Only one more day to “deck the halls” before the rubber meets the road. Yes, there is nothing so over as the holidays and when you are ready to burn off the holiday fruitcake, eggnog and sugar cookies. How about taking it up a notch and trying a high intensity interval workout? High intensity intervals not only yield results, they give the motto, “Work harder not longer,” true meaning. You don’t have to burn up hours in the gym to burn off your post holiday sluggishness, just try a HIIT workout!
Shorter Doesn’t Mean Easier.
The key words to focus on are high intensity. High intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts aren’t for the weak. Get ready to sweat and work hard. The high intensity doesn’t last long, but your results do.
HIIT Is Different From Basic Intervals.
High intensity intervals involve maximum effort, not just a higher heart rate. To differentiate from plain old intervals, you have to push yourself to the max during the work portion, followed by a period of recovery. This type of athletic challenge is proven to enhance cardiovascular fitness and athletic capacity. There are various ways to create high intensity intervals by changing the timing of the work vs. the rest.
Try Tabata Training.
Tabata is a form of HIIT. Tabata intervals can be incorporated into riding a bike, running, exercises using your body weight, plyometrics and strength training, but there is one variable that doesn’t change—the formula. Tabata intervals consist of eight cycles of 20-second, full-throttle effort, followed by 10 seconds of recovery; eight cycles in a row totaling four minutes. You can do as many Tabata intervals in a row as you'd like but for most fitness enthusiasts, if you’re going full-throttle, 20-30 minutes is max.
Try This Four-Minute Tabata Workout:
•Work Cycle 1: 20 second-Squat w/ overhead press
•Rest Cycle 1: 10 seconds
•Work Cycle 2: 20 second-high knees
•Rest Cycle 2: 10 seconds
•Work Cycle 3: 20 second-pushups
•Rest Cycle 3: 10 seconds
•Work Cycle 4: 20 second-burpees
•Rest Cycle 4: 10 seconds
REPEAT Cycle 1-4 again for Cycle 5-8
REPEAT the interval one or two times.
Get ready to increase lean muscle mass, boost metabolism and shed holiday pounds with a HIIT workout!
Source: lifefitness.com/blog. Visit the Life Fitness blog for more health and fitness information.
*Image of “running“ via Shutterstock
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