Happy Wednesday! Get ready for some fun facts!
Did you know that if you do an intense set of cardio intervals, your body will continue to burn calories 2-4 hours after the workout? Interval cardio also burns more fat compared to low intensity cardio. It's no wonder that HIIT (high intensity interval training) is all the rage right now.
The past week I have incorporated intense intervals on the StairMaster into my workouts rather than doing low intensity long duration cardio sessions. Not only do these type of workouts go by faster, they are proven to be more effective.
I wanted to pop in this morning to share an interval cardio workout I did the other morning as well as a killer shoulder and tricep workout I did yesterday.
The above workout lasts for 40 minutes, but trust me, it goes by quickly.
Start off with a warmup from minutes 0-10. I climbed at a level 5 for 5 minutes and then a level 7 for another 5 minutes. 10 minutes in, I was warm and began my intervals. I climbed at level 12 for 45 seconds and recovered at a level 5 for 15 seconds. I did that interval for 10 minutes. I recovered at a level 5 for 5 minutes to prepare my body for the next burst of higher intensity intervals. They were similar to the first set but at a level 14 rather than 12. Finally, I cooled down for the last 5 minutes at a level 5.
I hope that all makes sense. You will have to adjust these levels according to your fitness level and they my also differ depending on the type of StairMaster you have access to.
Now on to some strength training...
I love this shoulder and tricep workout. This is the second time I've done it and I've gotten an intense burn/pump each time.
I did the first three exercises as a tri-set. I would do 10 lateral raises using both arms. Then I would do 10 lateral raises (each arm) alternating my arms. Then I would do the same thing with the front raises. For the last exercise of the tri-set, I would just do 10 normal shoulder presses. I repeated this tri-set five times.
I did my upright rows in a 5/10 format. So 5 sets of 10 reps with 10 seconds rest in between each set.
Now for triceps, I just did 5 sets of 20 reps of overhead extensions using a dumbbell. After that I moved over to use the cables for some pressdowns. I did my pressdowns in a pyramid; 20 reps, then 30...all the way up to 50 reps.
If I counted correctly, that is 400 reps of shoulders and 240 reps of triceps! It burned so good!
Give these workouts a try, I promise they're killer...in the best way possible!
I'm off to do my morning cardio and get a glute workout in (because humpday). I'll be stopping by a bit later to share my latest What I Bought Wednesday post. Have a great morning!Labels: Workouts
