October: HIIT and Pilates

Read Also: 2 Weeks & 4 Weeks

Fun Rating: ★★☆☆☆    Difficulty Rating: ★★★★☆     Results Rating: ★★★★☆

   This month I'm returning to the internet for my workout. As with Kickbox Fusion, I received another workout in my inbox from Fitness Magazine (US) which is supposed to be quite effective if you eat properly throughout. The Slimmer in 7 Days plan, combining HIIT and Pilates.

   High intensity interval training (HIIT) is a type of workout that deals with - you guessed it - intervals. You go hard, you go fast, and then you stop. And then you do it again. The most basic type of interval training is running as fast as you can for 2 minutes then walking for 3 and repeating it for 20 minutes. The idea is that the speed burst increases the lactic acid in your muscles and your body works hard to get rid of it. You breathe harder and faster when you've finished those 2 minutes as your body tries to recover, and just as it begins to, you start again. It's not for the faint hearted. Another form of HIIT is Tabata, which is perhaps the most intense, working hard for 20 seconds and resting for 10, for a duration of 4 minutes. It's the toughest thing I've ever done.

   This month is a mixture of two separate workouts, however. The first is a HIIT method with kettlebells, and for once I'm unfamiliar with about 4 out of the 5 movements, which is a good thing because it means that, while it'll be tough, it'll genuinely be something new for my body to confront. This workout is done 3 times a week.

   The second workout is pilates-based, so while it's more low-key it's still tough, and, again, I'm unfamiliar with most if not all of the movements. This workout is also done 3 times a week, but the trick is to alternate them. HIIT one day, pilates the next, and so on. I've always tried to mix cardio and strength, but I've only recently (in the past two weeks) started to alternate them by day.

   I'm excited for this workout because it's hailed as being effective, and after the same was said about the 30 Day Shred and the success I had with that both times, I've got high hopes. Having said that, I will also admit that I'm not looking forward to it because it doesn't look particularly enjoyable. Some people will argue that exercise is work, not fun, but I disagree. Enjoying what you're doing keeps you at it, keeps you enthusiastic and that in turn can up your energy while doing it, and I've enjoyed almost everything I've done this year and had great success with it. The only thing I haven't enjoyed is the shred, but I stuck with it and repeated it because it worked so damn well. I'm hoping for something similar with this.

As always, I'll mention it again in 2 weeks!