High Intensity Interval Training, a guest post.

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High-Intensity Interval Training, a guest post.

We all know that we should exercise in one way or another. The benefits are endless, but unfortunately, our time for working out isn’t.

According to American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), a well-rounded workout routine should comprise the following, on a weekly basis:

  • Cardiorespiratory Exercise
    • Where we work with condition and raised pulse
  • Resistance Exercise
    • Where we work with strength
  • Flexibility Exercise
    • Where we work with mobility and flexibility
  • Neuromotor Exercise
    • Functional/natural movements just by looking at the list, I can easily imagine a lot of you think, “How am I supposed to be able to find time for all that exercising?”

Going to the gym can easily take a couple of hours when you calculate the preparing, commuting, and waiting time as well. So, if we want to fulfill the recommendations from ACSM, we can easily look into several hours a week for that purpose.  Of course, very few fitness professionals will tell you that because what should they live off? But in this article, I will give you three workouts that will fulfill most recommendations from ACSM, and the good thing is that it will only take you 20 mins and a jump rope. Curious how that’s possible? Well, let me tell you.

HIIT

Maybe you have heard about High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)?  Sprint as fast as possible for 20 secs, then rest for 10 secs – repeat 8 times. Here, we measure the intensity of the heart rate, and when working with HIIT, we want to be above 90% of max heart rate. When doing HIIT, we want to work in the range of 90-100% of the max pulse, which means HIIT is terribly hard. Therefore, it’s also critical that you consult a doctor before starting with HIIT – just like with any other form of a new workout.

So what are the benefits then?

As you can probably understand, we can’t do HIIT for that long, considering we work with very high intensity, so you will normally be done in less than 10 minutes.

When HIIT is done correctly, meaning with a heart rate above 90% of max, many things can be found. Some are:

  • Our max pulse can normally be calculated by this formula (age – 220). Or if you have a pulse clock, you can find it by working out as hard as possible and then seeing how high your pulse gets.
  • I have now mentioned high intensity a couple of times, but what do I mean by that?
  • This is called the Tabata protocol and is one of the more famous protocols. There are, of course, other protocols, but common for them all are that we work with high intensity for a set period, then rest and repeat.
  • Exactly as it says, HIIT is about working out with very high intensity in intervals. Let me give you an example.
  • What is HIIT and what are the benefits?

The chances are big, as it has become extremely popular over the last couple of years. This is not because it’s something new, since athletes have used HIIT for many years. However, with recent research, we are now starting to understand all the benefits we can get from HIIT. The good news is that it doesn’t!

However, does it really have to be that difficult?

That is why many people give up, and yet we haven’t even mentioned the expenses for a gym membership and commuting.

  • Improved cardiorespiratory fitness
    • Results have shown the same improvements with a 10 min HIIT session as with a 1-hour aerobic session
  • Development of anaerobic fitness level
    • Not seen in traditional aerobic workouts
  • More efficient for fat loss – especially belly fat
  • Can easily be combined with resistance & neuromotor exercises   I have created mine from these requirements.
  • The only equipment needed is a jump rope. A jump rope is excellent to get the pulse up.
  • Should include resistance and neuromotor exercises Also, make sure to warm up properly. If you don’t have a good warm-up routine, you can find one here.

Intermediate jump rope HIIT workout

  • Work for 45 secs, then rest 15 secs and repeat for 8 rounds. Round 2&6: Max Push-ups (On knees is fine)Round 4&8: Max Mountain Climbers  We work short intervals and therefore need to push extremely hard.Work for 20 secs, then rest 10 secs and repeat for 8 rounds Round 1,3,5,7: Max double under – jump rope passes twice below our feet. There you go. Now you know how to do a jump rope HIIT workout that will save you time, but still cover most recommendations from ACSM. The above exercises can be done 2-3 times a week for best results.
  • I wish you all the best with your new way of working out.
  • HIIT can be done in many variations and with different exercises. If you are looking for more, you can find some examples here.
  • Also, make sure you do a cool down. Walking or stretching is fine, but don’t just stop after the HIIT workout.
  • Round 2,4,6,8: Max Burpees
  • Heart rate around 95-100% of max
  • Here, we work according to a Tabata protocol.

Advanced jump rope HIIT workout

  • Round 3&7: Max Squat’s
  • Round 1&5: Max Jump ropes
  • Heart rate around 90% of max
  • As mentioned earlier, you shouldn’t start with HIIT if you know you have any health issues. See a doctor if you are unsure.
  • One intermediate workout and one advanced
  • No longer than 10 minutes
  • HIIT can be done with different exercises, as long as they can get our pulse up.

Jump rope HIIT workout

I hope by now you are just as excited about HIIT as I am. If that’s the case, let me show you three types of HIIT workouts.

My name is Henrik Nielsen.

I’m a co-owner and head coach at CrossFit Landskrona in Sweden.

I’m also the founder of Fits-Me which delivers online bodyweight training for any fitness level.

A very nice infographic  of our exercises can be seen here