Ok so no one wants to spend ages getting fit and summer is practically here. So what do you do if you want a quick fix?
You need quick a interval training workout. The only workout style that will work quickly and effectively to get you fast results. So without further ado here's what you need to start ASAP!
Before you start
1. Download an interval trainer App on yout smart phone - I use Deltaworks Interval Timer for HIIT
2. Find a good spot outside in the park, garden or well-ventilated room
3. Have a bench or sturdy chair nearby
4. You'll need a mat
5. Bottle of water
6. Towel
7. Sunscreen if you're outside
Set your timer to 4 rounds of 20 second intevrals with a 10 second break and a 10 second (or longer) round break.
Start Exercise 1 then go through each exercise until you're finished.
Exercises:
(Pictures Below)
1. Jumping Jacks
2. Jumping Squats
3. Mountain Climbers
4. Walking Lunges
5. Side Squats
6. Running on the spot
7. Burpees
8. Static Lunges
9. Push-Ups
10. Tricep Dips on bench
11. Crunches
12. Plank
Long time no speak. You’ve probably been
wondering where on earth I’ve been!
I’ve been wondering too. No just kidding
I’ve been around but unfortunately some things have set me back recently
especially in the way of training.
Do you remember how motivated I was at the
beginning of the year, when I asked you all to keep me accountable etc, etc.
and I was sending you videos of my workouts in the gym to prove I was going?
Well that started out really well and then something really bizarre happened
I had what seemed to be something like an
asthma attack. This is strange because I’ve never had asthma in my life. Never.
One day I ran up quite a few flights of stairs very fast and I became really
short of breath and unable to catch my breath no matter how hard I breathed. My
chest hurt and then my legs just became numb. It was horrible. The worst part
of it was that I couldn’t recover. I felt helpless. What proceeded next was
coughing and then mucous (yuk!) in my throat. It was such a shock. That
afternoon I felt really tired and my chest was heavy.
I got to searching the internet (as you
do), and I found out that there is such a thing as exercise-induced asthma.
This comes about mainly during aerobic exercise. I had no idea that there was
such a thing but it made sense however, rather than diagnose myself I went along to
the doctor and had a spirometry test, where they check your breathing output on
a machine. It was a really difficult test because you are blowing out air
repeatedly and it takes it out of you. I had to have the test done twice as the
first one was inconclusive. After checking the results, even the doctor was
surprised to find what looked like an obstruction on the readings. Her suggestion? Start taking
a Ventilin inhaler to see if it improves and then go back after a few weeks. If
the inhaler caused the breathing to improve it would be more likely to be
asthma.
Well what can I say? I was just as shocked
as you are. Now this is not definite and still very much in the investigation
stages but it was a shock and unfortunately it left me very cautious about doing
any form of vigorous exercise where exertion may bring on breathlessness. In
the days and weeks that proceeded I saw a decline in my activity levels,
probably due to feeling quite wary about doing anything too exertive.
Without going into too many details, I took
the inhaler whenever I felt I needed it and it did provide some relief.
However, I was not quite convinced that it could be asthma so I started to take
the inhaler less and less and begun to consider other reasons I could be
getting out of breath. I spoke to the doctor about my cardio vascular fitness
levels and she wasn’t convinced that it would be that. However, I know too well
that I am not a fan of cardio exercise and you will always find me in the
weights section of the gym at any given time. Could it be that my aerobic
fitness levels are not as they should be? Could this be causing breathlessness?
It’s a theory that I want to further investigate.
When your cardio fitness isn’t good, it
means that you get short of breath very quickly. It means that the
transportation system of oxygen to your working muscles isn’t’ good and that
you cannot get sufficient oxygen into your muscles quickly enough which leaves
you gasping for air to compensate for the oxygen you need for the energy you
expended.
To explain this better check out this short video
(highly recommended) on what happens to the body during exercise and you’ll see
what I mean.
Chronic Effects of Exercise on the Heart
I haven’t given up. I am motivated again to
take my health into my own hands. Your body will often trick you into thinking it can’t do something but any
rehabilitation expert will tell you, you have to push through those hurdles and
no one can do that for you. You really cannot go by how you feel and you really shouldn't accept things as they are expsecially when it's in your hands to do something about it. Our bodies are brillinat machines that give us warning signs when something is not as it should be. It's up to us to take heed to the warnings.
I know I have two options. Either lay down
and accept things as they are or fight back by doing whatever it takes to get
my body back where it needs to be.
I thought I’d catch your attention with this heading. Am trying to be
controversial? Just a bit. You see we have all heard, over and over,
that all you need to do to lose weight and get in shape is to diet and
exercise but is that true?
Well, yes but no. It doesn’t actually
work that way. In fact dieting and exercising do not work very well
together. Let me explain.
When you exercise, I mean really exercise; you expend energy that
you wouldn’t normally expend. Depending on the intensity, you use up
physical resources and energy stores that are otherwise untouched by
your ordinary daily activities. You also micro-tear a few muscles, which
can leave you sore for a few days. Whenever muscles tear, they need to
repair and for this you need protein, nutrients and energy. When you eat
a limited amount of calories, you are sabotaging this process as there
isn’t enough energy and nutrients for adequate recovery. Slow,
incomplete recovery means you’ll be sore for longer and generally
fatigued and therefore unable to train at the same level or at all,
which means that you will lose any gains you achieved before. Even more
importantly, when you do train, you just won’t have the energy to go
full out and you may feel weak and unable to do as much as you do normally.
This
thought came to me a while back during a class. This class was
hardcore. It was 30-45 seconds of high intensity intervals with 10-15
seconds rest. During breaks people could hardly stand up let alone be
ready for the next round. In addition I was weight training. Most of you
know I love weight training. However, when I was limiting my calories I
found I was weak and could hardly lift a weight and was challenged
during exercise classes as energy levels got depleted. I realised I
hadn’t been feeding my body right and that by restricting calories and
not having food that would ‘feed’ my body, I was unable to face the
demands I was putting on my body. By dieting you are restricting
calories. This leaves you low on energy and depleted nutrients and
protein. Your body cannot function well without those. The result? Too
fatigued to do anything and too fatigued to recover which may in turn
lead you to you give up.
So what’s the advice? Eat some good food
and eat lots of it! Quantity isn’t a problem if you have quality. Eat
sufficiently to nourish an active body. You will still lose weight, in
fact you may lose it quicker but you will not have to miss out on your
workouts due to tiredness and fatigue or prolonged soreness.
Here are some tips to keep yourself topped up for optimal energy:
Don't skip breakfast – it’s the most important meal of the day
Eat a cooked breakfast including protein and vegetables
Incorporate protein into every meal
Cut starchy carbs to a minimum
Eliminate wheat from your diet
Keep sugar low
Eat lots of veg
Eat fruit for sweet cravings
Average 4-5 meals a day
Your
diet will depend on how hard you train. The more the intensity the
better you need to eat (notice I didn’t say more). You may need more
calories but as with anything, quality is more important than quantity.
But you must eat! Don’t cut down so much that your workouts are
affected!
There you have it. Dieting and exercise do not work.
Cut back on food and you cut back on energy and recovery ability. Eat
enough good quality food to nourish your body and you increase your
chances of staying power achieving your goals.
