[Jun]

I am convinced that, pound for pound, functional muscle has a much greater influence on metabolism than "show" muscles. By "show" muscles I mean the kind guys get from muscle isolation weight lifting exercises.

The more "compound" the exercise the better it is. I've seen people tune and upgrade their metabolism with just pushups and/or pullups.

I follow rugby and last year I noticed how remarkably fit the French team were. A rugby chronicler asked the team trainer how they got into such great shape. They were leaner and better conditioned than most teams : they played at a noticeably more rapid pace than most. After being asked a second time, the trainer finally replied "they walk 7 miles a day". Walking is probably the most basic form of exercise: a look at the human skeleton attests to our adaptation to this type of movement. Walking is a highly underrated and over looked exercise. With the good weather we can get in lots of strolls outdoors. Just the influence on your metabolism is worth the price of admission.