In a time crunch? Work these four major muscle groups to give your metabolism a real punch. From Lyssie Lakatos and Tammy Lakatos Shames, authors of Fire Up Your Metabolism: 9 Proven Principles for Burning Fat and Losing Weight Forever.
Sometimes finding enough time in a day to fit in a strength-training routine that works all the muscles in your body is nearly impossible. But you can get a fabulous, fast workout by focusing on the “big four” muscle groups — the chest, legs, back, and abs — rather than smaller muscle groups, because you are recruiting more muscles and activating a greater number of muscle fibers, thereby burning more calories. The chest, legs, back, and abs make up the majority of your body. Therefore, when you are in a hurry, focus on these muscle groups. Often, when men are in a hurry they focus on their biceps and triceps. In reality, if these men had worked their back and their chest, they would have had a much more productive workout.
Not only do the back and the chest cover a much larger area of the body and cause you to burn more calories then the biceps and triceps, when you work the back and chest you also work the biceps and triceps. Women, on the other hand, tend to work the inner and outer thighs when they are in a hurry, as they want to tone that part of the leg known for jiggling. However, their workout would be more productive if they focused on the larger leg muscles such as the quadriceps and hamstrings (and glutes) rather than the small muscles of the inner and outer thighs.
To make your workout easier, we have divided our Fire Up Your Metabolism tips into different categories: exercises for your back, your abs, your legs, and your chest. You can pick and choose from each group. We also provide tips for the smaller muscle groups so that these can be performed on days when you have more time, or a spare minute in your office, or when you are in front of your television. Remember, although performing exercises for the big four muscle groups is very helpful when it comes to firing up your metabolism, you will have the best results and see the most muscle tone when you include exercises that isolate the smaller muscle groups as well.
Abs
PRACTICE PERFECT POSTURE. Standing up straight not only requires you to keep your shoulders back, it also means that you have to keep your abs tight and contracted at all times. If you don’t have great abs now, practice perfect posture all day long and soon you will be quite pleased with your own abs!
LET’S BE FRANK. ONE OF THE BEST AB STRENGTHENERS IS THE PLANK.
YOU’VE PROBABLY HAD A HUNCH THAT IT’S ABOUT TIME YOU DO THE CRUNCH. This is one of the most effective ways to fire up your abs.
HERE’S HOW TO TONE THE FLAB…ON YOUR LOWER ABS. Try a reverse crunch.
ARE YOU A VETERAN AT THE GYM? THIS AB MOVE WILL HELP YOU GET TRIM. Lie on a physioball. Place your feet on the ground, while your back rests on the ball, parallel to the ground. Follow the directions for performing a crunch with the proper technique, and now you are also building your stabilizer muscles!
Chest
KISS THE GROUND…IN BETWEEN EACH PUSH-UP. Each peck will make sure that each push helps your pecs look fabulous.
PUSH DOWN THE WALL. Stand about a foot away from the wall, and use your arm, chest, and shoulder muscles to push against the wall as hard as you can.
THROWING A MEDICINE BALL IS THE PERFECT MEDICINE FOR BUILDING A LEAN AND TONED UPPER BODY. Tossing this weighty ball back and forth with a partner is an unconventional way to gain upper-body strength while having fun.
Legs
SIT ON THE IMAGINARY CHAIR. And while doing this, you can imagine the newly toned and shapely legs you will have. Do this with your back against the wall.
WHO SAID THE LOCUST COMES AROUND ONLY EVERY SEVENTEEN YEARS? This locust should come several times per week. This yoga pose that looks like a backward leg lift strengthens and tones the glutes.
LOUNGING AROUND? Lunge around instead.
DON’T LET YOUR REAR BE THE BUTT OF JOKES. Do a lateral lunge.
BUTT-TONING MOVES CAN SHAPE YOUR HIPS, TOO! As a matter of fact, all butt-toning exercises do this, as the buttocks are the largest posterior hip muscles. Love that!
DO IT ON ALL FOURS! First, get your mind out of the gutter! Now, repeat the dog at the hydrant exercise three times with each leg.
STEP UP TO THE PLATE. No Stairmaster? Tone your butt on the staircase. This is a superior calorie-burning movement. You’ll kill two birds with one stone — you reap both muscle-strengthening and cardiovascular benefits.
DON’T MAKE THIS LEGGY MISTAKE. Most males make the mistake of strengthening their upper bodies and overlooking their legs. Women make the mistake of focusing solely on the inner and outer thighs. Both are missing the boat when it comes to firing it up, as the leg muscles (quadriceps and hamstrings) are very large, and increasing lean muscle here can really help to speed up the metabolism.
Back
BEACH BALLS AREN’T ONLY FOR THE BEACH. Fire up all of your back muscles using a beach ball.
MONKEY BARS ONLY FOR KIDS? THAT’S MONKEY BUSINESS. Strengthen your upper body by using the strength of your back and arms to swing from one bar to another.
DON’T BE A PUSHOVER, TRY PULLING: EXERCISES THAT USE YOUR BACK. Most daily activities require us to use the “pushing” motion rather than the “pulling” motion. This causes our backs to be less muscular than our fronts. This muscular imbalance results in poor posture with shoulders that are rounded forward. A strong back pulls your shoulders back, making you have good posture and a cool, confident look. Not to mention pulling up breasts that may be lower than they used to be.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Lyssie Lakatos and Tammy Lakatos Shames, authors of Fire Up Your Metabolism (Copyright © 2004 by Lyssie Lakatos and Tammy Lakatos Shames), are registered dieticians, nutritionists, and personal trainers, and are the founders of Healthy Happenings, Inc., a company that provides nutrition consultations to more than 300 corporations. Their advice has appeared in Self, Family Circle, Woman’s Day, and Good Housekeeping. They live in New York City.
MORE ARTICLES BY THE AUTHOR
LEARN MORE
- Read the Introduction to Fire Up Your Metabolism: 9 Proven Principles for Burning Fat and Losing Weight Forever
- See the book’s Table of Contents
