Does the word, ‘cardio’ just sound awful, time consuming, maybe even dreadful to you? There are many people out there who hate doing cardio because they find it to be boring, time consuming, or monotonous. I have even heard people say, “Ugh, alright time for me to go hit the treadmill for an hour for cardio.” If you are one of these people, listen up because I have some news for you that will change your whole mind set about cardio!
There seems to be a common misconception that in order to do cardio and get a good workout, you must be doing it for at least an hour straight. According to research, this isn’t true at all! There is a recent exercise strategy that is way more efficient than getting on the elliptical and going through the motions for an hour. The new strategy, called HIIT, stands for high intensity interval training will change your whole mindset about cardio. Some of the benefits of high intensity interval training include saving you a lot of time, increasing your aerobic capacity and will burn fat at a faster rate.
What does HIIT look like in a workout? Well, it can vary from a bunch of different exercises, but it is alternating an intense, short burst activity followed by a short period of rest in between intervals. For example, if you are someone who loves getting on the treadmill, there are many ways to do interval training on it such as sprinting for a short period of time and then walking. So, you might sprint for 30 seconds and walk for 45 seconds. Keep alternating sprinting and running for 10 minutes. Another cardio burst workout could include a high intensity body weight exercise followed by a low intensity body weight exercise and then a short period of rest. For example, you could do 5 rounds of 15 burpees followed by 20 body weight squats and rest. There are so many different ways to do HIIT workouts and I am sure you’ll find your favorite.
So, if you think about it, essentially you are cutting back the amount of time you are working out, but adding intensity meaning you are working harder. Your body will benefit from doing it this way because it will increase your fitness level and cause you to burn more fat. The intense cardio bursts causes your heart rate to speed up at a faster rate as opposed to a steady hour long jog on the treadmill. I'm not suggesting that you should never run, I am just suggesting to mix up your runs by adding sprint intervals into it! Also, according to Time Health Magazine, “A new study found that people with Type 2 diabetes benefited more from interval walking—their blood sugar was more controlled—compared to people who walked continuously. Walkers can incorporate interval training by walking for 3 minutes and jogging for 1 minute and repeating that pattern for approximately 30 minutes."
Coming from my own experience, I enjoy doing this type of workout every day. I never get bored of the same old routine because I mix it up constantly. Almost every workout I put together has high intensity interval training in it. If you ever need any more ideas for HIIT workouts, please feel free to reach out to me for suggestions! I hope you consider adding this into your workouts because I promise you, you will benefit from it and be in much better shape!
To book personal training with Miranda Mercke, call 896.3900 x 115.
