Work It Wednesday: Staying Fit on Vacation, HIIT in a Hotel Room

One of the greatest things about High Intensity Interval Training (Read the benefits HERE!) is that you can do it anywhere and it requires little to no equipment.  While I was in Alaska, I was pretty active with daily activities (hiking, biking, rock climbing to name a few). But I was also not eating the best since I didn’t want to limit myself on vacation and really experience Alaska to the fullest! Plus, there was way more alcohol in my diet. Wine with dinner, beers in the hot tub, touring breweries, sampling Alaskan Beers, Mimosas with breakfast….you get the point.

During the Land part of our trip (The 5 days seeing Anchorage, Mt McKinley Lodge & Denali Wilderness Lodge, we completed a HIIT workout everyday. 

12 minutes of commitment and you can go about your day with more energy and less guilt about the extra vacation calories. 

Get an interval timer app on your phone, there are plenty out there, I use this one.  Set the timer for 10 seconds rest, 30 seconds work for 18 rounds. There are 6 exercises and we will go through it 3 times.

High Knees are pretty self-explanatory. Run in place and try and get your knees above your bellybutton

Oblique In & Out starts in a side plank with your bottom arm extended and your top hand behind your head. With your bottom foot on the ground, raise your top foot about a foot and a half from the ground. This is your start position. Bend your top leg at the knee, keeping your knee facing up, and bring your elbow and knee together. Then return to the start poisition. After 30 seconds, repeat on the other side.

10 Mountain Climbers & 2 pushups. Start in a plank position, do 10 mountain climbers, keeping your back in a straight line & butt low. Then do 2 pushups! Go to your knees if you have to.

Switch Lunges are a great cardio exercise. Start in a lunge with both knees bent 90 degrees. Jump up and switch your legs so the opposide leg is in front. Do what you want with your hands. I usually keep them on my hips, or make it harder by holding a medicine ball. 

Dive Bombers are an absolute shoulder killer. Start in a downward dog position and pretend there is a steel bar just above your head and you need dip underneath and end up in cobra.  The movement should be arms bent, nose to the ground, chest to the ground, belly button to the ground and push up to extend your arms as much as possible.  The most advance version is to do the same snake movement in reverse to get back into downward facing dog, but HOLY HELL is that difficult.  I just push straight back in to downward dog from cobra and only do the snake move forward.

 

In Position C, don’t let your legs touch the ground

This is a great full body workout with a good amount of cardio involved.  The most important thing is, do not stop moving. If it is difficult, alter your moves, make it easier, but do not stop.

Let me know how you like today’s workout and how you did!

xo R

Work it Wednesday! HIIT Benefits & Workout

Confession: I’m not a fan of working out.  I do it so I can drink good beer and eat more cheese than a person should. Living a healthy lifestyle is a give-take relationship. It requires flexibility. It requires balance. KICK ASS for 12 minutes a day and enjoy more of your day to a fuller extent!

I lost 25 pounds at home doing HIITs and eating right. So today, I’m going to share with you on why I chose High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) and why it may be a good fit for you as well.

1) AIN'T NOBODY GOT TIME FOR THAT

An hour long workout?  Running endlessly on a treadmill? Going to the gym? These are a list of things that I don’t want to do.  High Intensity Interval Workouts only take 12 minutes.  That was the biggest selling point to me.  Working out at all is not going to be fun for me, but I’d rather suffer for only 12 minutes than 60!  HOWEVER, you will be busting your ass harder than you ever have running on a treadmill.  If we are only going for 12 minutes, WE ARE GOING FOR 12 MINUTES!

2) AFTERBURN

Your body will continue to burn calories for up to 48 hours after you are done working out. Wait…..WHAT? Yes please.

3) NEVER BORING

Ever zone out running on a treadmill?  Yeah, me neither! However, when I’m on a treadmill, I try and not look at the time, I cover it with a towel or magazine just hoping it will make time move faster (it never does). 

With HIIT, you are working your ass off for 30-50 seconds and then changing to the next thing. It’s constantly challenging your body and you never have time to get bored.

4) WEIGHTS BURN MORE FAT, FASTER

Alright ladies: You will not get bulky. So just stop, right now.  Lifting heavy will only help you shed fat faster.  If you’re not taking daily doses of synthetic testosterone, you are in the clear.  MUSCLE DICTATES METABOLISM.  The more lean muscle you have on your body, the more fat you are burning, even at rest.  Incorporate some weights into your HIIT workouts for even faster results!

5) DO IT ANYWHERE!

HIIT incorporates bodyweight exercises (lunges, squats, burpees, tuck jumps, push-ups) so you can literally do them anywhere. Apartment? Check. Hotel Room (while your family watches in jealousy)? Check. Park? Check. 

HIITs are great for vacation and business trips.  You want to stay active and get a workout in, but you have a busy schedule? Easy. HIITS are roughly 12 minutes. No more sneaking down to the hotel fitness center to run on their 1980’s treadmill! 

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So, to RECAP!

You will burn more calories, in less time, doing an exciting workout anywhere you want to? Now your next question maybe, What does a HIIT workout look like? 

I’ve created one for you to try!

Using your smartphone, you can download in Interval Timer app, or you can find one online and just pull it up on your computer for your at-home workout.

If you have weights at home or take this workout to the gym and can include a medicine ball/free weights to make this a little more difficult, do it!  It’s even more efficient!

You work as hard as you can for the full 50 seconds!  Make alterations where you have to, drop the weight, but DO NOT STOP. Lower the intensity before you just give up and take a break. The most important part is to keep going until you hear the buzzer.  

Let me know how you did and what you thought of the first ever Work-It Wednesday!  Did you learn anything? Did you sweat?