Normal Run vs. HIIT Run...HIIT it!!!

Normal Run

HIIT Run

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

    your works are wonderful, I know that full well.- Psalm 139:14

Here's a side by side comparison of one of my normal runs vs. yesterday's high intensity interval run.  Lots of slowing down and speeding up and even a couple stops to mop off the sweat from top to bottom.  Still, I burned almost 70% more with HIIT than my normal run.  That's only DURING the workout.  The great news is your body/engine/metabolism is still revving AFTER the workout!  Double bonus!  So go HIIT it today!  

A couple things I wanted to share that helped make this possible:  

1) Warm up.  Be in the moment.  Don't overwhelm yourself with how far/long you have to run.  Just move.  Slowly get warmed up and wake your body, mind and legs up.  Bodies at rest want to stay at rest.  It takes the most energy starting from zero.  

2) Mentally break the run up.  45 minutes is a long time for a lot of people.  But 10 minutes isn't.  Your goal should be to reach your 10 minute mark.  Once you've done that, give yourself another 10 minute goal.  When you've hit 2 goals, you've not only warmed up but you're feeling like something has been accomplished here. So what's another 10 minutes?  

3) You can't be fit and starve yourself.  Have a small, easy to digest high protein meal/snack with a high quality carb.  Fruit is my ultimate go to carb.  A great option would be to combine fruit with a whey protein smoothie, cottage cheese, greek yogurt or  egg/egg whites.  Have another serving ready to consume after your workout as well.  Pre and post workout fuelings are extremely crucial to your success.  

4) Welcome to the wonderful world of endorphins.  There is nothing like feeling like you're one bad super running machine!  I was pretty pumped towards the end and afterwards.  Wiped down, hydrated, then wrapped up with 15 minutes of an intense chest workout.  Nothing complicated.  (You can see the workout here.)  Pick a challenging weight. If you can easily do 20, you should increase the weight.  The great thing about focusing is quality.  You're just doing 3 chest exercises, so this allows you to really spend time doing it right.  Slow down your movements. Control both the push and pull motions. 

You DON'T have to devote hours a day to working out to get results!  Focus.  Push yourself.  Make it count and LEAVE NOTHING IN YOUR TANK!