What is HIIT?
High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is a form of training that is an interval of short bursts of intense exercise followed by recovery periods. HIIT workouts generally take less than 30min and burns more calories than jogging for an hour.
What is Tabata?
Tabata is a type of HIIT that is much quicker with less time for high-intensity work, but even less time for recovery. If you’re really crunched for time, a Tabata workout can take just 4min and still burn serious calories.
What is Circuit Training?
A training protocol where you are able to control the intensity of the session, moving through 8-12 exercises from one to the next, completing each one by a set number of repetitions or duration. Circuits can be completed in about 30min or so too. But with the workout being at a lower intensity, I’d use this for building muscle or for days where I’m just not up for that amount of intensity.
Working smart (and hard)
Being a working mom of 3 and not having a helper means time is of the essence for me. If I want to stay fit, I need to get a quick and efficient workout in so I can cool down and shower before naptime is over. With a HIIT workout, I get to enjoy the best of both worlds where I burn more calories for less time spent. And there’s even a bonus – all the above training styles offers variety so you needn’t repeat any exercise in a set if you don’t want to.
All you need to do is decide which muscle group you want to target that day and pen down 8 exercises – I usually make 2 of them cardio type of exercises, i.e. mountain climbers or skipping, and the rest will be exercises that target different muscles in that area, i.e. arm dips targeting the tricep paired with bicep curls.
However, I must confess that I’m not always that strict with myself to perform at high-intensity. But the consolation is that even if you perform at medium-intensity, you’ll still burn more calories for the time spent as compared to traditional workouts.
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