I’ve been an advocate of strength training for Metabolic Exercises and Workouts for Women for over one decade. In the late 2000s, when many of my personal training contemporaries were mostly prescribing aerobics for their female clients, mine were squatting, deadlifting, and power-cleaning their way to fitness and leanness.

Obviously, my clients’ results did nothing to change my opinions or methods.

On the other hand, while I am still a huge fan of strength training for women and recognize its myriad health and aesthetic benefits, I also understand the value of cardio. After all, cardiovascular exercise is critical for heart, lung, and circulatory health and can help you lose weight and get lean.

It’s just a shame that it’s so time-consuming and, sometimes, butt-numbingly boring!

Thankfully, there is a way to enjoy the benefits of cardio while primarily lifting weights – Metabolic Training. This method uses strength training to deliver a cardio-like workout, giving you the best of both worlds.

I will explain what Metabolic Exercises and Workouts for Women Training is, outline its main benefits, and then provide you with some workouts to try in this article.

Table of Contents:

• What is a Metabolic Workout?

• Metabolic Workout Benefits

1. Burn More Calories
2. Build/Preserve Muscle Mass
3. Improved Cardiovascular Fitness
4. Improved Insulin Sensitivity and Glucose Control
5. Shorter Workouts

• The Best Metabolic Workout Exercises

1. Lower Body Exercises
2. Upper Body Pushing Exercises
3. Upper Body Pulling Exercises
4. Exercise Order
5. But What About Abs and Arms?

• Sample Metabolic Workouts for Women

1. Metabolic Workout for Women #1 – Bodyweight Only
2. Metabolic Workout for Women #2 – Dumbbells
3. Metabolic Workout for Women #3 – Freeweights
4. Metabolic Workout for Women #4 – Resistance Bands
5. Metabolic Workout for Women #5 – Mixed Modality
6. Metabolic Workout for Women #6 – Arms and Abs
7. Finishing Circuit

• Overview

• References:

What is a Metabolic Workout?

Metabolic workouts involve doing several compound resistance training exercises back-to-back. Rests between exercises are relatively short, which increases your heart rate like cardio without resorting to things like running, cycling, rowing, etc.

Here’s an example Metabolic Exercises and Workouts for Women to illustrate how this training method works:

Workout: Full Body Metabolic Circuit

Warm-up:

Perform 5-10 minutes of light cardio (jumping jacks, jogging in place) to increase your heart rate and warm up your muscles.

Circuit:

Perform each exercise for 45 seconds, followed by 15 seconds of rest. Complete the entire circuit, and then rest for 1-2 minutes before repeating for a total of 3 rounds.

1. Bodyweight Squats:

• Stand with feet shoulder-width apart.
• Lower your body as if sitting back into a chair.
• Keep your chest up, and knees aligned with your toes.

2. Push-Ups:

• Maintain a straight line from head to heels.
• Lower your chest to the ground by bending your elbows.
• Push back up to the starting position.

3. Jumping Lunges:

• Start in a lunge position.
• Jump and switch your legs in mid-air, landing in a lunge with the opposite foot forward.

4. Mountain Climbers:

• Get into a plank position.
• Bring your knees towards your chest in a running motion.

5. Burpees:

• Begin in a standing position.
• Drop into a squat position, kick your feet back into a plank, perform a push-up, return to squat position, and explosively jump up.

6. Plank with Shoulder Taps:

• Hold a plank position.
• Tap your left shoulder with your right hand, then your right shoulder with your left hand, alternating.

7. Kettlebell Swings:

• Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, holding a kettlebell with both hands.
• Hinge at your hips and swing the kettlebell forward, then back between your legs.

Cool-down:

Finish the workout with 5-10 minutes of stretching, focusing on major muscle groups involved in the workout.

This type of metabolic workout combines strength and cardiovascular exercises, engaging multiple muscle groups to increase calorie burn and improve overall fitness. Remember to adjust the intensity based on your fitness level and consult with a fitness professional or healthcare provider if you have any concerns or pre-existing conditions.

Adjust the difficulty of the workout by:

• Increasing the duration of the work periods
• Shortening the rest periods, e.g., 10-15 seconds
• Shortening the rests between rounds
• Doing more rounds
• Using more demanding exercises

Metabolic Exercises and Workouts for Women burn a lot of calories, both during and after your workout. Consequently, they deliver the benefits of both strength training and cardio, all in one time-efficient workout.

As such, metabolic workouts are ideal for people who don’t have the time to do strength training and cardio separately or find traditional non-stop cardio workouts unappealing.

These claims aren’t just marketing hyperbole, and numerous studies support the benefits and effects of metabolic workouts. A 2001 meta-analysis published on PubMed reveals that metabolic workouts are as effective as longer, conventional programs for fitness, strength, and fat loss.

Check out the next section for a more in-depth overview of the benefits of metabolic workouts!

Metabolic Workout Benefits (Metabolic Exercises and Workouts for Women)

So, should you stop doing weights and cardio separately, making the move to metabolic workouts? Consider these benefits and then decide.

Burn More Calories

Metabolic workouts burn a lot of calories. Firstly, they involve large, compound exercises utilizing multiple muscle groups. Movements of this nature are very demanding and, as such, burn a high number of calories per minute. That’s why squats, despite being a strength exercise, leave you out of breath and with an elevated heart rate.

Secondly, regular strength training workouts typically involve more time resting than exercising. In contrast, metabolic workouts feature much less rest time. This non-stop activity means you’ll burn more calories per minute than conventional strength training.

Finally, metabolic workouts trigger a phenomenon called EPOC, which is short for excess post-exercise oxygen consumption. Also known as the afterburn effect, EPOC describes how your metabolism remains elevated for many hours after this type of training. This further increases your caloric expenditure.

According to studies, the EPOC effect can last as long as 36-48 hours, significantly increasing total energy expenditure.

In conclusion, you will burn more calories during and after your workout compared to conventional strength training and cardio.

Build/Preserve Muscle Mass

Cardio is good for your heart, lungs, and circulatory system, but it’s not so beneficial for your muscles. In fact, to make you more cardiovascularly efficient, doing a lot of cardio can lead to muscle atrophy or breakdown. Losing muscle will affect your functional strength and resting metabolic rate and is often detrimental to your appearance.

Strenuous strength training exercises like squats, deadlifts, push-ups, and pull-ups are the cornerstones of Metabolic Exercises and Workouts for Women. These exercises stimulate and overload your major muscles, triggering increases in strength and muscle growth. And even if you don’t build a lot of muscle, this form of workout will definitely prevent muscle atrophy.

This is an important benefit as fat loss diets often cause muscle loss. As such, any workout that preserves your existing muscle mass will reduce the metabolic slowdown that muscle atrophy can cause.

It’s worth noting that while metabolic training can build muscle, it’s not the best type of workout for this purpose. So, if you are serious about building bigger muscles, you should adopt a bodybuilding-type training program designed for that purpose.

Improved Cardiovascular Fitness

Cycling, running, swimming, and rowing are not the only ways to improve your cardiovascular fitness. Metabolic training also works. Doing back-to-back compound exercises with short rests in between will elevate your heart and breathing rate. As a result, your cardiovascular efficiency will improve.

Because of the principle of specificity, if you want to become a better runner, your training should revolve around running. The same is true for cyclists, swimmers, and other endurance athletes. But if you want to improve general fitness, metabolic training will help.

Improved Insulin Sensitivity and Glucose Control

Sedentarism, high levels of body fat, and eating too much sugar mean that many people suffer from insulin resistance and elevated blood glucose. This can cause many health issues, not least type 2 diabetes and weight gain.

High-intensity interval training, which shares many similarities with metabolic workouts, has been shown to improve insulin sensitivity and glucose regulation. This means the carbs you eat, which are then digested and converted into glucose, are more likely to end up in your muscles and liver and not your fat cells and blood.

Like EPOC, this effect lasts 24-48 hours, making it a valuable intervention for pre-diabetics, metabolic syndrome sufferers, and anyone interested in weight loss and better metabolic health.

Shorter Workouts

Lack of time is a significant barrier to consistent exercise. When life gets busy, our workouts are often the first casualty. However, Metabolic Exercises and Workouts for Women are relatively short, usually lasting 30-40 minutes or less. They also tend to be performed infrequently, typically three times a week.

This makes metabolic workouts an ideal option for time-pressed exercisers who struggle to exercise for longer or more often.

On the other hand, shorter, less frequent workouts don’t mean you will lose out on any fitness benefits. In contrast, a study by the American College of Sports Medicine suggests that metabolic training can deliver similar health and fitness benefits as conventional workouts.

With so many benefits on the table, it’s hard to think of a reason not to try metabolic workouts. They’re literally your all-in-one fitness and fat-loss solution! Keep reading to discover the best exercises for metabolic training.

The Best Metabolic Workout Exercises

You can use almost any compound strength training exercises for metabolic workouts. However, in my experience, some movements are better than others. So, to make designing your own metabolic workouts easier, in this section, I will share my favorite metabolic workout exercises.

Lower Body Exercises

Lower body exercises are critical for effective metabolic workouts. Firstly, they drive your heart and breathing rate sky-high, delivering that all-important cardiovascular effect. Secondly, they use multiple large muscles to burn a lot of calories.

As such, any metabolic workout should include several lower-body movements.

These are my favorite lower-body metabolic workout exercises:

• Barbell back squats
• Front squats
• Dumbbell squats
• Trap bar squats
• Air squats
• Kang squats
• Squat jumps
• Step-ups
• Lunges
• Walking lunges
• Reverse lunges
• Lateral lunges
• Rear foot elevated split squats
• Leg presses
• Deadlifts
• Romanian deadlifts
• Good mornings
• Kettlebell swings
• Power cleans
• Overhead medicine ball throws

Try to include both knee-dominant (squat variations) and hip-hinge movements (deadlift variations) in your workouts to work all major lower-body muscles.

Upper Body Pushing Exercises

Upper body pushing exercises work your chest, shoulders, and triceps. These movements are essential for strength, muscle size, and aesthetics. A lot of women find these exercises hard, but that’s precisely why you should do them. After all, no one ever got stronger doing easy workouts, right!?

My favorite upper body push metabolic workout exercises include:

• Kneeling push-ups
• Incline push-ups
• Push-ups
• Bench dips
• Chest press machine
• Barbell bench press
• Dumbbell bench press
• Dumbbell shoulder press
• Barbell shoulder press
• Shoulder press machine
• Pike push-ups
• Push-press

Upper Body Pulling Exercises

Pulling exercises work your back and biceps and are critical for muscle balance and better posture. Ideally, you should include as many pulls as pushes in your metabolic workouts. This will ensure you develop the muscles on the back of your body as much as those on the front.

Some of my favorite upper body pull Metabolic Exercises and Workouts for Women include:

• Assisted pull-ups/chin-ups
• Pull-ups/chin-ups
• Seated pike pull-ups
• Medium-grip lat pulldowns
• Neutral-grip lat pulldowns
• Inverted rows
• Seated rows
• Chest supported rows
• Single-arm dumbbell rows
• Bent over barbell rows
• T-bar rows
• Pendlay rows

Exercise Order

Your aim should always be to put as much effort into each exercise as possible. Subsequently, you should avoid doing similar exercises back-to-back. For example, if you did shoulder presses immediately followed by push-ups, your pushing muscles could become overly fatigued, limiting your performance.

Consequently, it’s generally best to adopt a legs/push/pull or legs/push/legs/pull order in your workouts. This prevents those overlaps and means you can put more effort into each exercise. In my experience, adopting one of these orders makes it easier to design enjoyable metabolic workouts. They also make metabolic workouts more manageable to perform.

But What About Abs and Arms?

Most abs (or core) and arms exercises are isolation in nature and are less useful for metabolic workouts. This is because a) they don’t have much impact on your cardiovascular system, and b) they don’t burn many calories. As such, we tend not to include them in metabolic workouts.

That doesn’t mean you have to forgo them, but it’s generally best to do them after your main metabolic workout. It’s also worth noting that your abs and core are indirectly involved in all compound exercises, so you may not need to train them separately.

That said, if you enjoy training your abs and arms, there is no reason not to. To that end, I’ll include an arms and abs finisher circuit in the next section. Feel free to tack onto the end of your main metabolic workout.

You now have everything you need to create your own metabolic workouts. But before you put pen to paper and start writing, please check out the next section, where you’ll find some sample metabolic training programs to try.

Sample Metabolic Workouts for Women

While I encourage you to design your own Metabolic Exercises and Workouts for Women, here are a few examples you can use for guidance, inspiration, or just to get you started. But, before you begin, make sure you prepare your muscles and joints for what you’re about to do with an appropriate warm-up.

Begin with 5-10 minutes of cardio, followed by dynamic mobility and flexibility exercises for your major muscles and joints. Finally, and especially if you are doing loaded strength training exercises, do a few easy reps of your main movements. This will provide an opportunity to practice your technique and dial in your training weights.

Note: Adjust the work and rest periods according to your current fitness and experience levels. You can also change exercises if necessary. It’s okay to do less and make your workout more manageable or more to make it more challenging. Listen to your body and become your own personal trainer.

Metabolic Workout for Women #1 – Bodyweight Only

This metabolic workout is ideal for home exercisers. Using your body weight for resistance means you can move quickly from one exercise to the next. Plus, because you don’t need much equipment, you can do this workout almost anywhere and anytime. This is one of my go-to workouts when I’m traveling or too busy to get to the gym.

Warm-up:

Perform 5-10 minutes of light cardio (e.g., jogging in place, jumping jacks) to increase your heart rate and warm up your muscles.

          Exercise                                           Duration (Seconds)               Rest (Seconds)

• Jumping Jacks                                       60                                          15
• Bodyweight Squats                               45                                          15
• Push-Ups                                              45                                          15
• Reverse Lunges                                     45                                          15
• Plank (on forearms)                              45                                          15
• Glute Bridges                                        45                                          15
• Mountain Climbers                               45                                          15

Rest between rounds: 1-2 minutes

Total Rounds: 3

Cool-down:

Finish the workout with 5-10 minutes of stretching, focusing on major muscle groups involved in the workout.

This bodyweight-only metabolic workout provides a mix of cardiovascular and strength exercises, targeting different muscle groups. Adjust the intensity based on your fitness level, and feel free to modify the duration or rest periods as needed. Always prioritize proper form and consult with a fitness professional if you have any concerns or pre-existing conditions.

Metabolic Workout for Women #2 – Dumbbells

Dumbbells are an ideal training tool for metabolic workouts. They allow you to train your muscles from multiple angles while fine-tuning the difficulty of each exercise. Fixed-weight dumbbells are best, as you’ll waste valuable time changing the weights on adjustable dumbbells.

Warm-up:

Perform 5-10 minutes of light cardio and dynamic stretches.

         Exercise                                                Duration (Seconds)       Rest (Seconds)

• Jumping Jacks                                           60                                 15
• Goblet Squats                                           45                                  15
• Dumbbell Rows                                         45                                 15
• Alternating Lunges with Dumbbells         45                                  15
• Push Press (dumbbells)                             45                                 15
• Renegade Rows (with push-up)                45                                 15
• Dumbbell Russian Twists                          45                                  15

Rest between rounds: 1-2 minutes

Total Rounds: 3

Cool-down:

Finish the workout with 5-10 minutes of stretching, focusing on the muscles worked during the session.

This dumbbell metabolic workout provides a combination of strength and cardiovascular exercises, targeting various muscle groups. Adjust the weight of the dumbbells based on your fitness level. Always prioritize proper form, and if you have any concerns or pre-existing conditions, consult with a fitness professional.

Metabolic Workout for Women #3 – Freeweights  

Barbells and dumbbells are a powerful combination! Use dumbbells for your lighter Metabolic Exercises and Workouts for Women and barbells for the heavier movements. However, take care to leave a couple of reps in the tank when you’re using barbells. A failed rep of squats or bench presses can cause serious injuries.

Warm-up:

Perform 5-10 minutes of light cardio and dynamic stretches.

         Exercise                                         Duration (Seconds)                  Rest (Seconds)

• Jump Rope (or jumping jacks)             60                                            15
• Dumbbell Thrusters                             45                                            15
• Bent Over Rows with Dumbbells         45                                            15
• Step-Ups with Dumbbells                    45                                            15
• Deadlifts with Barbell or Dumbbells    45                                            15
• Bicep Curls with Dumbbells                 45                                            15
• Plank with Alternating Arm Raises       45                                            15

Rest between rounds: 1-2 minutes

Total Rounds: 3

Cool-down:

Finish the workout with 5-10 minutes of stretching, focusing on the muscles worked during the session.

This free weights metabolic workout is designed to challenge your strength and endurance. Adjust the weights based on your fitness level, and ensure proper form throughout each exercise. As always, consult with a fitness professional if you have any concerns or pre-existing conditions.

Metabolic Workout for Women #4 – Resistance Bands  

Resistance bands (RB) are cheap, portable, and versatile, making them ideal for home or travel workouts. You can use resistance bands to replicate most freeweight and machine exercises, making them the perfect excuse-free tool for metabolic workouts. They’re also very easy on your joints, which is a bonus for any older exercisers.

Warm-up:

Perform 5-10 minutes of light cardio and dynamic stretches.

         Exercise                                          Duration (Seconds)             Rest (Seconds)

• Jumping Jacks (or Jump Rope)            60                                       15
• Resistance Band Squats                       45                                       15
• Band Pull-Aparts                                  45                                       15
• Standing Lateral Leg Raises                 45                                       15
• Band Pull-Throughs (for glutes)          45                                       15
• Seated Band Rows                               45                                       15
• Plank with Band Pull-Throughs           45                                       15

Rest between rounds: 1-2 minutes

Total Rounds: 3

Cool-down:

Finish the workout with 5-10 minutes of stretching, focusing on the muscles worked during the session.

This resistance band metabolic workout is designed to provide a challenging full-body workout. Adjust the resistance level of the bands based on your fitness level, and ensure proper form throughout each exercise. As always, consult with a fitness professional if you have any concerns or pre-existing conditions.

 Metabolic Workout for Women #5 – Mixed Modality

This program uses a range of exercises and equipment to deliver a varied, challenging, and effective metabolic workout. Don’t worry if you can’t use precisely the same training gear; just use whatever you have available. The point is to illustrate how you can mix and match training tools based on your preferences and what’s available.

Warm-up:

Perform 5-10 minutes of light cardio and dynamic stretches.

         Exercise                                          Duration (Seconds)        Rest (Seconds)

• Jumping Jacks (or Jump Rope)           60                                    15
• Bodyweight Squats                             45                                    15
• Push-Ups                                            45                                    15
• Alternating Reverse Lunges                45                                    15
• Dumbbell Thrusters                            45                                    15
• Plank with Shoulder Taps                   45                                    15
• Box Jumps (or Step-Ups)                    45                                    15

Rest between rounds: 1-2 minutes

Total Rounds: 3

Cool-down:

Finish the workout with 5-10 minutes of stretching, focusing on the muscles worked during the session.

This mixed-modality metabolic workout offers a combination of cardiovascular exercises, strength training, and bodyweight movements. Adjust the intensity based on your fitness level and ensure proper form throughout each exercise. As always, consult with a fitness professional if you have any concerns or pre-existing conditions.

Metabolic Workout for Women #6 – Arms and Abs Finishing Circuit

While you don’t have to train your arms and abs separately, I know that many exercisers like to pay extra attention to these body parts. So, feel free to complete the following circuit after your main metabolic workout. However, it’s not compulsory as these muscles have already been trained, albeit indirectly.

Here’s a targeted metabolic workout focusing on arms and abs. This circuit is designed to provide a quick and effective finish to your workout.

Warm-up:

Perform 5-10 minutes of light cardio and dynamic stretches.

Arms and Abs Finishing Circuit:

Exercise                                         Duration (Seconds)             Rest (Seconds)

• Jumping Jacks (or Jump Rope)            60                                   15
• Dumbbell Bicep Curls                          45                                   15
• Russian Twists with Medicine Ball        45                                   15
• Tricep Dips (using a bench or chair)    45                                   15
• Bicycle Crunches                                  45                                   15
• Hammer Curls with Dumbbells            45                                   15
• Plank with Alternating Arm Raises       45                                   15

Rest between rounds: 1-2 minutes

Total Rounds: 3

Cool-down:

Finish the workout with 5-10 minutes of stretching, focusing on the arms and core muscles.

This arms and abs finishing circuit is designed to target and tone your arms and abdominal muscles while also providing a metabolic boost. Adjust the weights and intensity based on your fitness level, and ensure proper form throughout each exercise. As always, consult with a fitness professional if you have any concerns or pre-existing conditions.

Overview

Are you short on time? Do you struggle to fit strength training and cardio into your fitness schedule? Are you looking for a more efficient way to exercise?

Then metabolic workouts are for you!

This high-intensity training method uses strength training to condition your muscles while burning calories like a furnace and improving cardiovascular efficiency. In fact, it’s the ultimate in do-it-all workout strategies.

Is it the best way to work out? Probably not, but that’s because no such thing exists. After all, every person has unique goals, likes, and abilities; there is no “one size fits all” approach to exercise.

That said, Metabolic Exercises and Workouts for Women can be incredibly effective, and it deserves your attention. So, give it a try, and remember to post your feedback and questions in the comments section below.

References:

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• Terada T, Friesen A, Chahal BS, Bell GJ, McCargar LJ, Boulé NG. Feasibility and preliminary efficacy of high-intensity interval training in type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Res Clin Pract. 2013 Feb;99(2):120-9. doi: 10.1016/j.diabres.2012.10.019. Epub 2012 Nov 24. PMID: 23183390.
• Klika, Brett C.S.C.S., B.S.; Jordan, Chris M.S., C.S.C.S., NSCA-CPT, ACSM HFS/APT. HIGH-INTENSITY CIRCUIT TRAINING USING BODY WEIGHT: Maximum Results With Minimal Investment. ACSM’s Health & Fitness Journal 17(3):p 8-13, May/June 2013. | DOI: 10.1249/FIT.0b013e31828cb1e8
• Featured image @Unsplash, freepik, pexels (com)
• Featured stream @Youtube, freepik, pexels (com)