How to fire up your metabolism and stay in fat-burning “gear” throughout the summer …
Whilst warmer weather doesn’t really cause your metabolism to slow down it can bring other side effects to your training. Exercising in hot weather is more likely to cause you to fatigue quicker, so you shorten your session, and can zap your enthusiasm too. It’s an easy equation; you work out less so burn fewer calories. And there’s another problem; hot weather exertion can leave us convinced that we’ve worked harder and earned that family-size tub of ice-cream – to cool down right?
So what’s the answer when the heat is on?
You’ll possibly hate me for saying this but, I’ll say it, embrace the heat! Take it slower if necessary but don’t give up on your goals! It was hot when I did my first Ashtanga training; in the spirit of tradition, flinging open the shala doors was not permitted, but as the weeks passed the yogic wisdom became clear – our bodies have a perfect plan to cool us down! Yes, sweating – so let it flow; just ensure you re-hydrate and refuel afterwards even if all you think you need is a cold beer!
If motivation is dwindling and summer BBQs or beer gardens too distracting, then perhaps you need a new challenge that can also throw your metabolism a curve ball.
One way to do this is by combining short bursts of high intensity exercise with periods of lower intensity training – à la HIIT! Most fitness savvy folk will know all about the benefits, but if you are anything like me, and find even the thought of doing repetitive burpees enough to make you feel ill, then you’ve probably dismissed HIIT by now!
I nearly did before I found some fun ways to get a fitness HIIT! Dancing round the kitchen works and I love creating HIIT playlists. But recently HIIT has been creeping into my yoga classes. So this summer I’m unleashing a new class – Yoga HIIT. Short, intense burst of exercise can keep you in fat-burning mode for longer allowing you to sculpt your body whilst freeing up some precious summer time too!
