Guest post by Eric Bogy from Fit & Me
We’re very excited to have a guest post from Eric Bogy from Fit&Me. Fit&Me is dedicated to helping you achieve your health and fitness goals, and transform your body by offering the best fitness equipment and knowledge you need. Eric is sharing his workout routines, insights and tips for fabulous and effective workouts for you:
As a busy professional, it can often be tough to fit in a good quality workout. The gym and being active can take a back seat to the perils of your busy life and career.
We understand how frustrating it can be when you have skipped workouts or you’re simply too tired to try and fathom what you should do for maximum effectiveness.
If you are a busy professional, you need quality over quantity, which is why high intensity workouts are perfect. The American College of Sports Medicine suggests that High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is great for cardiovascular health, blood pressure, cholesterol, aerobic and anaerobic fitness.
The good news is that we understand your pain! Below are 5 seriously awesome, high intensity workouts, which will blast body fat and tone you from head to toe!
What are you waiting for? Let’s get right to it!
Workout 1: The treadmill high intensity workout
This treadmill workout can be done on a treadmill or, of course, in the great outdoors, once the weather has cooled down again. It’s a great workout which will really break a sweat!
Warm-up: Jog or speed walk for 3 minutes
The workout:
You will complete the below 10 times which will total 10 minutes of exercise:
- 20 seconds of intense work such as sprinting or speed walking.
- 40 seconds of steady work
If you are starting out, you can build this up each week going to 15 minutes then 20 minutes.
If you want to crank up the intensity even more, then make the speed interval longer and the steady interval shorter – ouch!
Workout 2: The circuit training HIIT workout!
You probably knew we would include the evil – the circuit training! Unfortunately, it’s just too good to miss! The fantastic thing about this circuit is that it provides both cardiorespiratory and strength benefits and can be done from the comfort of your own home or a gym.
Again, this should only take 10–15 minutes tops, perfect for the busy professional! Here it goes…
Warm-Up: 3 minutes steady state cardio of your choice
The workout:
Round 1
- 10 x Mountain climbers
- 10 x Burpees
- 10 x Jumping jacks
- 30 seconds rest
Round 2
- 15 x Mountain climbers
- 15 x Burpees
- 15 x Jumping jacks
- 30 seconds rest
Round 3
- 20 x Mountain climbers
- 20 x Burpees
- 20 x Jumping jacks
Workout 3: Cycling HIIT workout
This high intensity interval workout can be performed on a static bike or your ordinary bike if you’d rather enjoy some of the great outdoors. Cycling is an awesome workout as you can crank up the resistance to really work your legs hard.
Warm-up: 3 minutes steady state cycling
The workout:
You will complete the below 5 times:
Resistance for intense interval = tough
- 20 seconds of intense cycling
- 40 seconds of steady work
You will complete the below 5 times:
Resistance for intense interval = 1 higher
- 20 seconds of intense cycling
- 40 seconds of steady work
You will complete the below 5 times:
Resistance for intense interval = 1 higher
- 20 seconds of intense cycling
- 40 seconds of steady work
You will complete the below 5 times:
Resistance for intense interval = 1 higher
- 20 seconds of intense cycling
- 40 seconds of steady work
If you are starting out, you can build this up each week going to 15 minutes then 20 minutes.
Workout 4: Plyometrics circuit
Plyometrics is a series of intense movements, more commonly known as ‘jump training’. Plyo is seriously hard but seriously effective which is why you can only manage short bursts of them. They help to tone and sculpt your muscles while burning some serious calories. You can do these at the gym or at home as long as you have ample space.
Warm-up: 3 minutes steady state cardio
The Workout:
You will need a timer for this circuit.
Perform the below circuit 5 times in total and have 1 minute of rest after each completed circuit:
- 20 seconds of Jump Squats
- 20 seconds of Jumping Lunges
- 20 seconds of Burpees
- 20 seconds of Jump Rope
- 20 seconds of Push-ups
- 30-second Plank
Workout 5: HIIT on the elliptical machine
The elliptical machine is excellent for working your whole body from head to toe. It’s an extremely versatile and adaptable machine, which allows for a range of different movements.
The below elliptical machine workout should only take 15 minutes. Moving grip means hold the moving handles. Static grip means hold the stationary handles.
Warm-up: 3 minutes steady state cardio
The workout:
Interval 1 – Medium effort
1-minute run static grip
1-minute run moving grip
3-minute run static grip
Interval 2 – Medium effort
1-minute sprinting moving grip
1-minute steady state
Interval 3 – Maximum effort
1-minute sprint static grip
1-minute run moving grip
1-minute steady state
Interval 4 – Medium effort
1-minute backward spring moving grip
1-minute backward steady state
If you want to keep progressing your high intensity interval training, you can do so by altering 3 different things:
- The amount of time you spent in your “intense” working interval
- The amount of time you spent in your “rest” and recovery interval
- The number of reps you perform during your intense bursts
This means that you never have to flat line and you can always keep burning those calories and improving your cardiovascular fitness.
As a busy professional, you never have to worry about getting your workouts in again because less is more!
Thanks so much, Eric, for giving us these 5 high intensity, quick and effective workouts. Even a lazy person like me can’t hide behind a lame excuse an I’m off to try them on. Put on your gym outfit and join me!
Until next time,
Agni