To follow up from last week, I wanted to share a High Intensity workout to help you along your way. There are many ways to perform HIIT, but this will give you some new ideas and help those just starting out.
To recap anaerobic training benefits:
• Increases EPOC - up to 24 hours of fat burning post workout
• Increases growth hormone (GH) and blood lactate. The more lactic acid you produce, the more GH you produce – greater fat loss
• Improves testosterone response, great for muscle building and fat burning
• Produces a larger insulin-like growth factor, improving muscle adaptations
• Lowers cortisol, reducing protection of belly fat.
I do want to clarify what HIIT is and how it should be performed. Many people think that they are doing HIIT by doing ‘sprints’ on the treadmill by performing 30 seconds work followed by 30 seconds light jogging for 30 minutes.
This is not HIIT; this is aerobic activity. It’s not possible to stay in an anaerobic state performing these kinds of sprints for 30 minutes. The body doesn’t have the fuel to drive high intensity sprints continuously for that duration.
Anaerobic activity utilizes the ATP-CP system to achieve that burst of intense energy.
That energy gets used up within 10 seconds and then the body switches gears to the Glycolytic system (from 10 seconds to 2 minutes) and lastly the aerobic system for its energy. Once the body utilizes all the ATP-CP stores, it takes 30 seconds just to replenish 50% of those stores again and 3 minutes to replenish them fully.
A good ratio to work HIIT is anywhere from a 1:2-6 work:rest ratio, i.e., 10-second sprint, 20-60 seconds rest. When it comes to sprints, I would steer towards the longer rest set, but with resistance training, you can use the shorter rest sets.
As a beginner, if you cannot do sprints of any kind, be sure to do a ‘sprint’ at your level. Walking as fast as you can, will be ‘your’ sprint until you get better. Stationary biking or elliptical is easy on the joints and can be used for your sprints safely.
Be sure to get out of breath and get your heart rate up. Keep pushing your boundaries each time.
Rotate #1 & #2 workouts every second day 3 x/week, fitting in your sprints in between days or after your weight training. Be sure to keep the rotation going – week 1 - #1, 2, 1; week 2 - #2,1, 2.
Resistance/Metabolic Training
Workout 1.
| Level 2 – Intermediate | Level 1 - Beginner |
| Straight sets: 4 sets x 8 reps. Tempo: 3-0-1-0. Rest – 30 seconds between sets | Straight sets: 4 sets x 8 reps. Tempo: 3-0-1-0. Rest – 30 seconds between sets |
| Squats | Squat to Bench |
| Chest Press | Chest Press |
| Walking Lunges | Reverse Lunge |
| Bent Over Rows | Bent Over Rows – keep back flat |
| Romanian Deadlift | Deadlift Training – hold broomstick on back keeping contact with head, shoulders and butt. Soften knees and bend over till parallel to floor without losing contact points. |
| Chest Fly’s | Chest Fly’s |
Workout #2
| Level 2 – Intermediate/ Advanced | Level 1 - Beginner |
| Straight sets: 4 sets x 15 reps. Tempo: 2:0:1:0. Rest – 30 seconds between sets | Straight sets: 4 sets x 15 reps. Tempo: 2:0:1:0. Rest – 30 seconds between sets |
| Bulgarian Split Squats – L/R | Split Squats – one foot in front of other, drop back knee as close to floor as possible without touching, come back up. |
| Standing Shoulder Press | Standing Shoulder Press |
| Sumo Squats | Plié Squats |
| Rear Delt Fly’s | Rear Delt Fly’s |
| Calf Raises | Calf Raises |
| Push Ups | Push Ups - incline or wall |
(If you’re not sure how to perform these exercises safely, I would highly recommend hiring a personal trainer to show you how to do them correctly. Trust me, the risk of injury is not worth it!)
SPRINTS - Hills, bike, treadmill or track
Sprints #1.
Perform 8 sets/round and do 2 rounds with 3 minutes passive rest between rounds.
• 15 seconds all out
• 90 seconds active rest
The 90-second rest set allows for 90% of your creatine phosphate in the muscles to be replenished before the next interval.
Sprints #2.
Perform 10 sets/round and do 2 rounds with 5 minutes passive rest between rounds.
• 30 seconds work at a fast pace
• 60 seconds active recovery
Sprints #3.
Perform 6 sprints in total.
• 30-second all out sprints
• 4-minute active rest set between each sprint.
Research shows that a group tested in Canada performing these sprints 3 times a week lost 12.4% body fat over 6 weeks!
Enjoy!
