Why HIIT Workouts Are Perfect for a Hectic Schedule
Picture this: your gym day has finally come. You have your clothes on, your
water bottle is filled, your bag – wait. Where did you put your bag? In the
closet? On the chair? You look for 20 minutes only to find that you put it away,
exactly where it was supposed to be. But you’re ready now. It’s gym time.
But, you don’t want to make any second trips, so you check your bag to make sure
it has your lock for the locker room, a personal towel, and a change of clothes
– but not your regular change of clothes, because you have plans later. Right.
Back to the closet.
Ok, it’s been half an hour, but you found the perfect outfit, shoes included,
and you remembered to bring make-up to finish off the look. Your bag is all
packed, and you’re finally in the car and driving 30 minutes to your closest
gym. You walk in, get your ID ready, secure your locker, find an open machine –
aaaand you forgot your headphones.
Last time, it was your water bottle. The time before that, one of your kids was
home sick. None of your gym days ever seem to be just perfect.
It shouldn’t be so time consuming and costly to have one good day to work out,
but high-intensity interval training (HIIT) done right from home is a great
replacement for your gym membership.
If you’re a frequent gym-goer, you’ve probably heard of HIIT, but here’s a
refresher in case you haven’t. HIIT is a cardio routine which involves short
bursts, or intervals, of high intensity exercising, followed by shorter periods
of rest. Each interval can range anywhere from 20 to 90 seconds, and the resting
periods between each interval are usually from 5 to 15 seconds. Because of the
short time frame for the intervals, the ‘high-intensity’ descriptor is no joke.
When performing exercises in a HIIT routine, pushing yourself to really sweat is
a vital component of what makes HIIT an effective workout, and heart rate
training is a good way to measure your intensity. Active.com has a comprehensive
guide to calculating your heart rate zones here
[https://www.active.com/fitness/articles/how-to-calculate-your-training-heart-rate-zones],
which you should figure out before getting started with your routine.
HIIT is great for home exercising because there is no need for equipment, and
the routines can be completed in a half hour or even less. There are even some
routines you can do that are made to keep the noise down, like Emi Wong
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bleOTMDa3_4]’s video routine, which are great
for when your household is asleep. Even other videos from professionals like The
Body Coach Joe Wicks [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q20pLhdoEoY], Moms Into
Fitness [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPpObC5PnwM], Stephi Nguyen
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02lWhOgmFAQ], Runtastic Fitness
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8nbLvXr_Z8], are great for beginners or anyone
else looking for new routines.
With the brevity of the routines and the elimination of a commute, using HIIT to
work out from home is a surefire way to save you time and money, and the best
part is that it’s impossible to forget anything at home.