If you’re on a journey to restore your metabolic health, you probably already know how necessary exercise is.
But while you’re getting some exercise during the week, you’re not sure if it’s enough — or if you’re even doing it correctly.
Let me start by congratulating you for digging deeper. Asking questions like these shows you’re serious about your health.
So let me give you the good news first:
Exercising for metabolic health doesn’t have to be complicated
The science of exercise can be as simple or as complex as you want.
Some people stick with a simple plan.
Others dive deeper into the weeds — and obtain equally successful results.
If you’re at the beginning of your health improvement journey, I’d advise you to keep things simple. You only need to know these three basic factors:
1. Know your level of activity
Abs are made in the kitchen, as they say, and the same is true of metabolic health.
But if you’re not engaging in any amount of exercise, you won’t make holistic progress towards improving your heart health.
Most people categorize levels of activity into four basic categories:
- Sedentary: Not active at all other than basic movements (like standing and sitting).
- Lightly active: Movement that doesn’t break a sweat (think a light walk to work).
- Moderately active: Some movements make you sweat, others don’t (weightlifting two to three times per week).
- Heavily active: Exercise at and outside of work (this is especially true in industries like construction).
It can be easy to underestimate your activity bracket. For example, weekend warriors may still classify as heavily active, even if they’re moderately active during the work week.
On the flip side of this, some people who think they’re sedentary fall into the ‘lightly active’ category. If they’re performing light house chores, yard work, or garden labor, they’re still incorporating regular movement into their day.
2. Know your intensity of activity
We often measure the difficulty of exercise by how vigorously our heart works to keep blood pumping through our body.
Vigorous exercise, for example, could quantify as anything that falls between 70% and 85% of your max heart rate. Moderate intensity ranges between 50% and 70%, while light intensity is 20% to 40%.
Just keep in mind this measures your max heart rate. This is because exercise intensity depends on your body. The percentages described above are general ranges — your mileage may vary depending on your target heart rate.
There are a few other ways to measure the intensity of a workout:
- The breath test. If you can speak but not sing, it’s likely a moderate workout. If you can’t say more than a few words, it’s probably a vigorous workout.
- A fitness watch or integrated CGM. You can also get a fitness ring if you’re looking for a slimmer profile.
- Metabolic equivalent of task (MET). Just keep in mind these are fairly limited and don’t take your health, weight, or body fat into account.
Again, use your intuition here. If a movement feels strenuous or vigorous, it probably is.
And remember: you’re not trying to meet someone else’s definition of ‘vigorous.’ The only person you should be trying to compete against is you.
3. Know your exercise options
You’re probably familiar with two basic types of exercise: cardiovascular training (AKA cardio), and resistance training (also called strength training).
With cardio, you’re aiming to raise your heart rate and maintain that speed for several minutes. With resistance training, you’re working core muscle groups either in isolation or at the same time (think pushups or planking).
But let’s not forget an often overlooked third category: flexibility and balance. Activities promoting balance probably won’t raise your heart rate, but they will improve your range of motion, which can prevent tears and injuries as you exercise, not to mention helping you stay more mobile as you get older.
You’ll probably hear about all sorts of other exercises on your health journey, but please don’t get overwhelmed. They usually boil down into one of these three categories — and any amount of movement will have a positive effect on your heart.
How to exercise for metabolic health
Strengthening your heart and building metabolically active tissue is a lot less intimidating than some people make it out to be.
So if you’re ready to make progress but don’t know how, I’d advise you to:
Get continuous daily movement
When I say ‘continuous,’ I don’t mean ‘moving without stopping.’ In this context, ‘continuous’ means breaking up your day with small periods of activity that keep your blood pumping.
Let’s take a look at the science behind this. Studies show that sitting 12+ hours per day leads to a higher chance of mortality — whether or not the individual spent a half-hour exercising (the recommended daily minimum). However, another study showed that five-minute ‘walking breaks’ every half-hour negates the risk of mortality almost completely.
It doesn’t take much to get continuous movement:
- Take the stairs instead of the elevator
- Set a timer on your phone and do 10 squats every hour
- Get into the habit of performing light exercises after meetings, focused work, and other tasks
If you can get creative about timing your mini-workouts, it won’t take much to start seeing some improvements.
And speaking of timing…
Time your heavier workouts
There’s not necessarily a ‘best time’ to exercise, but you may reap different benefits depending on when you choose to work out.
If you work out in the morning, you may:
- Lose more weight
- See greater benefits in your fasting glucose
- Reduce abdominal fat percentage (in women)
In contrast, if you work out in the evening, you may:
- Lose more body fat
- Reduce total glucose (with afternoon HIIT)
- Reduce your blood pressure to a greater degree (in men)
Keep in mind this is fairly young science and will definitely require further study.
For now, the best way to time your workouts is to experiment with your schedule and body. Perhaps you’ll find that evenings work best, or maybe you’ll notice that mornings set you up for success.
Prioritize resistance training
Cardio is usually people’s first prescription for weight loss. But when it comes to improving your metabolic health, it’s not necessarily the best option.
Sure, cardiovascular exercise can help strengthen the heart. But building active, healthy muscle tissue is what will keep you healthy for the long haul.
Many of my patients find great success with:
- High-intensity interval training (HIIT)
- Bodyweight training
- Isometric or static training
If you’re looking for resources to help you get started, I wrote a guide to seven daily exercises that boost heart health.
Jumping into better health — feet first
It can be tough to create an exercise plan on your own, especially if you don’t have experience with workout routines. That’s why I recommend speaking with a metabolic coach: which is the easiest way to build a customized plan.
If you’re interested in speaking with a coach who ‘gets it’, you’re welcome to chat with a member of the team. My Elite Health Coaching program offers 1:1 health consulting, personalized attention, and exclusive access to my monthly AMAs.
