"You're an insruance salesman; you're practically the devil!"

HIIT -- Try it!

Hello,

Since I seem to rarely log into my blog, I thought I should take time out of my busy schedule to tell you about a new workout I discovered while reading an old Muscle & Fitness magazine I found in my old bedroom at my parents' house. I was flipping through the pages and I saw a large blue and yellow special piece on something called "HIIT" (High Intensity Interval Training). The article was on a form of HIIT, called Tabata, which is the brain child of the Japanese. It calls for 8 sets of 20 second maximum effort repetitions. (So, you perform an exercise for twenty seconds for eight sets) The catch is that you only take a 10 second break between each set. It's INSANE!

Yesterday, I did the chest workout which consisted of Push-Ups, Incline Bench Press, Flat Bench Dumbbell Press, and cable crossovers. All of these are done at 8 sets for 20 seconds, with the 10 second break between sets. After your chest is destroyed you move onto abs, which consists of the reverse crunch and crunches, also for the 8/20/10 mentioned earlier.

After the workout was over I was wiped out entirely. I went home and slept for probably 3 hours. I ate a chicken salad sandwich and drank a protein shake to recover. It was a good gym day.

Today, I was still sore from yesterday's colossal chest workout. I focused on my legs today. The Tabata workout called for Squats, Leg presses, Leg extensions, and Leg curls. I finished up with calves doing both standing and seated calf raises. All of the exercises, again, use the 8/20/10 routine. Needless to say, since the thighs are the biggest muscles in your body, I burned a lot of energy today and had an amazing workout. I love being soaked in sweat when leaving the gym (Unless it's cold outside... that's never good). I would give this work out a try. It is in the April 2009 edition of Muscle & Fitness magazine.

Until next time...

Travis Sterling