A great tactic of fitness entrepreneurs is their ability to take something that has been practised for decades, rename and repackage it, and sell it at a premium.
It’s not unlike watching teenagers walk through Fourways Mall dressed exactly how we were a generation ago, with a little modern twist. Brand gurus cleverly repurpose the old and sell it to willing consumers as the new.
Once repackaged, jargon becomes important, a marker if you like, of belonging to something exclusive. Jargon is the thread that ties the new community together. Our CrossFit friends in their boxes doing their workouts of the day are a great example.
It’s not just exercise. What’s cooler? Following a low-carb, high-fat diet eating plan or Banting? One can Bant with other Banters at Bant-friendly premium cafes quite comfortably.
The word MetCon may have a sexy marketing ring to it, but it’s not new, nor is it a fad. It’s not a “thing” like cycling, running or Zumba, but rather a modality of training that may well include elements of those exercises.
MetCon is short for metabolic conditioning. It is high-intensity exercise that’s designed to increase the efficiency of the body’s three energy systems. Sportspeople include metabolic conditioning to improve their performance by becoming more efficient in these energy systems, while many suburban warriors use it to lose weight and generate content for their Instagram and Facebook feeds.
Our phosphagen energy system supplies immediate energy bursts. This system powers jumps, sprints or Olympic lifts.
When this system is depleted, our body turns to the glycolytic energy system that powers things such as longer, sub-maximal sprints or strength training. The aerobic, or oxidative, system is what most of us associate with fitness, and that’s the ability of our bodies to provide energy for endurance activities such as long-distance running.
Metabolic conditioning works on the understanding that our energy systems do not work in isolation, and experienced trainers will design workouts to meet your specific conditioning needs.
For instance, if you needed to improve your power to improve your cycling, the rest or recovery period after high-intensity bursts of exercise would be far longer than if you wanted to improve your endurance.
Most often, MetCon workouts involve body-weight movements or moderately weighted exercises with kettlebells, dumbbells or weighted bags and balls. It is performed in circuits, with various stations for different activities, against the clock. If you have been to a commercial gym you will no doubt have seen a class such as this.
It looks impressive – especially when they use the battle ropes – and when you survive your first class (which feels highly unlikely during the session), you feel like a million dollars. This probably accounts for why someone who has recently been introduced to the style of training speaks about it at every opportunity.
Because it is performed at high intensity it is said to induce excess post-exercise oxygen consumption, which means your metabolism remains raised after high-intensity training for some time after exercise. This matters for weight loss.
However, like all things exercise and fitness, a blind one-size-fits-all approach can be counterproductive and even harmful.
Whenever you are going to be training at maximum or near-maximum intensity, it needs to be at the advice and under the watchful eye of an experienced trainer who can ensure that not only are you doing appropriate exercises, but also that you are doing them properly. One of the first things to go when we are fatigued is form.
It should form part of a well-structured fitness programme, as opposed to being the fitness programme. It is just one of many tools that can be used at various phases in your training life to reach your specific fitness and performance goals.
