If you are looking to improve your health and fitness a good way to fit this into a busy lifestyle is HIIT. HIIT or high intensity interval training is a popular method used in the fitness industry that you may have heard of especially in the last few months as popularity seems to keep increasing. It generally involves bursts of intense exercise, with rest periods and takes place over a relatively short period of time, generally 15-30 minutes but can be as little as 4. It is a very effective way of training but it isn’t suitable for everyone and you should check with your doctor before you start such an exercise programme. It is also important when you are performing new exercises to warm up appropriately and make sure you can execute the moves safely and correctly before doing it at the intensity required for HIIT. You may need to start with an easy routine then increase the difficulty, working up to the more challenging workouts.
Why do HIIT?
There are many benefits to HIIT.

• If you don’t have much time to exercise HIIT is a great way to work out, burn calories and increase your fitness levels without having to devote hours to do so.
• It prevents boredom. If you often find yourself getting bored when you train, throw in some interval training to mix it up, workout time goes quickly and the exercises can be varied. You will feel like you’ve had a workout even though it doesn’t take long.
• It has been proven that doing high intensity training can increase your metabolism. It can lead to an increased production of human growth hormone for up to 24 hours after workout, so your body can burn more calories during that period.
• You can do it anywhere, in the gym, at home or outdoors, the choice is yours.
• No equipment is needed. There isn’t any special training equipment required. All you need, is a way to track time. Whether you want to use your watch, a stopwatch or an interval app (so you don’t need to keep resetting the time) will mean you can have the appropriate effort to rest ratio.

 
HIIT workouts you can try
Running (you can apply this to walking, bike or hills depending on fitness levels and goals)
Beginner: 20 seconds sprint, 1 minute rest (either walk or stop). Repeat 10 times.
Intermediate: 60 seconds run, 2 minutes rest. Repeat 5 times.
Advanced: 2 minutes run, 30 seconds rest. Repeat 10 times.
 
HIIT targeting the Core
30 seconds on, 10 seconds rest
Mountain climbers (up)
Russian twist
V-ups
Laying ankle tap
Laying ab cycle
Walking Plank
Mountain climbers (diagonally)
 
Full Body HIIT
30 seconds on, 10 seconds rest
Burpees
Squat jumps
High knees
Heel flicks
Spotted dog
Sprint on the spot
Jumping jacks
Mountain climbers
 
Record your workout, exercises and times. That way you know what you can do for your next session and push yourself harder. You want to be giving maximum effort to get your heartrate up during your work period, during your rest period your heart rate will come back down ready for the next interval. You may find it useful to get yourself a heartrate monitor. This way you can track how hard you are working, how quickly you are recovering and see improvement in your fitness over time.
Hopefully you will give HIIT a go and try something new, for more workouts or HIIT to target your specific needs get in touch, we are always happy to help. 

Happy HIIT!

​Vicki :) 

Now of course, this is not me, I don't hate exercise. But it is something that I hear time and time again from various sources. People don't exercise because they don't like it. And a conversation with an old friend, client and health professional got me thinking a few days ago.  

You know, I wasn't the sporty kid at school, I wasn't the one my peer group would have expected to end up as a personal trainer. You would have found me in the library not the sports hall at lunchtime. I did always like swimming and have to say always enjoyed sports at primary school but as the school teams passed me by at secondary school the very usual route taken by many girls of less and less sport ensued. 

My new found love of exercise came a few years down the line, when I realised the importance of exercise for my overall health and well being (I was far too sedentary for my liking and this needed to change) and I took the leap of joining a small, friendly, independent gym. Little did I know this action would change the entire path of my life. I had never been in a gym before, I didn't know if I would like it but I made the decision to give it a go and I never looked back. That first step got me trying all sorts of different activities over the years, I've lifted weights, joined in with various fitness classes from Step to Spin, Pilates, got myself a mountain bike and participated in races and running too. I have to say I have enjoyed these things for many different reasons but what's most important is the fact that if I hadn't tried it once, I wouldn't have known that it is something that I enjoy and now choose to carry on with. 

So I guess it's time to come back to my original point: don't say "I hate exercise". If you have given every sport, or activity in the world a try, fair enough, I guess you can. But you know what, I truly believe that everyone has at least one thing that they enjoy, find fun, want to keep doing. You just may have never tried it to find out. If you are someone who doesn't currently look forward to exercising this is my advice to you: try something new. You may not even realise that you are working out, for many I guess this would be the best part of all. You may find it useful to have a think about why you haven't enjoyed exercise in the past. Is it the feeling, you prefer to work individually or work better as part of a team, lack of knowledge...the reasons are endless, but have a think about what it is that you haven't enjoyed in the past and it may guide you in the right direction as to the sort of thing to try or avoid. 

Good luck on your quest and please let me know what you find! 

Vicki :)