After talking about caramel and cake all week, it’s time for a workout. This is a do-anywhere-no-equipment-needed workout.

That means there are no excuses.

Plus, it is a full body workout that will take you less than 30 minutes.

So again, no excuses.

First, let’s talk about HIIT – High Intensity Interval Training. This technique is composed of short, high intensity bursts that are repeated in between rest periods. It is a highly efficient way to train and can be more beneficial than an hour of steady-state cardio.

That’s right, that excruciatingly boring steady state 60-minute elliptical session can be replaced by a fast-paced 15-minute HIIT workout. WIN. Who couldn’t use that extra time back in their day?!

The HIIT method is still excruciating, but in an entirely different way.

The reason that HIIT is so effective and efficient is because during the high intensity intervals you should be working as hard as you can. Your heart rate is elevated and you’re working toward reaching your anaerobic threshold (80%-90% of your max heart rate).

Heart pounding, muscles burning, out of breath. See: excruciating.

This is then followed up with a short rest period – catch your breath, slightly decrease your heart rate, mentally prepare for the next interval, then GO.

You can use this methodology for any time of strength training or cardio workout. I love using the HIIT technique for sprint intervals on the treadmill. It’s the only way I can mentally stand running on a treadmill and really helps me work on improving my speed.

After your full workout is completed (YAY, you did it!) your body will be working to restore all the oxygen levels that you just depleted. Meaning, you will continue to burn calories hours after you are done exercising. I’ll say it again: WIN.

Including 2-3 HIIT workouts into your weekly exercise regime will help you increase your metabolism, burn more fat, and push up your anaerobic threshold. Dare I say it again?

I dare: WIN.

As previously mentioned the beauty of this workout is that you can perform it basically anywhere and without equipment. However, if you happen to have some equipment on hand, by all means, go ahead and use it. Here are some ideas for progressions:

• Hold onto some dumbbells during the squats for extra resistance.
• Get off of your knees for the push ups.
• Utilize a BOSU ball during the plank twists.
• Perform dumbbell bicep curls during the lunges.
• Add a twist with the mountain climbers.
• Use a bench during the triceps dips and extend your legs straight out.
• Pick up a medicine ball during the Russian twists.

The most important part of this type of workout is to really push yourself during the intervals. You can do anything for 45-seconds. You can. Your hot bod will thank you later.

Read more about HIIT here, here, or here. You can also Google it.

As a side note, I ran a 10 mile race today. I signed up on a whim (registered on Tuesday) with some girls from my run club. I have only done a handful of 10 mile runs since my last marathon in June, and needed the motivation to start making running a bigger priority in my life again. It was an absolutely gorgeous morning. I felt strong and ended up placing 3^rd in my age bracket – such a huge, unexpected, pleasant surprise! It was just a small, local race and my time wasn’t phenomenal or anything, but it was still a great little confidence booster  The other girls that signed up from my run club did an amazing job too!!

HAPPY SATURDAY.