HIIT

HIIT stands for High-Intensity Interval Training. A HIIT workout is one where you perform exercises at high-intensity for short periods of time that are interrupted by periods of rest. According to FitnessRX, three weeks of HIIT increased maximal oxygen consumption and power output of exercisers. Also, you're able to burn more calories in a shorter amount of time AND burn more calories even after your workout ends

Tabata is a type of HIIT workout. It follows a timing schedule; a Tabata workout is one that is made up of four minute sets of high intensity workouts. You preform an exercise at maximum effort for 20 seconds, then rest for 10 seconds. You repeat this eight times for a total of four minutes. I believe you're supposed to do a bunch of different exercises, doing each for a total of four minutes.

I am working at incorporating variations of both of these types of workouts into my week.

I am definitely a jogger as opposed to a runner and I would like to increase my pace a bit, so I do a couple different speed workouts to try and improve my speed.

My favorite running HIIT right now is:

• sprint for 10 seconds
• run for 30 seconds 
• jog for 1 minute 

I warm up by jogging for about 5 minutes then repeat the above breakdown until I want to quit or reach at least 3 miles (whichever comes later). I cool down by walking for 5 minutes.

Sometimes, I really don't feel like going to the gym. Usually I'll jog outside or go for a long walk, but on days when it's rainy, I'll do cardio inside. I like doing this workout that I found on YouTube. (I love this guy! I think his voice is really encouraging. He also recently put up another version of the same workout.) All it is is 20 seconds of jumping jacks followed by 10 seconds of rest. You repeat this interval for a total of 10 minutes. I dare you to try it! Doing jumping jacks for a long period time is surprisingly hard - if you find it easy, you need to pick up the pace!

A good workout for me is:

• 10 minutes jumping jacks (20 seconds on, 10 seconds off)
• arm exercises
• 10 minutes jumping jacks (20 seconds on, 10 seconds off)
• ab exercises
• 10 minutes jumping jacks (20 seconds on, 10 seconds off)

 

I  use my Gymboss to keep track of when to switch. Their website also has some more ideas for HIIT workouts (check out the workout tab at the bottom of the page).

Do you do HIIT? What's your favorite workout?

~ Susan