Metabolic conditioning refers to a method of training through which the energy pathways in the body are conditioned to maximise efficiency and increase calorie burn. It simply means structured patterns of exercise and rest to achieve a desired response from the body in terms of it’s conditioning.
Box Jumps
Start this movement by standing close to the box with your feet comfortably apart. Perform a jump to get on top of the box, try to land in a squat position and stand all the way up until you reach full extension of your hip and knee. Jump back down and repeat this for a certain number of reps or time. If you are a beginner, make sure that you use a smaller box and step up with one leg at a time, instead of jumping. This move will work on building strong glutes, hamstrings and plyometric movements are known to improve your bone strength.
Kettlebell Snatches
Place a kettlebell between your feet and hinge at the hips to get into the starting position. Looking straight ahead, hold the kettlebell with one hand, push the bell with your hips to generate momentum, and keeping your arm close to the body, raise the kettlebell up towards the ceiling until it reaches the overhead position. Make sure that your biceps are in line with your ears when it’s above. Kettlebell movements engages your core like no other movement and improve the ability to sustain endurance sports or long hours at work.
Mountain climbers
Get into a raised plank with your arms directly underneath your shoulders and head to toe in one straight line. Start by getting one knee towards the chest and alternating with the other as fast as possible. Make sure you do not raise your hips up to the ceiling and do not dip them down. Maintain a straight back throughout this movement. You can do this slow or fast to activate different metabolic pathways for overall conditioning. Ideally, it’s good to perform this movement in different modulations.
Plank Shoulder tap
Start from a raised plank, arms directly in line with the shoulders, abs tight and back straight. Start the movement by touching the right shoulder with your left hand, and left shoulder with the right hand. Keep alternating while you maintain a straight back. Make sure that your body doesn’t tilt or move at all while you do a shoulder tap. This move ensures stability, stronger core and a much better performance in long distance activities.
Plank Shoulder tap
Battle rope
Hold both ends of the rope and stand in a partial squat. Keeping your chest upright, start moving the rope up and down to bang it down on the ground one arm at a time. Maintain a good speed and make sure that the waves created in the rope travel up to the end of the rope. Battle ropes develop impressive metabolic results in limited time, as they demand more oxygen and improve the ability of the body to uptake oxygen. The end result is more stamina and higher endurance.
— The writer is a Bengaluru-based fitness trainer
