Strength training is the absolute best way to boost your metabolism because it helps you build and maintain muscle.  Lifting weights stresses and breaks down your muscles, which respond by building more muscle cells to compensate for the new loads being placed upon them. These new cells require energy; and burn three times more calories than fat cells, even at rest. With a standard cardio workout, once your heart rate goes down, the calorie burning process stops.  However with resistance training, the calorie burn continues for several hours as your body recovers from the workout. 

 

Add intensity to your cardio sessions.  Numerous studies indicate that shorter, high-intensity bouts of exercise do more to spike metabolism and burn fat than longer, less-intense sessions.  One Scottish study revealed that in just two weeks, subjects were able to boost their metabolism by doing intense 30-second cardio bursts.  So instead of plodding for an hour, shorten your overall workout by including high-intensity bouts of cardio that will boost fat metabolism for hours afterward.

 

Fuel your metabolism with clean eating.  In addition to your workouts, you know that nutrition is a vital piece of the metabolic puzzle - properly fueling your body with the necessary nutrients allows it to build muscle, metabolism fat and perform well in and out of the gym.  To get your metabolism to work harder, you have to keep throwing small logs onto the fire.  The more frequently you eat, the faster your metabolism and the more quickly you'll lose fat and drop dress sizes.  Keep in mind, though, that what you eat is just as important as when you eat - protein is key.  Protein takes a lot of effort and calories for the body to process...much more than fat or carbohydrates.  Meaning, your body requires more energy to digest protein and the extra effort translates to more calories burned. 

 

Lastly, avoid crash diets or drastically cutting your calories.  Although you may lose a few pounds initially, drastic calorie restriction is a guaranteed way to send your body into survival mode by holding on to fat and slowing your metabolism.  For an average sized woman, when you dip below 1200 calories a day, you can actually send negative metabolic changes and a decrease in metabolic rate.  And once your metabolic rate drops, you won't be able to each much without putting on some weight. 

 

Finally, don't forget to rest.  Your rest day(s) are just as important as your gym days.  During off days, your body recovers and repairs itself, building more muscle cells to burn even more calories and to boost your metabolic rate even higher.  Continually exercising with no time off can lead to overtraining.  Take at least one full day completely off from training per week, especially if you're working extra hard.