HIIT It!

Sorry for the recent delay in posting, things have been pretty busy and crazy lately! Recently I posted on the benefits of interval training and how efficient and time saving the workouts can be. So I am going to continue with that theme and give two of my favorite HIIT style workouts that I've been doing a lot of recently.

The first uses a treadmill (or piece of cardio equipment of your choice) and body weight exercises. I warm up with a 5 minute light jog, then alternate between sprints and body weight exercises for a total of 12 rounds (3 sets of 4 exercises). I gradually increase the sprint speed but you can keep it consistent or decrease as you go, whatever works best for you. The point of the workout is to change the exercises every time you do the workout to keep your body guessing and work different muscle groups. This morning my 4 exercises of choice were, elevated backwards lunges off the end of the treadmill, elevated plie squats with one leg on the ground and the other on the back of the treadmill, one legged squats off the end of the treadmill and push-up jacks.

After you have your 4 exercises chosen, here is how the workout goes: 5 minute warm-up, then increase speed to a sprint for 1 minute (I start at 9.0, pause treadmill and perform first body weight exercise (elevated backwards lunges, 20 reps each leg). Back on treadmill, sprint 1 minute (I increase to 9.5), pause treadmill, second body weight exercise (plie squat, 20 reps each leg). Sprint 1 minute (increase speed to 10.0), third exercise (one legged squats, 15 reps each leg). Last sprint (10.5 speed for me), last exercise (10 push-ups total with 4 jacks between each push-up). Repeat the sequence 2 more times for a total of 3 rounds then cool down for 5 minutes.

Total workout time, 35 minutes!

The other workout I have been doing frequently involves a jump rope and timer. I choose 6 exercises that will be performed for 1 minute, as many reps as possible. Then follow that with 1 minute of jumping rope. Do the entire circuit 2 times through. Then on to the next exercise, etc. If you do not have a jump rope, you can either simulate jumping rope, do burpees or any other plyometric exercise of choice. The 6 exercises I used last time were:

1. Kettlebell swings with 15 lb, followed by 1 minute of jumping rope.

2. 4 forward walking lunges, 4 quick prisoner jump squats, 4 backwards walking lunges, 4 quick prisoner squats, followed by 1 minute of jumping rope

3. Core Crushers (feet on bosu ball, hands on ground, push-up position, tuck one knee to chest then swing out to side...30 seconds each leg), followed by 1 minute of jumping rope

4. Split-stance lunges with back foot on exercise ball, holding 10 lb. kettlebell, 30 seconds each leg, followed by 1 minute of jumping rope

5. 5 squats, 5 pulses, 5 tuck jumps repeated for 1 minute, followed by 1 minute of jumping rope

6. Monkey push-up with ski hops (push-up position, hop feet in to under chest then back out, then in again with legs spread, perform push-up from elevated position), jump rope 1 minute.

Perform a second round of alternating exercises and jumping rope for a total workout under 30 minutes!

Another variation of this workout is to only do 30-second jump rope intervals but choose 8 exercises and perform them for 1 minute.

Cholesterol?

If you haven't had your cholesterol checked, you definitely should. It is always good to know your numbers and have them checked every 3-5 years (if they are not considered 'high'). High cholesterol can be a risk factor for heart disease, stroke and heart attack, so it is nothing to mess with! The trick with cholesterol though is that there are two types; good (HDL) and bad (LDL). Reports say that your total number, when adding LDL, HDL and a portion of total triglyerides together, should be below 200. That is not necessarily true though so don't panic right away if your total number is not below 200. You have to look at both your HDL and LDL numbers separately and judge them alone, I disagree with looking at total number. It is more meaningful to look at both separately. The ratio of total cholesterol to HDL levels is more indicative of overall health.

LDL, or bad cholesterol is the number you need to be most concerned about. You want this number, by itself, to be at or below 100. Up to 129 is considered normal still, but closer to 100 is optimal.

HDL, or good cholesterol helps rid your body of bad cholesterol that is building up on artery and vessel walls. You want this number to be 60 or more, the more the better. This number cannot be too high!

Total cholesterol is actually LDL,HDL and 20% of triglycerides added together. The confusion comes in when HDL levels are really high and LDL are still in the normal range, because the total can be close to or above 200 when in reality, the HDL levels are just really high and LDL is within the normal range. That is why your cholesterol ratio is a better predictor of health. To get your ratio, you divide total cholesterol by your HDL level. You want that number to be less than 5, but ideally closer to 3.5.

I hope this article was not too confusing. If you have questions, please feel free to ask them! I believe that everyone should know their levels and be able to interpret them correctly. As I mentioned, high cholesterol, if in fact it truly is high, is dangerous and needs to be controlled. So knowing where you stand and monitoring your levels is a necessity!

Foam Roller Workout

You read that title correctly, a workout using a foam roller. I already talked about the benefits of foam rolling after workouts to keep muscles loose, but this is different. You will actually be using that foam roller as a piece of exercise equipment. Added bonus, you can finish the workout with a great roll out session!

Warm up with a 5-10 minute warm-up on the cardio equipment of your choice. You will perform 3 sets of this workout as a circuit. One exercise followed directly by the next, minimizing resting times to 15 seconds or less.

Lunges with Rotation: Hold the foam roller straight out in front of you, one hand on each end, at shoulder level. Relax shoulders, drawing them back and down. Lunge forward with your right foot, lowering knee almost to floor, keeping knee behind toes. Once lowerd into lunge position, rotate all the way to the right, then left, then right and finally left again. Return to starting position and repeat with left leg, rotating to each side twice before returning to starting position. That is one rep, repeat 10 times (so 10 reps per leg, a total of 20 lunges).

Chest Fly on Roller: Grab 8-12 pound weights. Lye on foam roller with it running along your spine, knees bent, feet flat on floor, arms extended out to sides, a weight in each hand. Contract chest and bring arms to meet directly above chest, until hands almost meet, but don't bang weights together. Lower arms back towards floor. Repeat 8-10 times.

Side Lunge with Row: Hold foam roller straight out in front of you at shoulder level, shoulders relaxed and drawn back and down. Step out to the right, lowering into a side lunge, toes pointing straight ahead. Once in lowered lunge position, pull foam roller towards your body, retracting your shoulder blades and really squeezing them together. Push off of right foot, extend arms straight out again and return to starting position. Repeat with left leg, then return to start. That is one rep, repeat for 10 reps, or a total of 20 lunges.

Push-ups with Lateral Rotation on Roller: Set up for a normal push-up, with arms on roller instead of floor, roller perpendicular to your body. Perform a push-up, then rotate, lifting right arm towards ceiling, rotating body away/perpendicular to floor. Return to start. Perform m another push-up, then rotate lifting left arm towards ceiling. that's one rep, perform 10 reps total.

Wall Sit with Arm Extensions: Position roller on wall, in line with your spine. Perform a wall sit, with spine against roller. As you are in the squat position, alternate reaching one arm at a time above head and tapping the wall. Hold for 30 - 60 seconds, 60 if you are able!

Biceps Curl on Roller: Stand on foam roller, with roller parallel to feet, holding a weight in each hand, resting down, palms facing forward. Contract core for stability and perform biceps curls, for a total of 10-12 reps. If this is too difficult, you can practice just standing on the foam roller and balancing. This will still activate and work your core!

Cool down with 5-10 minutes of cardio. Then stretch! You can use that foam roller you were just working out with to roll out all of those tired muscles!