Bonjour!
I hope you all had a good start to your week! The weather has been a bit… dreary here in Chicago recently, which Molly can attest to:
Since snow and ice have kept me away from the lakefront (a few other reasons as well), I’ve been doing almost all of my runs on the treadmill. I actually LOVE doing short runs on the treadmill because I can mess with the speed and make it more fun. Last week I put together this HIIT run for you all!
Why would you want to do an HIIT run versus a steady state run? Well, according to Shape, there are 7 main benefits to HIIT running:
1. Efficiency – You can easily shave 5 – 10 minutes off a run by adding in sprints to your regular “easy” pace, depending on the distance of the run.
2. Burn more fat – HIIT running increases your after burn, so you’re burning more fat for a longer period of time after the run.
3. Healthier heart – adding sprints into your routine increases your anaerobic capabilities, which helps your heart health.
4. No equipment necessary – you can do all kinds of cardio HIIT workouts (think burpees, jump squats, etc) with out equipment. To make it easy for running, alternate between jogging and sprinting for a certain time period or distance.
5. Lose weight, but not muscle – research shows that HIIT cardio exercises don’t cause you to lose muscle, which steady state can do.
6. Increase metabolism – HIIT cardio increases the production of Human Growth Hormone in your body after your workout. HGH is responsible for both increased caloric burn.
7. You can do it anywhere – HIIT running just requires somewhere to run, but if you do other cardio moves for an HIIT workout, you can do it anywhere from your apartment to a hotel room, or outside in a park! Great workout for traveling.
So now you know you should incorporate HIIT workouts into your routine, but how should you do it? Check out my 3 Mile HIIT Run!
This workout was performed on a treadmill, but if you’re outside and without a garmin, just base your speeds of off effort. You can also spring/jog for certain time intervals, or distances. When I do HIIT running in the city, I’ll sprint a block, jog a block, and so on. If you’re not a runner or you’re injured, you can also turn this into an elliptical or bike workout!
Do you incorporate HIIT runs into your workout routine?
Anyone else been experiencing some dreary weather that makes you want to hide inside?