How to Boost Your Metabolism?

Whether it’s best to do cardio or strength training is a reoccurring topic. But what happens if you look at the way it affects your metabolism?

A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition has shown that weight training burns more calories, this is because even after you’ve finished training you will continue to burn calories. However, a different study published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation showed that cardio is better when it comes to improving your metabolism. 

What is your metabolism?

Metabolism is a term used to describe the process of  your body transforming food into energy. If your metabolism is higher it means you burn more calories while resting, which is why people are often looking to boost their metabolism.

Cardio

The study looked at 10 young healthy men, they were split up into two groups. One group did an hour of cardio. The other group did an hour of weight training, focusing on compound movements. After this their blood was tested, looking at hormone levels. This showed that the men that did cardio had a three times higher increase in the production of the hormone FGF21 than the men that did weight training. This hormone has a positive effect on your metabolism.

Weight training

We would like to point out that this is based on a small study, even though the results are clear, a bigger research would have to be done.

The optimal exercise for you also depends on your genetics. Your genotype contributes to the way your body responds to power exercises and endurance exercises. If you’re interested in knowing whether you’re more likely to be better at endurance training or power training, or maybe both, you can look into our Fitness DNA test. This will give you a detailed insight in the way your body responds to exercise.