When I decided to make better resolutions for 2016, I talked about picking just one new healthy habit per month. In choosing to meditate daily for my first new habit in January, I knew I was setting myself up for more peace of mind and calm in my daily life. I’ve been getting my Zen on for almost a month now, and it’s been super beneficial.
Now I realize this girl’s gotta move!
High-intensity interval training (HIIT) intrigues me, so it’s the logical place to start. HIIT workouts involve short bursts of high-intensity exercise followed by a short period of rest and typically take less than 30 minutes—start to finish.
The selling points for starting a HIIT routine include:
- It combines aerobic and anaerobic fitness.
- It burns fat and develops lean muscle mass.
- It boosts your metabolism in a way that a steady intensity workout doesn’t.
- It comes with an after-burn effect where your body burns calories even after your workout is done.
- It isn’t a huge time commitment.
This sounds like the perfect addition to my mini-trampoline routine, in part because it’s not recommended for every day of the week. I can add it for some variety and learn a different way to get my body moving.
When you start looking into it, you’ll see there are a variety of workouts to follow. Again, I’m looking for small successes along the way, so I decided to start with “The Scientific 7-Minute Workout” from the New York Times.
Here are some highlights:
- This workout involves 12 exercises that you kick butt doing for 30 seconds each, with a 10 second rest in between. And you finish in 7 minutes. Nice.
- As long as you have a chair and a wall nearby, it doesn’t require any special equipment, so it can be done nearly anytime, anywhere. Lovely.
- You only need to find 7 minutes to perform this workout, so it seems like an easy commitment. Perfect.
- You can get a free app for your mobile device that keeps track of your timing and the sequence of exercises. Easy.
With the app downloaded to my smart phone, I was ready to get moving on the 15th, and I decided to complete the workout 4 times per week. We even put it on my hubby’s tablet so he could get a quick and effective workout in when he travels. If you enjoy the initial training, you can purchase different workouts for variety and increased intensity within the app. Or just go searching around the web for other free routines. Workoutcave is another great resource for a 7-minute workout routine.
Getting a move on feels good to this girl. I’m willing to bet it will have the same effect on you. Since HIIT is still pretty new for me, I can’t say how effective it will be, but I’ll definitely let you know.
If you’re interested in finding out more about HIIT workouts, the Internet is there for you. Here are just a couple of resources.
Dr. Doug McGuff: An expert in high-intensity interval training, his website provides an abundance of facts and videos to get you going.
Fitness Blender: Offering a wide variety of workouts, from targeting specific areas to full-body workouts.
Photo from iStock/LUNAMARINA
Paula Widish, author of Trophia: Simple Steps to Everyday Self-Health, is a freelance writer and self-healther. She loves nothing more than sharing tidbits of information she discovers with others. (Actually, she loves her family more than that—and probably bacon too.) Paula has a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Public Relations and is a Certified Professional Life Coach through International Coach Academy.
Products by Paula Widish
