolic rate in order to stay fit and healthy. Eating the right type of food, avoiding or cutting down on ‘bad’ foods, drinking lots of water, cutting down on alcohol and exercising regularly is the key to achieve a healthy metabolism.

Author Bio: If you would like to book a free Bootcamp session or to go to a Sydney Personal Trainers trial, visit Personal Trainer Sydney.

Category: Wellness, Fitness and Diet
Keywords: Bootcamp