Personal Training
HIIT For Dummies
I woke up to this beautiful sight
Driving into work so early does have its perks. It was the most gorgeous morning. This picture was taken on Sturrow Drive (for those of you who do not know Boston, this is one of my favorite roads in the city) It is a stone throws away from the Charles River all the way from Newton into Boston and it is so pleasant in the morning. It’s the little things right?
Yesterday I enjoyed this beautiful salad
It was a good one with my new favorite: Capers! The saltiness of the capers on a cold salad has become my new obsession this summer!
And then I became obsessed with wanting to make these pretzel sparklers for the 4th of july. They are SO easy to make and so fun!
Then I went crazy because I realized I wanted to make These Festive Strawberries!
(source)
Then you can find me on the lounge chair, by the beach, sipping one of these
Deal?
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Well after all of the booze and festive fourth of July desserts, you may want to work out right? Maybe you are away at a beach house, shore house, no access to the gym, or maybe you are staying close to home and watching the fireworks in the big city! Any way you want to play it, I want to talk about HIIT training which you can do virtually anywhere, no gym needed and its a great, FUN workout!
HIIT for Dummies, if you will.
I get asked so many times…how much cardio did I do prior to my show…did I do steady state or HIIT? What type? How long were my sessions? Am I still doing all that cardio now to maintain?
Well for my show, I did a combination of HIIT training and steady state work as well, but to be honest…I get so bored with steady state cardio. I would almost rather watch paint dry. Okay, maybe not that bad, but you get the idea, that I constantly like to change it up when it comes to cardio. It makes the workout fly by and keeps it fresh, effective and super fun! HIIT is one of my favorite forms of cardio. When I say HIIT, this stands for High Intensity Interval training. The basis of HIIT is simple: Blast more fat but work out less: HIIT gets you over and done with your great, sweaty, intense workout in under 30 minutes and has amazing benefits.
HIIT training consists of short spurts of intense exercise paired with easier recovery intervals. The combination of the two burns off more calories per minute than doing a longer workout at a continuously moderate pace. Furthermore, training with HIIT can actually increase the bodies capacity to burn fat during exercise!
One of the reasons that HIIT is so effective is the type of muscle fibers that it recruits. HIIT recruits mostly large muscle fibers that can tend to stay somewhat under the surface during steady state work. When utilizing the HIIT training method, these fibers are brought to the surface and cause the body to work harder. You will see more rapid fitness gains and also a more defined, toned bod. HIIT will keep you on your toes and cause you to avoid the dreaded exercise plateau.
one of the best aspects of HIIT is how efficient in nature it really is. You do not need to sit on an upright bike for 50+ minutes. You can complete an amazing, fat burning HIIT workout in less than 30 minutes. You will leave feeling refreshed, worked, sweaty and of course just add to your body becoming a fat burning machine.
I have TONS of HIIT workouts in my Workouts Section
Make HIIT Work For You! It is understandable that some may be a bit intimidated by HIIT training, but the truth is that this type of workout can be catered to all fitness levels, beginner to advanced. Once catered to your level of fitness, HIIT training will change the way you look at cardio! The only key you have to follow is to get out of yoru comfort zone for a brief period of time—whatever that may be. HIIT demands a bit more intensity from your body than going for a 30 minute elliptical session. You can complete your intervals anywhere from 10 seconds-1 minute to begin.
You should be pushing yourself during your intervals. You should not be able to maintain your interval ‘work’ period for longer than 30 seconds-1 minute.
Check in with yourself occasionally. Are you working hard enough? Could you be pushing harder for those 30 seconds of all out “work”? Pay attention to your breathing. You should be out of breathe and not able to speak to your friend next to you. During your recovery period, your breathing will come back to normal . Recovery is just as important as your work period, so take advantage of that time to regroup. Here is a great HIIT treadmill workout!!
Start Slow: If you are a beginner, there is no need to jump into crazy HIIT intervals. Start off with moderate intervals at a moderate intensity; this will also help to prevent injury.
Beginnger HIIT Routine:
Speed walk for 3 minutes/Jog fast for 1
Speed walk for 2/Jog faster for 1,
Speed walk for 1/Jog faster for 1
**Repeat this sequence 3 times.
Aim to do HIIT 2-3 times a week and gradually build over a few months. Your body will get used to the demands that you are placing on it, thus improving your oxygen capacity.
HIIT can be done Anywhere! One of my favorite places? The TRACK! You can truly do HIIT anywhere! Garage, backyard, living room, park, any open space!
At the track HIIT workout
**Include a proper warm up, jogging around the track 1-2 times, dynamic stretching
Sprint the long, jog the curves: repeat 4 times
High knees the long, walk the curves: repeat 4 times
Mountain climbers-30 seconds work/30 seconds rest: repeat 4 times
Burpees-30 seconds work/30 seconds rest: repeat 4 times
Travel Jump squats: 30 seconds work/30 seconds rest: repeat 4 times
If you just have space and time to complete a HIIT workout in your home, try a TABATA style workout like the one I completed here! (not to mention I talk about everything TABATA in this post)
AB HIIT
Bicycle crunches-10 each side
Russian twists 10 each side
Sprinter Sit ups-10 each side
Take a 1 minute break and repeat 3 times
Burn AFTER Your Workout: Studies show that HIIT is effcient at blasting fat and calories because of what happens both durng and after it. The more intensely you exercise, the more calories your body will burn post workout. The intensity of the intervals require more oxygen for your body to recover. The post calorie burn from HIIT training can last hours, where as with steady state, it only lasts a few minutues.
Don’t replace HIIT with all of your workouts! Yes, HIIT is an amazing form of cardio, as you would have guessed by now, but because of the intensity of the workouts, it is not safe or recommened to do HIIT everyday. HIIT should compliment your current training, and should be completed 2-3 times per week on non consecutive days.
Intermediate workout schedule Example:
Monday: HIIT, shoulders+ arms, Abs
Tuesday: SS cardio
Wednesday: OFF
Thursday: HIIT, Chest, Back
Friday: SS Cardio or Yoga
Saturday: Legs, Abs
Sunday: OFF
it is good to participate in SS cardio the days following a HIIT workout to get the blood moving through your body!
it is good to participate in SS cardio the days following a HIIT workout to get the blood moving through your body!
Tired Yet?
Questions:
1. If you could create your OWN HIIT TABATA style workout. (8 exercises, 20 seconds of ‘work’ with 10 seconds of rest) what exercises would you choose?
2. What new food or recipe have you tried recently and LOVE?
