Sooner or later most of us will hit a plateau when attempting to lose weight, or body fat. There are a variety of techniques that can be used to boost your metabolism when this occurs and get you over the last hurdle on the way to your goal. Consult your physician before beginning any diet or exercise program.
Raise the Intensity
The first thing you can do is raise the intensity of your training. Many people train in the eight to ten repetition range or higher. Training with greater intensities can have a significant effect on your hormonal response, which may increase your metabolism. Research by Dr. Andrew Fry from the University of Kansas has shown that an increase in intensity can increase your production of testosterone, and possibly raise your metabolism. To further increase the intensity, after raise the weight to one that you can perform four to six repetitions with, train until positive muscular failure, when you can no longer raise the weight with good form, then drop the weight 20 percent and keep going. Do this one additional time, executing as many reps as you can. This is known as a "drop set".
Supersets
Instead of just doing one exercise for a few sets, then moving on to the next, pick alternating body parts and train them one right after the other, such as bench presses for chest followed by rows for your back. If you were doing three sets of each exercise, perform one set of bench presses then immediately execute a set of rows with no rest. Then rest no more than 30 to 60 seconds and repeat this process. This can be used for many muscle groups, including the back and front on the thighs, the arms, practically any body part. A little creativity goes a long way.
Interval Training
There are a variety of methods of interval training, and they range from alternating running and walking to very complicated schemes to build endurance and maximum oxygen uptake. A simple method of interval training is to just run for 50 meters then walk back to your starting point. This does not require anything except decent shoes and space to run. As you improve, you can increase the running distance, decrease the walking distance, or speed up the rate at which you return. Intervals can be performed with a jump rope or any piece of cardiovascular training equipment. Interval training can have a significant effect on fat loss as shown by Charles Perry, Ph.D., of the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
Twice a Day Training
Training twice a day does not mean working yourself into the ground like you were training for a varsity sport, but rather splitting your training up to elevate your metabolism twice a day. If you are fairly sedentary, and the only real exercise you get is your training, this can work wonders. Do your cardiovascular work in the morning, and then go to the gym and get your lifting done in the evening. This also has the benefit of shortening your training, making it easier to stay focused. And focusing on the goal is something you always need to do.
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