Get ready to take your workout outside!

There is nothing better than getting your dose of essential nutrients and fresh air now that the days are longer and warmer. Exercising outdoors is very beneficial for the mind, as well as the body.  Exercising inside a gym can fixate the mind within that space and provides no mental stimulation.  This can have the tendency to make you feel bored and unmotivated.  However, exercising outside stimulates your senses and connects your mind and body, which is a perfect way to fight boredom!

There have been numerous studies done to compare exercising indoors vs. outdoors.  When evaluating exercise indoors and exercising in natural environment, research shows there is more of an improvement in mental well-being when workouts are done outside.  The natural environment provides a greater feeling of revitalization, increased energy, and positive engagement. A study from www.sciencedaily.com also showed a larger decrease in tension, confusion, and depression when exercising outside vs. inside.  Exercising in general increases all these factors, but taking your workout outdoors substantially increases these benefits.  Even the Environmental Protection Agency estimates that indoor air is more than twice polluted as outdoor air.

Wind, gravity, ground reactions, and varied terrain are some factors why a study found that exercising outdoors can increase the calories burned by 5 – 7percent more per workout.  Our bodies are required to use more muscles outside than traditional gym-based workout programs.  Fluctuating temperatures can also cause you to burn more calories because the body has to work harder to stabilize the core temperature to remain at 98.6 degrees.

Increasing the body’s intake of Vitamin D gained from sunlight, fresh air, freedom of movement, using more muscles, more caloric output, and positive mental stimulation seems much more appealing than strip florescent lights and non stimulating confinements of a typical gym setting.   Having a positive outlook on things makes me think of one of my favorite quotes: “As we change the way we look at things the things we look at change.” All these things can be life changing

Join me for Outdoor HIIT beginning June 7^th, 2011 in North Raleigh, NC.  Details can be found on www.OutdoorHIIT.com or as always, send me an email at Krystal@KrystalReynolds.com for more information. 

***If you would like to have Outdoor HIIT program come to your area, we are willing to accommodate you! All you need is 5 or more people that want to get RESULTS while having fun! Pick the location, time, and dates wanted, then we can start to transform you body***

Feel free to leave any comments or feeback below, I am always listening

The purpose of High Intensity Interval Training

The key to improving your fitness level is to shock your body.  If you stick to walking or running on the treadmill for 60 minutes at the same pace, or even lifting weights with the same old routine, the body will adapt to what you are doing.  You need to overload your body beyond what it is accustomed to in order to get better results.

High Intensity Interval Training is any exercise performed at a high intensity for a short period time followed by a rest period.  HIIT is an excellent way to maximize a workout that is limited on time. If you train intensely in short bouts, you can get more benefits in less time.

Some mistakenly believe the best way to burn fat is to workout at a low-to -moderate intensity (staying between 65%-85% of your max heart rate zone), for longer periods of time to burn body fat.  What some may not know is the total energy expenditure is higher when working out for shorter bursts of high-intensity exercise followed by a low intensity recovery throughout the work out.  In other words, the total amount of fat burned is greater doing HIIT for 30 minutes as opposed to strolling on a treadmill for 60 minutes. 

You can take any cardio activity and perform intervals. For example, you can take your workout outdoors using a park, track, or bleachers. Start to jog for the first 4-5 minutes to warm up, then go into a sprint for 30-45 seconds, go back into a jog or fast walk for just 30 seconds to a minute to recover and repeat. Instead of just sprinting, you can do “high knees,” “side shuffles,” “plyometric skips,” and “leap frogs” for 30 seconds each (just to name a few).  This will keep your body guessing and targeting different muscle groups. You can perform high intensity intervals cycling, swimming, on the treadmill, elliptical, and even the rowing machine.  The lists of options are endless.

Aside from being a huge time saver, HIIT creates a longer post-workout fat burning reaction in the metabolism by increasing the resting metabolic rate (RMR) for the following 24-36 hours due to excess post-exercise oxygen consumption. This means, the more intense your workout, the longer you will burn off fat after the workout is completed. When there is an increase in exercise intensity, there is also an increase in the release of human growth hormone.  Human growth hormone is known to decrease body fat and increase lean muscle.

Interval training may feel uncomfortable because of the lactic acid build up (burning sensation when pushing muscles to the next level), causing many people to resist the challenge. With the understanding of how HIIT can save time, rev up the metabolism, produce more growth hormone, stimulate fat loss, change your body and your cardiovascular fitness, you will shock your body and take your results to the next level.

Please let me know any comments or questions, I’m always listening!