521 – Guide to High Intensity Interval Training · - High Intensity Interval Training Guide -...

- High Intensity Interval Training Guide - 521-healthdrinks.com/hiit

521 – Guide to High Intensity Interval Training

Congratulations on getting started on your journey towards fat-loss and

better health. It might not be an easy journey, but it will DEFINITELY be

worthwhile! Just to whet your appetite, let’s start with a look at what

HIIT can do for you. If you have any questions throughout this guide, don’t

hesitate to get in touch!

Benefits of Exercise:

• Increased Lifespan (each 20 minute bout of exercise adds about 1 hour to your life)

• Increased Brain Health (exercise increases the brains production of BDNF – Brain

derived Neurotrophic Factor, a protein which helps to protect existing synapses and

create new ones. This is why supplementing with Turmeric Neuro-Protective!)

• Muscle Health (Exercise has been shown to not only slow, but REVERSE muscle aging, so

it’s never too late to start)

• Bone Health (Exercise can help to strengthen bones, and increase bone density. This is

vital in minimizing your chances of things like Osteoporosis. Also, if done right, exercise

will help with your posture!)

• Heart Health (This is an easy one! You heart is rather important. Exercise will help to

strengthen it and reduce your risk of heart disease! AND exercise is throwing in some

lung health for good measure)

• Balance (This becomes very important as we begin to get older. Maintaining good balance

will reduce the risk of falls and mean that a healthy lifestyle can be maintained)

• Blood Sugar (Given that diabetes is rampant – obviously for some unknown non-diet

related reason – this one is important. Exercise will increase your body’s insulin

sensitivity and reduce the amount that is free flowing. This is a rather complex issue for

another guide, but suffice to say that our abuse of our body’s natural insulin response is

now wreaking havoc on our health)

• Enhanced Mood (Exercise increases the amount of endorphins produced, as well as

raising your serotonin levels… though it won’t feel like this while you’re exercising!)


LET’S GET STARTED!!!

What is HIIT!?!?

First things first. What is High Intensity Interval Training, and how does it

work? As the name might lead you to believe, HIIT involves bursts of HIGH

intensity exercise with breaks in between. Reasonably straight forward!

When you exercise at high intensity, you force your body to become more

efficient. You can increase your power, speed, and endurance in less than 20%

the time of normal training (in untrained athletes). This is due to your

mitochondria adapting to the stress that your workout places on it. Your

mitochondria become not only more efficient at producing ATP (your body’s

energy supply), but they increase in number. Given that you have mitochondria

in every cell in your body, this means that your whole body gets an upgrade.

Your muscles get stronger, your heart gets stronger, and your body gets more

efficient at creating energy. This is important to understand, because your

body uses glucose to make energy (along with oxygen), and glucose/sugar is the

root of many modern illnesses (obesity, diabetes, etc.)

This means that HIIT is a way of transforming your body, which if combined with a

healthy diet, becomes the most efficient way to lose fat, improve muscle tone and

get healthy!


In reality, these high intensity intervals are to be done at intensities so

high that that you cannot finish without the breaks. Therefore, your

workouts are short, but highly productive. This sounds sensible, but in

reality it’s deceptively torturous. Here’s what you need to know going into

your first HIIT routine.

• Aim for 80-90% of your outright maximum capacity with regards

intensity

• After workouts your body needs sugar to replenish your muscles, this

is not a pass to eat a pack of biscuits! Post-workout nutrition is

covered on the website, and for more diet advice see our Green Tea

Diet Plan.

• Try not to end up on the couch for an hour as soon as you’re finished.

Your body is ingeniously wired for self-preservation, which means it

won’t give up those extra pounds without a fight (at least not until it

knows it’s safe to do so)

• Try to workout 4 times a week. 2 days on, 1 day off, 2 days on, 2

days off. This will allow adequate recovery.

As is mentioned in the free GREEN TEA DIET PLAN, most diets cause you to

lose weight, not necessarily fat. In a normal diet, you may be eating small meals

multiple times a day, or you may just be cutting one food group entirely from

your diet (almost always a bad idea). As you’ve learned, having food in your

system (and therefore insulin) makes it incredibly difficult to burn off fat

stores, but if your body is running a caloric deficit then it needs to get its

energy from somewhere, so something’s got to give. This can actually result in

both fat gain and weight loss (the dreaded skinny fat), or result in lethargy or

higher energy levels. Ultimately, it will definitely result in a change, so getting

the change you want will be down to running the right kind of deficit and being

smart about how you diet! Check out our blog for calorie deficit diet suggestions.

It’s important to remember that you need to be in the right

state hormonally to start working off excess fat, which means

eating right, sleeping enough, and exercising.


Here are 2 things to keep in mind:

1. Exercising will not cause you to bulk up. This cannot be stressed enough

for any women who don’t lift weights because they are worried about

getting big. That is complete MADNESS. Women on average have less than

ONE TENTH the testosterone of men, and just think of how hard most

guys you see at the gym work just to put on a few pounds of muscle. It’s

not going to happen like that. You need to make a very concentrated effort

to “bulk up”. What you will get instead is a leaner, healthier looking body.

There is not a model (male or female) that gets their chiselled features by

doing crunches or running on a treadmill (and your body will hate you for

trying).

2. Exercising in a fasted state can actually help to increase fat burning,

and WILL NOT cause you to lose muscle.

Your HIIT Protocol:

Ideally, what will happen is that from Monday – Friday you will do your

workout at home before you eat dinner, and it won’t be long before you’re

hooked. Alternatively, you could do it every morning before your shower,

and I guarantee you will leave the house every day with more energy than

you’ve ever had. All you will need is a cheap timer, and something

comfortable to do your workout in.

If you’re interested in Personal Training / Nutritional Therapy (or

have any questions about our products), don’t hesitate to contact us

at [email protected], call 087 1179156 or contact us here


Here are 2 sample HIIT routines, one for absolute beginners, and one for

those who don’t have any mobility issues and would like more of a challenge.

Keep in mind that the beginner routine isn’t particularly easier, but involves

simpler movements so that you ease back into exercise while

minimizing injury risks!

----------------------------

**As with all routines, you should consult your doctor/physician

before undertaking any new exercise, and all exercises are done

at your own risk (so if you hit your head doing lunges, please

don’t contact me unless it’s so we can both laugh about it)**

----------------------------

Videos of all of the exercises used in these routines are available on the website!

Just go to www.521-healthdrinks.com/hiit/ and click on the names of the exercise

you’d like to see. This will ensure you use correct breathing, posture, and

alignment during the exercises so that you get the most out of them! Each routine

will take between 10 and 15 minutes, so it’s very manageable!


HIIT Beginner:

Find your baseline with each of the movements, so if you have 20 seconds of squats and

initially can do 10-15, look to build up to 20-25 in the 20 seconds. Remember it is

“HIGH” intensity, not “go with the flow” intensity! Set 4 and 5 will be torture, but

remember the numbers are only a guideline, and as long as you’re pushing yourself, you’ll

see changes!

1. Push-ups (20 seconds)

2. Squats (20 seconds)

3. Pull-ups (20 seconds)

4. Leg Raises (20 seconds)

Rest (40-60 seconds)

>>> Repeat X 5 (if possible)

*If it’s too difficult in the beginning, then try taking longer breaks in between sets.

Alternatively, if this is too easy, you need to check that your form is good. If you lack

tension in your squats or push-ups, they will feel easier but provide very little benefit.

Also, try to ensure that you’re exerting yourself fully at each exercise. If you’re only

doing 3 or 4 push-ups in 20 seconds, well… you know what kind of results to expect.

Videos of the exercises can be found on the website by clicking on the exercise names.


HIIT Intermediate:

1. Burpees (20 seconds) 2. Renegade Row (20 seconds) 3. Pull-ups (20 seconds)

4. Jump Squats (20 seconds) - Rest (40-60 seconds) >>>Repeat X 5

After 2 weeks of this workout, your body should be starting to adapt and starting to

develop the muscle memory necessary to make these movements more efficient and,

therefore, less taxing on your muscles. It’s important then to increase the reps, and

if possible decrease the rest period. So the intermediate routine would then look

something like…

HIIT Intermediate Progressions

1. Burpees X 8 (20 seconds)

2. Renegade Row X 10 (20 seconds)

3. Pull-ups X 8 (20 seconds)

4. Jump Squats X 10 (20 seconds)

Rest (20 seconds)

>>>Repeat X 5

Here, we have halved the rest period,

which catches up on you very quickly!

Sometimes it can be easier to use a

combination of rest reduction with an

increase in workout time. This way you

can adjust both incrementally and make

a smoother transition.

OR




4. Jump Squats X12 (25 seconds)

Rest (40 seconds)

>>>Repeat X 5

This is an increase in exercise

time/intensity, while maintaining the

same length of rest period. This is a

tried and tested way of getting just

about anything you need with regards

body transformation! Once you progress

to weights you’ll see incredible results in

a relatively short period of time.

OR




4. Jump Squats X 10 (20 seconds)

5. Break Dancers X 10 (20 seconds)

Rest (20 seconds)

>>>Repeat X 5

This is your 3rd choice, which is to add a

5th exercise to the mix. This way you

can increase your work rate, keep

improving your endurance and getting

stronger, AND you can add in whatever

exercise you feel you need to address

any weaknesses you have! See the

section at the end on exercise selection

if you’re unsure!


**There is another issue with exercise routines promising to simultaneously

have you losing fat AND putting on “lean muscle mass” (which is somewhat

akin to filling a cup with a big hole in the bottom and saying “don’t worry,

only the bad stuff will fall out”). Please don’t fall astray of these miracle

cures promising amazing results (well …unless as you start taking THIS

NEW DIET PILL! Hahaha). To lose fat, you need a caloric deficit. To gain

muscle, you need a caloric surplus. While it is in fact more complicated that

this, and can in some cases be done, most of the time you’re looking at

steroids in action (and speaking as a competitive powerlifter who has done

his research on steroids, there is not a lot of good to be found there).

Exercise Selection Protocol

This is part of the fun of HIIT, as there are literally ENDLESS

combinations of exercises, which will all give different results, pose

different challenges, and bring about different changes in your body

composition.

Initially, you will want good return for your time investment. This means

compound movements! Squats, and its variations, are a must (also things like

wall walks are great).

Next, you have to look at explosive movements, as these will burn the most

calories. Make sure there are no injury risks, and then start to include

things like, burpees, jump squats, bounding, clap push-ups, and swings.

Next look to include rehab related exercises. These will generally be more

isolated in nature, and can be used to break up a particularly painful

routine e.g.

Burpees -> Pull-ups -> Wall Walks -> Scapular Push-ups -> Lunges (OR)

Swings -> Burpees -> Scapular Push-ups -> Clean & Jerk -> Sprints

…where the “Scapular Push-ups” might be to help with kyphotic posture.

For a full list of bodyweight exercises to get you started, go to

www.521-healthdrinks.com/Kallos-Sthenos-Calisthenics/

If you’re interested in Personal Training / Nutritional Therapy (or

have any questions about our products), don’t hesitate to contact us

at [email protected], call 087 1179156 or contact us here

521 – Guide to High Intensity Interval Training · - High Intensity Interval Training Guide -...

Documents

Transcript of 521 – Guide to High Intensity Interval Training · - High Intensity Interval Training Guide -...