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Hang around the weight rack long enough and youll hear plenty of buzzwords-HIIT, muscle pump , functional training, bro split. But by far one of the most misunderstood ones is metabolic conditioning.
Also known as metcon-thanks in no small part to CrossFit, which popularized and practically coined the abbreviated term-it has become almost synonymous with high intensity, cardio-focused training. But the truth is that metabolic conditioning has a much broader definition.
The term refers to any form of exercise that increases the efficiency of any energy system, of which there are three: phosphagen (most active during short, high intensity efforts lasting up to 10 seconds); glycolytic (emphasized during high intensity efforts lasting from 30 seconds to 2 minutes); and oxidative (your bodys go-to system during sustained low to moderate intensity activity lasting more than 2 minutes).
As such, weightlifting, interval training, and steady state running are technically all examples of metabolic conditioning-but lets not get bogged down in technicalities. As mentioned previously, in todays fitness culture, metcon is used to describe high intensity, cardio-focused workouts. And you know what? Sometimes its okay to give focus to a broad term, so well run with that definition.
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High intensity interval training (HIIT) is one way to go about metcon, but its not the only way. My favorite method is AMRAP, which stands for as many rounds as possible or as many reps as possible, and usually takes the form of circuit training (i.e., performing a series of exercises back-to-back). You'll burn a ton of calories in a short period of time, and if youre smart about your exercise selection, youll also build muscle and boost strength from head to toe.
Your move: First, decide how long you want to work out. Metcon is supposed to be crushingly intense, so 20 minutes is a good place to start. Next choose four or five compound (multi-joint) exercises to cycle though (e.g., chin-up, squat jump, explosive push-up, hip thrust, and rotational dumbbell reverse chop) and decide on an AMRAP protocol. You might do as many rounds of 15 reps of each exercise as possible in 20 minutes, for example. Or you could do four rounds of those five exercises, performing each move for 30 seconds (as many reps as possible) in each round, resting 30 seconds between moves.
Either way, youll very quickly start to feel your muscles burn, heart pound, and breathing become heavy. By the time youre done, you should feel strong and energized, but on the brink of being completely spent. Thats how youll know that youve hit exactly the right intensity to optimize your results.
But you need to be careful to avoid overdoing it. You shouldn't take on metcon workouts more than a few times a week. Any more than that, and youll increase your risk of overtraining and injury.