Have you heard of HIIT?

Yesterday marked my 24th time in the gym and I am not feeling bored or obligated to go. I go because I have set my goals and I am actually having fun and most importantly deserving a mention is the fact that I have actually lost weight and feel my body is firmer. I’ve never felt this good since giving birth 5 years ago!

Since this week I have some vacant time at work, I made an exercise schedule and incorporated variations to break the monotony, in case that comes. I also read so many articles to keep me informed and make my goals brighter and determination stronger. Unlike when I was going to the gym 10 years ago (I can’t believe it’s that long already), I now push the gym door with the exercise plan already in mind.

So as not to waste gym trips (the price I pay is being away from my daughter for at least two hours and spending little time for her at night), I have included HIIT (high intensity interval training) in my fitness program. HIIT burns more calories than steady state aerobics so I’ll get the benefits of cardio in shorter time, meaning, I can go home earlier and spend a little more time with the little girl. Research also shows you may elevate your metabolism for up to 24 hours AFTER an HIIT workout. This is definitely a benefit for those looking to trim fat (me!) but can’t stay in the gym for more than 1 hour.

My HIIT cardio program for this week:

• Warm up: 5 min. 6 kmph brisk walking 
• Intervals: 1 min at 10 kmph, 4 min. recovery at 5.8 kmph - REPEAT for 4 times
• Cool down: 5 min at 5 kmph

There are a lot of variations of HIIT, this week I am doing the 4:1 (4 min. easy/moderate, 1 min. hard). I have also done 1:1 in stairmaster that kept me sweating like crazy!

The idea of HIIT is to create “bursts” through “all out” training and then alternating with rests to allow the body to recover but not completely cool down. You can google HIIT if you like and see why it’s so popular these days.