HIIT Series: #1 No-Time-To-Get-Fit

In 2010, I deployed to Afghanistan.

Workouts in Afghanistan were brutal, and that’s what made them fulfilling! Daily, I’d go out to the area we did Marine Corps Martial Arts Program (MCMAP) training to log in my hours in hopes of climbing the ranks up to black belt. We would always start in a big circle with the MCMAP instructor in the center ready to beat us into the ground with his physical fitness demands.

It was close to or over 100-degrees most every day. The sun beat through our thick cammie pants and dark “skivvy” shirts, but we grew accustomed to it and proud to be out there improving ourselves in spite of the uncomfortable circumstances. The “best” part was the scorching, sandy, and pebble-filled ground we used as our landing spot when we did our burpees, push-ups, crunches, and MCMAP falls.

(Caveat: For some reason, Marines put themselves in uncomfortable situations for the pleasure of having the mental toughness to overcome the discomfort. I hope that passion never leaves me. You’ll get a taste of it with this workout.)

The workout I liked the most, and the one that I incorporated into my own weekly routine while deployed is one that is completely customizable. If it’s too hard, decrease the number of sets or reps. If it is too easy, increase. It’s as simple as that!

This IS your workout for the day. It is High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT, or HIIT), much like what is used in Insanity, the “Turbo” section of Turbo Kick, Crossfit, and many group fitness classes. You don’t need to do anything on top of it, although you are surely welcome to add!

A little about HIT:

Definition: doing a number of short bursts of intense exercise with short recovery breaks in between.

This method of exercising has been proven to show the close to–if not the same–physical benefits as a long duration of exercise. Larger studies need to take place, but the Journal of Physiology agrees that you can get more by doing less.

But, not less intensity!

Let’s get going:

THE WORKOUT:

When you are ready to begin, start your stopwatch.

Every minute on the minute mark (1:00, 2:00, etc.), you will do the following exercises:

-15 squats (really fast- we’re not doing ball squats here-get as low as possible and then stand up at as rapid a pace as you can.)

-10 push-ups

-5 burpees (4 counts – squat down with hands on the floor, jump your legs out to push-up position, jump your legs back into your squat with hands on the floor, jump off the ground with your hands to the sky to strengthen that explosive leg tissue.)

Once you finish the final burpee, check your watch. It should have taken you less than a minute. If it took you longer, you can either decrease the number of repetitions or increase the amount of time between each set (possibly start every minute-and-a-half instead of every minute). I was consistently at the 27-30 sec mark when I was really good at it, which gave me long 30 seconds of rest before my next set.

Do this for at least 10 minutes and FEEL THE BURN!

Words of motivation: You CAN do this. You CAN go beyond what you think your mental limits are. Push through the workout for the first time and incorporate it into a weekly routine if you aren’t already doing HIT workouts. You will see improvement cadiovascularly and in the tone of your muscles (depending on what you do/eat the rest of your week, of course).

Post your successes here!

Reference:

1. Jonathan P Little, Adeel S Safdar, Geoffrey P Wilkin, Mark a Tarnopolsky, and Martin J Gibala. A practical model of low-volume high-intensity interval training induces mitochondrial biogenesis in human skeletal muscle: potential mechanisms. The Journal of Physiology, 2010; DOI: 10.1113/jphysiol.2009.181743