Interval + Strength Gym Session

HIIT and Tabata workouts are fantastic. You can be in and out of the gym (or your living room) in 30 minutes with a solid, effective workout, but sometimes you just want, maybe need, to spend a little bit longer in the gym. Like an hour… or more.

Mondays are usually my “long workout” nights where I do both cardio and strength training. An intense gym session is the perfect way to kick off the week. I always feel so good afterwards. Sweaty, but so so good.

During these sessions I love to sprinkle rounds of sprint intervals in between strength circuits. Not only does this make time fly by, but doing the intervals also helps elevate my heart rate throughout the workout. (Sometimes my heart rate doesn’t get as high as I would like it to during strength training, probably because I need to life heavier weights. Another story for another day.)

I want you to try this out, because you will feel so great afterwards. You’ll leave the gym with that I-dominated-that-and-can-pretty-much-do-anything feeling.

So, do some intervals. Hit the weights. Do some more sprints. Back to the weights. Then go back to th… well, I’m sure you catch my drift. Here’s the full plan:

A few quick notes:

• Feel free to do the sprints on the treadmill, elliptical, bike, or rowing machine – whatever is your favorite! I am taking a break from running (sad face), so I have been doing mine on the elliptical.
• Hold dumbbells when performing the Romanian deadlifts, Russian twists, lunges, and sumo squats for additional resistance.
• This type of workout can take me anywhere from 60-90 minutes depending on the exercises and how quickly I transition. Also, I may tack on an extra long cool down and some additional ab work. If you are short on time go ahead and cut out one circuit and one or two round(s) of sprints.
• If you aren’t sure of how to perform an exercise ask in a comment or look it up on You Tube!

These long gym sessions are so therapeutic to me. It’s like how I feel when I bake. Except, one activity debits my calorie account and the other credits. I like to keep my books balanced.

I hope you try it out! Let me know if you do.