Motivation Monday| Work out Smarter Part 1| Interval Training

 

How is everyone's health and fitness resolutions going? Still going to the gym? Still eating healthily? I know I've slipped up a couple of times, but the trick is to not let it get you down! Success comes from getting straight back up when you fall down! Do not let one bad day become a bad week, then that bad week become a month…. get back to it!

From what I have gathered through talking to friends and through you lovely blogging ladies, changing your diet is the easiest task when it comes to changing your attitude to health. I have been in awe of many of your gorgeous healthy dinners on Instagram and Twitter. It seems to be the exercise that people struggle with, and as I personally love to workout I thought I would share some tips with you on how I have found the motivation to go from Couch Potato to Mad Runner!

To be fit, healthy and toned you need to balance a healthy diet with regular exercise. Now for many of you especially my fellow bloggers finding the time to workout if difficult... What with full time jobs, blogs to manage and write, friends and family to see and time to sleep... Where you you squeeze in a workout?

The trick is to workout smartly! You can do a half an hour workout 5 times a week and still see results quickly, you just need to make the most of the little time you have! This is where Interval Training comes in! Yes it is harder than traditional hour long cardio workouts but if you want to spend less time to get the results you need then this may be your answer!

What is Interval Training and How does it work?

Interval Training involves short intervals of maximum intensity exercise separated by longer intervals of low to moderate intensity exercise. It burns more calories than traditional cardio exercise because it involves you working to your maximum effort. Overall an Interval Training session consists of a warm up followed by 6 to 10 repetitions if high intensity exercise, separated by medium to low intensity exercise, ending with a cool down and stretching.

The benefits to Interval Training

• It burns more calories, both during and after your workout as it takes your body longer to recover.
• It increases your metabolism so you improve your overall fat-burning potential.
• Improves your overall fitness and athletic capacity and condition
• It works both your anaerobic and aerobic energy systems.
• It limits muscle lost that occurs during weight loss compare to traditional steady-state cardio exercise

The biggest advantage to Interval Training is that you can adapt it to your fitness level! You can alter the number of repetitions you do in a routine, you can change the length of your recovery periods etc. You can also do it in a variety of different ways; running, cycling, rowing or on the cross trainer.

Prior to the last two weeks I had not done much Interval training but since I have been doing it I have noticed a big increase in my fitness levels and running performance. More importantly I have been enjoying my workouts more! I hate the treadmill but as it is dark when I finish work I can’t get out on the fells to run so I don’t have much choice. I used to run at the same pace for about 45 minutes and be bored out of my mind, but since I have started Interval Training the time goes a lot quicker even though I am pushing myself harder than ever before!

I have been using the Tone It Up interval routines this past few weeks, you can see them above. But have also includes some others for you to try.

Have you ever tried Interval Training before? Do you enjoy it, and did you see any results? Let me know if you give this ago!

Fitness Fridays| Blast Fat Fast

For those of you who work out, work out and work out some more, but are yet to see the results, this may be because you have hit a plateau with your fitness. This is basically where you reach a point in your exercise routine where your body has become used to the routine, and additional progress cannot be made. This typically happens every 6 to 8 weeks.

The following tips should help you defeat the plateau and find yourself fighting the fat again.

• Factor in Rest- There does exist such a thing as too much of a good thing. If you give yourself a rest week every fourth week, you will actually gain fitness by allowing your body to recover and grow stronger. If you feel very tired or something is niggling, do not be afraid to take an extra few days, or even try a lower impact form of exercise for a week.
• Short and Sweet- If you are aiming for fat loss, then shorter, high-intensity workouts are the most effective. Incorporate interval training into your routine. This consists of a short burst of high-intensity work followed by longer, low-intensity recovery periods. Ideally you want to aim for 45 seconds of high intensity, followed by 90 seconds of low intensity, repeated every 8-12 times. You can do this running, cycling on the stepper... just do it!
• Lift it up- strength workouts are essential for your workout routine. Weight training raises your metabolism, gives you a totally new body shape, sheds fat, and improves your body composition. Incorporating strength training for 20 minutes, 3 times a week will train your body to burn fat while making you lean. 
• Just keep moving- Every little helps! Any extra movement you do throughout the day will burn more calories, all those little thing between your gym sessions can make a difference. Take the stairs, get off the bus a stop early, jumping jacks in ad breaks, just keep moving!
• Nibble away- In order to keep your metabolism up you need to keep eating (obvious the right stuff, not rubbish.) Start the day with a decent breakfast then keep nibbling every two to three hours. Keep snacks near/on you such as nuts, seeds, hard boiled eggs, fruit and veg. 
• Shake it up- As mentioned earlier, your body get used to the exercises you put it through, therefore try and keep things fresh, keep it surprised. Change the frequency, length, and intensity of your workouts, Try a new exercise; yoga, Pilates, dance, swimming, spinning, use weights and kettle balls, just be adventurous. 

I hope this help a few of you get out of a rut, and back to making a difference to yourself. Do you have any other tips?