Life can get hectic, juggling work, relationships, and the stress that somehow squeezes itself into our everyday routines.
Isn’t it annoying when the day has barely started, and we’re already playing catch-up with our to-do lists? Life doesn’t leave much space for anything else, let alone that one-hour gym session we promised ourselves the night before, right?
So what do we do when our days are just jam-packed, and fitting in a good workout session feels almost impossible? The answer is High-Intensity Interval Training, or HIIT.
Here’s the tea on HIIT workouts: these are high-energy exercises that push your heart rate up and get those calories burning in a shorter time span. A HIIT session can be as short as 15-30 minutes, but just as productive as that 60-minute yoga or spinning class.
In essence, it’s like eating a nutrient-rich salad instead of the 4-course meal; both give you the energy and vitamins you need, one just takes a bit less time to digest. We nailed that illustration!
We’re saving time, without skipping on those results we all want.
Some come in the form of intense runs of exercise followed by short, sometimes active, recovery periods. Yup, that’s what HIIT is all about!
Don’t let the words ‘high intensity’ scare you off. We’re not expecting you to morph into an Olympic athlete overnight. What we love is that despite the short duration of the routine, HIIT is able to fire up our muscles, pump up our heart rate and our body’s metabolism. And guess what, it’s just as beneficial as those long, droning workouts.
And remember that we’re not rushing it! Yes, it’s a quick routine, but as they say, haste makes waste. So let’s make each exercise count and let’s do this thing right.
And for those lucky days when the sun shines a little brighter and we have more free time, we can forget to shake things up a bit with other forms of exercise. It doesn’t hurt to mix things up a bit as far as you’re having fun with it. After all, variety is the spice of life, right?
Although we’re no fitness experts, the fitness girls among us can approve this HIIT routine:
1. Start with 30 seconds of Jumping Jacks (Trust us, your heart will thank you!).
2. Transition into 30 seconds of High Knees
3. Followed by 30 seconds of Butt Kicks
4. And last but not least, go for 30 seconds of Pushups (Let it burn and don’t lay on that mat for too long).
5. Repeat these exercises for 3-4 sets, resting for about 20-30 seconds between each set.
That’s it! We’re ready for a great day ahead of us.
Remember, it’s not about finding time; it’s about making time. Every little bit counts. Even on those overwhelming days, never forget that you’ve got what it takes to keep moving.
So go on and squeeze in those HIIT workouts into your packed schedules, we’re doing our jumping jacks right beside you!
