If you’ve ever had the pleasure of working on a 60’s muscle car, or a Harley Davidson motorcycle, you’ll immediately recognize the importance of a properly idling engine. You have to carefully adjust the carburetor and timing to get that relatively smooth, low idle which keeps the engine running gently without stalling out. In the case of those combustion engines, you know when you’ve got it right because that completely delicious (Ho!) sound fills the air and your spirit.
The same thing is true for our metabolisms. They are designed to idle all day in between the occasional revs. Interestingly, modern life tends to include too many sedentary periods. When we sit (or even stand in one place) for too long, our bodies undergo circulatory stasis or stagnation. This results in the metabolism “stalling out” just like that engine in the example. This isn’t good for health, performance, mental clarity, etc. We need the circulation to keep things running, deliver nutrients, remove waste products, keep oxygen levels optimal, etc.
Research shows that metabolism slows down after only 15-20 minutes in a stationary position, and it really stalls out around the hour mark. One trick you can employ is to do some purposeful fidgeting, shifting positions and even performing a few isometric clenches of some of your muscles while you are stationary. But the message here is to move a little, almost every hour. I call this the “MetRev.” It’s an intentional, periodic revving up of the metabolism. It improves health, recovery, and cognition. It’s easy and simple. And it assists with bodcompopp.
I can’t tell you how many people I’ve known who were struggling with getting a performance increase, or some fat loss, who had a major breakthrough when they employed the MetRev. All they did was make it a point to get up every hour and move around for a few minutes, enough to just lightly rev up the metabolism and prevent it from stalling out. A walk to the water cooler or restroom. A couple quick flights of stairs. A few light swings with the kettlebell they kept under their desk (pro tip). That’s all it takes. It doesn’t sound like much but I assure you it works wonders.
Related to the MetRev is the morning routine. If you’re like me, you probably scoff or giggle at some of the “morning routines of the rich and famous.” Arise gently to the birds chirping. Meditate quietly for an hour. Have an enema. Do some journaling. Take a sauna and then a cold plunge. Extract and consume the juice of 17 tropical fruits. Show up at work around 11:47am. That’s not far from the truth and it’s as impractical as it is hilarious. I don’t know of many jobs where you’re encouraged to roll in around lunchtime and then grace everyone with your presence. Sometimes your morning routine looks like get out of bed, use the restroom, have a coffee and start Kicking Ass!
All joking aside, getting outside for a very short walk (10 minutes) in direct sunlight (works even on a cloudy day), and finishing your shower with a cool-to-cold rinse, can be a great “mini-morning routine” that you can squeeze in at least a few days per week. This really kickstarts the metabolism and gives you a head start on a metabolically optimized day.