How Long Should You Exercise to Raise Your Metabolism?

Metabolism is the sum of all the chemical and physical processes necessary to sustain your life. Your resting metabolism is the amount of energy your body requires to operate while you are in a resting state. Engaging in cardiovascular exercise can cause temporary increases in your metabolic rate due to the requirement of additional energy consumption. A resistance-training program may also help to raise your resting metabolic rate.

  1. Digestion Versus Metabolism

    • Digestion and metabolism, while similar, are not exactly the same. Digestion is the process through which your body breaks down the food you consume into usable energy for your body. Metabolism is the process through which your body utilizes the energy extracted from your food in order to maintain typical body functions.

    Starting Position

    • In order to maintain a healthy weight and reduce health risks, the American College of Sports Medicine recommends that healthy adults engage in at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity cardiovascular exercise weekly. Exercise upwards of 300 minutes of moderate-intensity or 150 minutes of vigorous-intensity cardiovascular exercise per week may produce even greater health benefits, including weight loss. To maintain or improve bone and muscle health, you should engage in a minimum of two or three days of resistance training per week.

    Success in Intervals

    • Interval training is cardiovascular training that alternates moderate-intensity and vigorous-intensity paces; for example, jogging for two minutes and sprinting for one minute. According to the American College of Sports Medicine, this type of training has been shown to raise metabolism for an extended period of time following completion of the exercise routine. The vigorous-intensity cycle portion of the interval requires your body to perform at a higher level, burning more calories. Aim to complete 30 to 45 consecutive minutes of interval training on most days of the week. If you are unable to complete 30 minutes at a time, or are just beginning a fitness routine, break up your workout into frequent 10-minute bursts spaced throughout the day.

    Get Buff

    • Resistance training can utilize various mediums, including free weights, weight machines and your own body weight. Regardless of which method you choose, resistance training helps build lean muscle. Lean muscle requires more energy to operate than fatty tissue, even while at rest. Therefore, building lean muscle and losing fat will help to raise both your resting metabolism and your metabolism while you are active. Your weight-training regimen should include eight to 10 exercises that work all the major muscle groups of your body for two or three sets of eight to 12 repetitions. Allow yourself a day of rest between strengthening sessions to give your muscles time to recover.