No excuses HIIT workout
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cc photo by flickr user djdau.
A lot of the times I plan to go work out and end up not going is because I’ll waste all my allocated time fixing to go. I have to figure out how I’m going to get to the gym, what I’m going to where, what’s on my iPod. 1 hour later I’m still not in the gym. Today I have Christmas to organise and my partner’s birthday party to host and I decided enough was enough and did a back to basics workout in my loungeroom. I’ve incorporated High Intensity Intervals and active recovery periods so that you can get the most out of your workout in as little time.
I started with a quick lap around the block with the healthyhelpings hound to warm up. If it’s snowing or horribly winterlike you can take a rain-check.
Next I moved onto 5 minutes of intense cardio. I jumped rope for 20 seconds and then did shuttle sprints from one end of the house the other and back. Repeat for 5 minutes.
Skipping is a great form of cardio exercise. Use it as your warm-up before weights or as an alternative to traditional cardio. Skipping ropes are the ultimate cardio equipments, they’re affordable, take up no space and can be set up anywhere. For a warm-up try jogging skips, then move on to double and single jumps or hops.
Plank-pushup-burpies: Get a full body workout. Hold the plank position for 15 seconds, lower yourself into a pushup, push up, then jump you knees into a squat and explode upwards, hands overhead. Land, then squat. Put your hands down and jump out to a plank. Do as many as you can in 1 set then jog on the spot or skip for an active recovery, repeat 3 times.
High jumps, long jumps, crab walks and lunges- Start at one end of your hallway or longest room and jump from one end to the other trying to see how far you can jump. When you get to the end come back, this time jump for height instead of length. When you reach the end turn sideways and walk to the end and back sideways in a wide squatting stance. Finish up by taking nice long lunging steps (don’t let your knee pass your toe on the front leg) from one end of the corridor (and back). If your arms and chest still can handle it, add in a few pushup-plank-burpies at each end. Jog on the spot or skip for an active recovery and then repeat 3 times.
Cool down and stretch by walking around your house picking up and putting away anything that’s out of place.
Michelle has always loved to cook, eat and share food with friends. Now she's here to share her healthy recipes with you and hopefully inspire you to create some of your own.
June 9th, 2008 at 7:43 am
I like to do HIIT for 10 minutes, rest 5 minutes, then do 20-40 minutes of steady state cardio at a low to moderate intensity level.
The HIIT training followed by 5 minutes rest releases fatty acids into the blood stream. The steady state cardo then uses those fatty acids for fuel. It is kind of a “hybrid” approach to get the best out of both forms of cardio.
This method is especially effective for reaching low body fat levels and targetting “stubborn body fat”.