Saturday, June 16, 2012

HIIT Workout Today - Fat Gone Tomorrow!

I hope that got your attention.

Don't let the "June Gloom" get you down.

Get your metabolism revved up and chase those blues away! Sometimes you just gotta "get it done". In the amount of time it takes you to procrastinate about your workout, you could have it done and be reaping the metabolic benefits of the workout. When you workout this way, you don't have to work long, but you have to work hard! Your metabolism will be going long after your workout is done.
HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training.
I prefer to do a HIIT workout with 1:00 working out and 2:00 minutes of active recovery but you can set your timer to an interval that suits your needs. Some find it more challenging to go 90 seconds - and then actively recover for 90 seconds.
If you need less of a challenge try doing 30 seconds of full-out work and then actively recover for about 30 - 45 seconds.
What does it mean to actively recover?
You want to keep moving during this recovery period. Do not sit down, do not stop moving. You want to keep the movement simple with a slow to moderate pace to bring your heart rate down. You can take this workout outside and try sprinting (running) as fast as you can during your work period and then slowing it down to a walk to recover.
Start with a 5:00 minute dynamic warm up that mimics some of the moves you will be doing, to get the blood flowing to your muscles and help them warm up.
Here is a workout you can do indoors or outside, to get you started:
Remember that the first 1:00 is as fast as you can go, do not stop.
Set your timer (I like the Gymboss) for 2 intervals, 1:00 & 2:00 for 8 rounds.
  • 1:00 - Sprinting (running in place or if out side go for it)
  • 2:00 - Squats (active recovery, slow to medium pace)
  • 1:00 - Jumping jacks
  • 2:00 - Alternating side lunges (active recovery)
  • 1:00 - Switch Kicks
  • 2:00 - Alternating Front Lunges (active recovery)
  • 1:00 - Side to Side Ski Jumps
  • 2:00 - Alternating 1 legged Toe Touchdowns (active recovery)
  • 1:00 - Suicide Drills
  • 2:00 - Alternating Reverse Lunges (active recovery)
  • 1:00 - Reverse Jumping Jacks
  • 2:00 - Alternating Standing Side Crunches (active recovery)
  • 1:00 - Heismans
  • 2:00 - Alternating Side Lunges (active recovery)
  • 1:00 - Squat Thrusts
  • 2:00 - Seated Romanian Twists (or simple floor ab crunches)
Take a few extra minutes to recover.
It is important to stretch out after your workout to keep your muscles from getting sore.

1 comments:

Doris said...

Hi Gina,

I am totally having the June blues . . . I feel so incredibly demotivated, lethargic, not wanting to do anything. I'm also bummed that it's sooo hot here . . . and next week is supposed to make this week look cool.

Right now, I'm about maintaining . . . Need to get my butt in gear and start being productive again in my health & fitness journey!