My Daily Workout: High Intensity Interval Training

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Today was just cardio day for me. Oh how I love to hate cardio. Today though, I did it a little differently. I tried HIIT (high intensity interval training). It’s important to know that interval training is different from high intensity interval training. It was really intense, but the tough part was only 20 minutes and I enjoy getting through my cardio workouts as quickly as possible.

I’ve really started to realize how beneficial running is to your overall weight loss success. Mind you, I still have about 8 pounds I’m trying to lose. What I’ve been noticing is that by doing cardio at least 3 times a week, sometimes 4 or 5, I’m starting to finally lose the last bit of back fat from my pregnancies. I can’t squeeze as much as a I could a couple weeks ago. So even though I hate running and sprinting, I can see that it’s working and it keeps me motivated!

Here’s the cardio workout I did:

Warmup for 3 minutes @ 4 mph

Sprint for 20 seconds @ 9 mph, followed by 40 seconds at 5 mph (I repeated this cycle 20 times, until minute 23)

Cool down for 2 minutes @ 4 mph (I normally walk for at least 5 minutes at the end, but my littlest guy kept trying to touch the treadmill!)

I was dripping with sweat by the time I was done and burned 260 calories. :]

*Also just a note, when you’re doing the sprinting part, it’s advised to run as fast as you can for 20 seconds. So for you, it might be a little slower than 9 mph, or maybe faster. Sprint at a pace that is so fast you can barely run the entire 20 seconds.