by Just because summer is over, doesn’t mean you have to hibernate or head straight into sweatshirt season. With the holidays just around the corner, fall is actually a great time to get a jump-start on fat loss. In fact, why not fall into fitness and work to improve your body composition with some high-intensity interval training (HIIT)? HIIT has been shown to improve both metabolism and body composition, and is a super-efficient way to improve your fitness in as little as 20 minutes.
Another benefit to HIIT is that you can do these workouts regardless of how fit you currently are—simply modifying the movement and/or resistance can make the exercises more or less challenging. The idea is to push as hard as you can while performing the exercises and then rest for an interval of time until you are ready to engage in another all-out bout of exercise.
This workout can be performed indoors or outside, and you will need a pair of dumbbells and some floor space. And the bonus exercise requires about 200 meters of space or a treadmill to run some sprints.
A few things to keep in mind before you begin exercising: Check with your physician before partaking in any physical activity; perform both a warm-up and a cool-down to prevent injury; and be sure to listen to your body. If a movement feels uncomfortable or painful, stop.
After performing a dynamic warm-up and some stretching, complete the following circuit as many times as possible in 20 minutes. And here’s a tip for choosing the right amount of resistance: Select a weight with which you can comfortably perform a shoulder front raise. Keep in mind, rest when you need to, listen to your body, but see how many rounds you can complete of the circuit.
On the right hand column I have listed a default exercise option for each exercise. The default exercise can be used as an easier alternative or an alternative once your form starts to go on the traditional exercise.
|
Exercise |
Repetitions |
Notes |
|
Squat Press |
20 Total |
Modified: Drop the weights when form falters. |
|
Push-up Row |
20 Total |
Modified Exercise: Perform push-ups from knees. |
|
Mountain Climbers |
20 Each Leg |
Modified Exercise: Perform high knees in place. |
|
Lunge With Curl |
20 Total |
Modified Exercise Perform squat curl. |
|
Plank Front Raise |
20 Total |
Modified exercise: Remove the front raise and perform exercise on knees. |
|
Burpees With Push-up |
20 Total |
Modified exercise: Remove the push-up; walk down to bottom position and walk back up. |
Bonus Exercise: Finish with 6 x 200 meter sprints.
Don’t forget to rest throughout the workout as needed and jump back in when you are ready, and be sure to cool down by stretching after your workout.
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