[Walk] Slow Metabolism? 15-Minute Energy Boost Walking Workout | 54

In 15 minutes, turn your metabolism's dimmer switch from “dim” back to “bright.” 

Increase your energy and wake up a sluggish metabolism with this low-impact walking workout. 

During the walk you’ll also get simple science-backed hacks that boost your metabolism all day, every day. And... we’ll do three short speed pushes to help flip that switch in real life (but you don't have to push. You can walk at your own pace!).

The best part: You can do this walk at home or outside. March in your living room, hop on a treadmill or walking pad, or head out the door. (There’s a bell at the halfway point so you don’t have to check your watch.)

And did you know?

• The “Special Agent” Muscle: Acts like a vacuum for blood sugar… even while you sit (yippee!).
• The Short-and-Fast Hack: Why small bursts of “hustle” (like trying to catch a bus) can cut your risk of dying from heart disease by almost 40%.
• The “WD-40” Effect: How moving your arms while you walk can grease your stiff arteries and flood your tired brain with oxygen. Yihaa!

I also get sidetracked and talk about…

Almost destroying my calves with back-to-back massages in Thailand (oops). My “digital nomad” days with nearly unlimited coffee and pastries while walking through foreign cities (because I could not figure out the bus system). And who was in the 80s supergroup The Power Station? Inquiring minds want to know.

Press play to turn on that metabolism. Some like it hot, and some sweat when the heat is on…

Tap Follow so your next walk is waiting for you.

Want a different way to start fresh? Listen to episode 50, and grab my totally FREE Kickstart Guide with printable sheets at https://yourwalkingpodcast.com

Transcript

0:16

your body's feeling stuck in low power mode and your metabolism is napping. Today we're going to do a metabolism wake up walk. Start out at a warmup pace. You can do this walk inside on a treadmill or elliptical machine or marching in place, moving side to side. And if you're walking outside, there'll be a bell at the halfway point in case you want to turn around. Most people think that metabolism is a big furnace that you have to shove kale and other miserable things into. But actually your metabolism is more like a dimmer switch. So sitting turns that switch way, way, way down, and then moving slides that switch back up again. And by moving today we're going to nudge that switch back up. No bootcamps, no burpees. Just a quick walk with a few short pushes to wake up your body. And then we're going to talk a little bit about how you can keep that metabolism fired up throughout the day. because I have a few sciency nerdy facts for you. Stay with that warmup pace. And hopefully by the end you'll feel more awake and a little less blah, a little ready to take on that metabolism and give it a little spanking. Roll those shoulders backwards. Nice big rolls. And roll those shoulders forwards. Take a deep breath in through your nose. And exhale through your mouth. Shake out those hands a little bit. So obviously I'm obsessed with walking because I have this walking podcast, but I started my obsession with walking when I was working remotely. I was traveling as a digital nomad in different countries. I couldn't spin, I didn't go to the gym or anything in the different countries I was visiting, but I would walk a lot like for hours and hours at a time. because I would work in the afternoon and evenings and then during the day I would go on those amazing free walking tours and I would just wander around a new city. On a bus or in a car, in a taxi, you just don't see as much. But when you're walking, you're down there in the real world of the country that you're visiting, and you just see so much more and you hear sounds and you smell things sometimes good, sometimes not. And I would just walk and walk and walk. And also sometimes I just walked because I couldn't figure out the public transportation system. Everything's different, new language sometimes, I don't know where east or west is, so I just walked because it was much easier and I was also burning calories totally free. I had tons of coffees and pastry. I had street food and I would just move for hours a day and I could eat pretty much whatever I wanted. I felt more alive and I kept my weight where I wanted it, and I had much more energy and. I was just really happy. And we're going to do a little mini version of that today. We're going to tell our body, Hey, we're moving now. Let's turn some of those lights back on. We're going to pick up a little bit of pace, and as you're going faster, you want to pay attention to what your feet are doing because here comes the first little sciency nerd bit. So you have a sneaky muscle in your calf and it's called the soleus. Now in the big study recently, they basically called the soleus, a special agent for your metabolism. Most muscles that you have in your body, they burn sugars that you've already stored, but your soleus actually pulls extra glucose and fats straight out of your bloodstream while you're moving and your soleus is built for endurance. Like it doesn't throw a tantrum and say, I quit. I don't want to do this anymore. Your soleus just keeps working and working in the background. Which reminds me of the time that, I got a calf massage, but then I also scheduled a full body massage right after, and I was traveling, this was in Thailand. That's the only time I think my calf muscles quit on me because they did a 30 minute calf massage. And then I got a full body massage that included a lot of calf massaging. And then I had a really hard time walking to get back to my Airbnb because my calf muscle wouldn't contract. So yes, that is a time when it actually gave up and didn't want to do anything. Now as you roll through your foot and push off your toes, your calf is helping flip your body from like you're sitting I don't want to do anything mode into, okay, we're actually doing something mode, and you don't even have to feel any of that happening. Just keep walking. Your muscles are going to do the nerdy part for you. Another deep breath in through your nose. And exhale through your mouth and go a little faster still, like you're late, but you're not in a panic. Now here's our next nerdy moment tip, and this might make you actually feel better about rushing around in real life. There's actually a name for those oh no, I'm late bursts of movements that you do. It's called VILPA. Vigorous Intermittent Lifestyle Physical Activity. And a big nature medicine study found that three to four one a minute bursts of vigorous movements a day like hustling up the stairs or power walking to catch the bus, cut the risk of dying from heart disease by almost 40%. Those short pushes tell your heart, Hey, we're still using this thing. Don't fail me now. That pumps fresh oxygen to your brain, which you know, I'm obsessed with and it's like an instant energy shot. You don't even need an espresso, although espresso is always welcome, isn't it? Okay, first push here now because we're going to do our VILPA."Let me see your VILPA. Let's do the VILPA." For the next 45 seconds we're going to pick up our pace. So imagine that the bus in some foreign country is pulling away and you really want to make it, but you're not going to run because you are too cool for running. It's a fast walk. Strong arms. Steady pace now, Feeling that push. Arms are about 90 degrees. Drive those arms back, chest up, eyes forward. Breathe in through your nose, out through your mouth. I dare you to tell one of your friends, "I had a VILPA moment today." Stay with it and slow it down. Just back to your regular pace. Science, nerdy, fact number three. So while you're catching your breath here, I'm going to tell you what, you just did to your blood vessels and it's pretty cool. So when blood rushes through your arteries during a push like that, the friction tells the vessel walls to release a gas called nitric oxide. Now not nitrous oxide because that's laughing gas, and that would of course be far more fun than nitric oxide. But we don't have any readily available with us right now. And so that gas helps your arteries relax and open up so more oxygen and more nutrients can get into your muscles. It's like your body's opening up extra lanes on the freeway and on the freeway normally you're charged for those extra lanes, like the FastPass lanes, but in your body, those extra lanes are totally free, not $4 each direction. And your arm swing does matter here when you're walking. So stiff arms like you worked your lats too hard and you can't put them down, they equal less movement, less fizz. So when you're doing those little efforts, let those arms swing more. It's still a decent pace, but it's not a push. Keep your breathing going. So if you're like me and you get your best ideas in the shower or on a walk or vacuuming or spinning, that's partly because the oxygen is finally hitting your brain after hours of what I call screen apnea. And screen apnea is when we kind of hold our breath while we're staring at our emails or doom scrolling. You're undoing some of that right now just by walking. Take another deep breath in through your nose and exhale through your mouth. Our second push is going to be coming up. This one's about building a better engine, but not punishing yourself. And here's our little science -y fact number four. Let's see if I can pronounce this. Your cells have these tiny little batteries and they're called mitochondria. Oh, I think I said it right. The power plants. And as we get older, yay, midlife, those batteries get a little lazy and some of them retire early. I think I saw mine just go on a vacation without me. Short speed intervals like we're doing today, create just enough stress to tell your body, "We need more power stations," so it builds more mitochondria."Some like it hot and some sweat when the heat is on." If your Gen X, you'll understand what I just did there. Okay, we're going to push again , and this is your power station push. I want you to be noticeably more breathless by the end, but still in control, so not gasping. Shorter steps, stronger arm swing. Use your glutes. Push the ground away behind you. Think quick light feet. We're upgrading our engine right now. Hold onto it. You've got five more seconds. And back it off a little bit. Drop it down to an easier pace. Big inhale through your nose, exhale through your mouth. Shake out any tension in your body. And as we are recovering a little bit here and talking about power stations, remember Power Station? That's what I meant like a minute ago when I hinted at it. So Duran Duran members, John and Andy Taylor joined Robert Palmer, and they created The Power station and Robert Palmer did that "Addicted to Love" and "Simply Irresistible" with all those models that all look the same. Remember, with that slicked back dark hair? Now here's your science-y fact number five. Here's a weird little hack that pairs really well with your walks. Splashing cold water on your face triggers something called the mammalian dive reflex. And that sends a signal to your nervous system to slow a racing heart and reset a little bit. So after you work out or go for a walk, you can splash some cold water on your face or at the end of your shower, turn the cold water on, or cooler water for 20 to 30 seconds. I know it's hard and I don't like it either, but it's actually really good for your hair to rinse in cool water. And studies show that it gives you a little bit of a dopamine bump, which is our happy chemical that can last for hours and hours. So kind of think of it like the low budget version of those celebrity biohack routines, but no ice barrel and no cold plunge. This is going to be our last little push, our last interval. It's going to be just 45 seconds. Get ready and go. And we're doing these today, remember, because they're good for your metabolism. They're good for waking it up. And if you're on a treadmill or you're on a walking pad, you can go as fast as you can without falling off. Pump those arms now. Stay strong. And this is more of a coaching walk. I have other walks, which would be like trivia walks and story walks. I've been trying to give you some variety, but this one's focused on bursts and waking your metabolism up today. Hold onto it. Trying to get to the chocolate chips in the grocery store before me. Good luck with that. Be confident and strong. 10 more seconds and slow it back down. And now we're just going to start to wind everything down. You're going to let your breath catch up with you. If you got tense, roll those shoulders a little bit backwards. Big, big, big rolls. Roll those shoulders forwards. Make sure your feet aren't gripping your shoes. I always remind you about your shoulders because sometimes mine start to really creep up around my ears. And as we cool it down, remember that sneaky little soleus muscle? You can work that even when you're stuck sitting at a desk. So you can sit with your feet flat on the floor, keep your toes down, and then lift your heels high, and then lower them, and then high, and then lower, and then high and lower, high and lower. High and lower. It looks like you're just fidgeting, but under the hood, that muscle is just pulling sugar out of your blood. And that big study showed that this move helped people keep their metabolism humming along for hours and hours while they were sitting. As long as they kept doing that little move over and over again. Slow it down a little bit more now. Keep your breathing going. And if you like this walk, the best thing that you can do is share it with someone or even share it on social media. And also hit follow because that way my next walk shows right up on your app. And as we walked today and kept that oxygen flowing, we got more energy because energy isn't something that magically appears. It's something that we generate. I usually say energy is the one thing that you can spend more of and then get more of. You just generated a whole bunch of it. Just like the power station. You also learned about who was in The Power Station. Slow it down again. Maybe have a little bit of water when you're done, keep your cells happy. If you're feeling brave, you could do the quick cold water splash on your face or try to turn the temperature down at the end of your shower. Another deep breath in through your nose and exhale through your mouth, and I will see you next time.