Our latest article in 85086 Magazine is perfect for the NEW YEAR because it is about Park Bench HIIT!!
Your New Years Resolution is to get in better shape. Lets face it, it is the most common resolution. The problem comes when we commit ourselves to a year of an unrealistic workout plan. So think about this: You get off of work for the day, you are exhausted, and all you can think about is getting home to see the rest of the Suns basketball game. You get your resistance training done because that is the most crucial part of any workout. So now you must finish with some cardio. Do you choose a one hour treadmill session? Or do you choose a 6-minute HIIT session that is more effective at burning fat?
And the winner is…the HIIT! With errands, work, and the kids filling our schedules, often times the first thing to get cut out is working out. Not this year. With a quicker workout option, you have no excuses anymore. Especially since this workout can be done in the park or even at home with a chair.
So what does HIIT feel like? After your high intensity interval you should be panting, unable to speak a full sentence, and feeling like you need to sit down and rest. If not, you did not go hard enough. One-hundred percent intensity means all-out, no holding back, pretend like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is watching you workout. Do not disappoint.
If you perform HIIT with lackluster effort, you might as well say goodbye to the benefits and say hello again to that boring and ineffective treadmill workout you are used to: benefits like eliminating excess body fat, increasing the number of post-workout hours of energy expenditure, and decreasing overall workout time.
So get focused, picture your end goal, and put in the work. Achieve your resolution for the first time by committing to an achievable plan. Nothing beats hard work.
HIIT (high intensity interval training) is a form of cardiovascular exercise. It consists of quick bursts of intense exercise over a short period of time. The principle behind this method is the body works so hard during the intense workout that it continues to expend energy even after the workout is over. Normal, steady-state cardio does not do this. Some research shows HIIT burns fat 6x quicker!
Workout Instructions
For each exercise, perform 4 rounds of the following: Alternate a 20 second bench (high intensity) exercise with a 10 second jog in place (low intensity) exercise.
Exercise 1: Bench Jumps
Setup: Stand facing the bench, squat down with arms bent
Action: Quickly jump both feet up onto the bench at the same time, then jump back down
Exercise 2 : Bench Burpees
Setup: Stand facing the bench, squat down with arms bent
Action: Pop out into a high plank position with hands on the bench, then hop your feet back under you into a squat, then jump up as high as you can while reaching both arms overhead and land
Exercise 3: Bench Hop-overs
Setup: Stand crouched down with your feet on the side of the bench and your hands on one end of the bench
Action: Put your body weight into your hands and jump up bringing your legs from one side of the bench to the other, then repeat by bringing your legs back to where you started
