Saturday Fitness Post: High Intensity Interval Training - HIIT

Sorry for being so absent in blogging world, I'll do my best to improve :) In today's Saturday Fitness Post I talk about High Intensity Interval Training.

What is HIIT?
High Intensity Interval Training or HIIT is an interval exercise strategy alternating periods of intense anaerobic exercise with short recovery time in between (rest). HIIT can vary from 4 minutes to half an hour. Workout is short, but intense, it improves conditioning, boosts your metabolism and helps with burning fat.

Source: Pinterest.

How to HIIT?
Because HIIT should be intense workout, the best way to start it is to warm up your body. This will prevent any muscle or joint injuries, will also awaken your body and prepare you for the workout. For an actual workout is best to have an interval timer (I believe that you can also get an app for your smart phone), set the intervals, get yourself into a comfortable clothes, place an exercise mat on the floor if needed, have a water bottle close, and get your equipment ready if you'll be using any during a workout. While you workout you won't have any time to grab those things, so make sure you have everything ready. I wrote a post how to workout: HERE.
After a workout don't forget to cool down your body and stretch to prevent any major muscle pain.

Source: Pinterest.

Benefits of HIIT

Firstly, HIIT has been proven to be the most effective way of exercising to burn fat. It has a long after burn even when you rest (24 hours after a workout). You just have to make sure to push yourself to your maximum level to achieve best and fast results.

Secondly, you don't actually need any equipment. To have an intense full body workout all you need is to know some basic body weight exercises. For example: 10 seconds of rest - prepare yourself for the next exercise, 50 seconds of work - doing push ups, 10 secs of rest, 50 secs of squat jumps, 10 secs of rest, 50 secs of burpees etc. until you finish. Equipment, such as dumbbells, kettlebells or pull ups can be nice edition and make your workout more challenging, but they are really not needed. Main focus should be on pushing hard and keeping a good form, not on how to contract a muscle while doing bicep curls. Since you don't need any equipment, you can perform HIIT anywhere. Small hotel room - no problem - 7 minutes of burpees is a great workout. You can always adapt it to the time and space you're dealing with.

Thirdly, HIIT workouts give you energy and lift up your mood. HIIT will not exhaust your body for the rest of the day (long hours of fitness can do that), after you take a shower, you should feel energized and ready to take over the world :).

Another point is that HIIT workouts are short and can save you tons of time, so they're perfect for a busy schedule. Research has shown that 15 minutes HIIT is more efficient than 1 hour treadmill jogging.

Lastly, you won't be bored, because workout is challenging. It doesn't allow you to watch TV, read magazines or update your facebook status. You should be sweating your ass of and swearing in your head :), your should be in pain (good pain that is :)) and be 110% focused on your performance. Allow yourself to have that time for yourself, it takes less than half an hour. Your body will thank you.


If you have any more questions, feel free to ask :)

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Saturday Fitness Post: How to workout

Getting a little bit basic today. How to workout or should I call it "preparation" before workout.

Source: Pinterest.

1. Get your workout clothes on and get your hair out of the way. Wear comfortable and breathable clothes and trainers, because you'll sweat and your skin needs to breath. If you get all sticky and uncomfortable, you won't be able to give it your maximum.

2. Prepare bottle of water, workout note book, pen, workout equipment, exercise mat, towel ... Whatever you'll need during the workout, because you won't have time to reach for those items while exercising. It unnecessarily consumes time and distracts you. If you go to the gym, it's good to have all those items in there, so you avoid long preparations before going to the gym. Just grab it and go ;)

3. Plan out your routine for that day. I always write down in my notebook which exercises I'm doing and how they follow each other, this way I stay focused on a workout and rest between exercises is minimum - to take a sip of water if needed, to write down the reps and to prepare myself for next exercise.

Source: Pinterest

4. Turn off your mobile phone, computer, TV ... This is not time to talk to people, look at your Twitter or watch your favourite show/series/movie/YouTube videos ... Workout should be your alone time to give it 110 %, and to give that maximum, you have to be disconnected. Computer, phone or TV can be on only in case if you listen to the music to exercise to and if you're following a workout video :)

5. This one is optional, but preparing a post workout meal before an actual workout. Couple of days ago I did my stretching after a workout and still in my workout clothes I went to the kitchen an prepared everything for a meal, put veg into an oven and took a shower. After that dinner was served in 10 minutes :)

Do you have any more basic tips on "how to workout" or "how to prepare everything to workout"?

Have a lovely Saturday.

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ZCUT Power Cardio DVDs review

Today's review is a little bit different, because it's health and fitness related, but I hope you like it anyways. I've been following Zuzana Light for many years now. I respect her and been doing her workouts almost on daily basis. So I decided to order her ZCUT Power Cardio Series DVDs, she released in March if I'm not mistaken. I knew I needed to include more cardio, I just didn't find a fun and short way to do it. Zuzana reads my mind ;)

3 DVDs + calendar

DVD set comes with 3 DVDs and easy to follow 30 day calendar poster for first month. Each DVD has 4 workouts, warm up routine, cool down & stretching routine and ab bonus workout. So that equals 12 different cardio workouts total, 1 ab workout, which is the same on all 3 DVDs, same goes for warm up and stretching after a workout.

You get a workout breakdown before an actual workout, so you know exactly what are you doing. Zuzana before real time workout, shows an explains you proper form and how many reps you have to make. Now that I already know the warm up routine, I usually watch explanation part whilst I warm up ;).

Warm up routine is dynamic, nothing like a warm up I was used to do before, but it's effective. I usually already start sweating doing it. Cool down and stretching routine is usually my best part, rolling on the floor, sweaty and sticky ;)

Last side of 1st DVD.

Now to the actual workouts ...
Like I said, there are 12 workouts, mainly cardio, but they are amazing strength wise as well, so you won't lose your muscles while doing cardio. You have different types of workouts:

• time challenge workouts: have to complete all exercises and reps in shortest amount of time. You write it down in calendar and try to finish faster next time doing it;
• interval training: they have no rest in between. You do one exercise for 30 or 40 seconds, then move to next one until time is up;
• tabata training: it's basically interval training, but you have 10 seconds rest in between exercises;
• as many rounds as possible (amrap): 10 minutes countdown. You have to push really hard and try to finish as many rounds as possible.

All workouts take around 12 minutes. The shortest workout is the first one, my record was 7 minutes 53 seconds, the longest workout took me 15 minutes 50 seconds. With warm up and cool down all together lasts around 20 - 25 minutes. And that's all what you need to do for workout in a day! I was thinking which workout I love most, but I just couldn't decide which one to pick! I like them all equally, even though I swear in my head a little while doing them! ;)

Calendar is easy to follow.

Best part? All workouts are REAL TIME, so you can follow along with her or you can try to do better than her or you could do them on your own. I've noticed that I push harder if I see her pushing hard along with me, and I always try to be few reps before her ;). You see her doing workouts with struggle. She starts doing push ups from her knees, or complains how it hurts ... She makes it real! That's why I love her. And her form is perfection. I think that's her trade mark - excellent form.

Another best part :P is that all workouts are BODY WEIGHT - no equipment needed. You basically need only a chair (couch will do too ;)) and stack of books (or imaginary object :P) to jump over it.

She wasn't in her best shape when she filmed these DVDs if you compare her to how she looks now. I think these makes her even more amazing, because that means her workouts and diet tips work.

Whole calendar.

The calendar that came with the DVDs is easy to follow, you have written which workout to do on certain day and you have 7 skinny tips total written on active rest days. You can do ab bonus workouts on these day, or do one of her ZWOWs (you can find them on her YT channel: here) or go for a walk, do yoga ... Or take day off to recover - listen to your body. Underneath the schedule you have before and after photo spot, so you can compare them at the end of the month and you can write down you stats for each week - weight, waist, arm, leg. I also measured my hips, calves and bust line.

Zuzana also followed first month calendar and did video for each day, you can find her videos with tips on her YouTube channel: here.

 
Do I recommend ZCUT Power Cardio DVD series?
YES, YES, YES. I bet some of the workouts are more intense than Insanity workouts! I recommend them to all who want to lose fat/weight and don't have a lot of time to workout. They are easy to travel with, you don't need Internet connection + they come in environment friendly packaging.

Price? $15,95 + p&p = it was around 20€, which I think it's reasonable price. I received the package in about 2 weeks. You can buy them on Amazon: HERE.

Oh, and I almost forgot to share my results for first month!
I weighted myself even though this is not my prefered method, but I lost 2,5 kgs, I've seen most changes around my belly, muffin tops are smaller and I lost some fat on my back. Legs are the most stubborn part of my body, fat wise :D. I lost 3 cms in my waist, 1 cm in my arm, 2 cms in my leg and 0,5 cms in my left calf. I'm impressed to be honest. My diet was as always: did my best to eat clean, gluten free vegetarian diet.

I didn't take first picture topless, I just covered my bra :D
From left to right: 1st day of Zcut, 1 month after, 1st day of Zcut, 1 month after.

Have you heard of Zuzka Light before? Do you follow her? Will you buy these DVDs? What kind of cardio routine do you do?

Saturday Fitness Progress: 1 centimeter is still a progress

Hello, my Fit peeps! How are you doing today? It's snowing here again and I am sick and tired of this winter weather. I need sun, mmm-kay?

 

Source: Pinterest

Anyways, I posted my first Fitness Progress Saturday post exactly one month ago( you can read it here: click), and this month was hectic for me. I was studying and doing other assignments most of the time, had insomnia and my energy was low during the day. Highlight of the day was doing a workout, which sometimes wasn't the best performance because lack of energy, that's why I didn't exercise some days. Also, when I am tired I usually eat more, even though I eat healthy, I still need to stick to portion sizes!

However, this month taught me that sleep is your numero uno friend. I felt disgusting in the morning, skin looked dull, I felt bloated. Secondly, don't eat food just because you feel sorry for yourself because you need to study! Now that I passed my exam (still not finished with uni though), my sleep is back to normal, I eat healthy, energy for working out and for other daily activities is getting back to normal as well. And now to the measurement ... (measurements are in centimeters)

	9 Jan 2013	9 Feb 2013
Upper arm	31	31
Bust line	96	96
Waist	84	82 (-2 cm)
Hips	105	105
Thighs	63	63
Left calf	43	43

 
So measurement haven't drastically changed, now I can really see how stress and not sleeping properly effect my body. But still, one centimeter (two are even better!!:)) is still a progress. I mean, I could write down lower numbers, but I would be lying only to myself.

Good thing is that I feel tighter all over. Skin is better looking and my arms look buffer :). I haven't practiced any of the exercises I want to become pro at, but I'll be more consistent this time! Still doing a lot of planking (I hold plank for 1 minute 45 seconds now :)), squats, burpees and lunges ...

 "Before and after"

I wish you all a happy healthy weekend! You deserve it ;)

Workout routine: the workout

I decided to do whole series around my workout routine: the workout, pre-workout, post-workout routine, favourite workout, why do I workout, gear etc. Let's start with the workout today. I will introduce you to some of my favourite workout routines and how I got introduced to working out.

My all time favourite workout routine is HIIT workout (high intensity interval training). This means short time (from 10 - 20 minutes), but you have to give it your maximum, workout should feel intense. I am not "one hour in the gym" girl. I like my workouts to be short, intense and fun. Also, fast anaerobic workout boosts your metabolism and you are burning calories for a long time after you finished your workout. You don't need any equipment (I use basic), so it's actually for free.

My workout diary and Gymboss interval timer.

I got introduced to HIIT when I discovered BodyRock.tv. After that I started working out on regular basis. I didn't had an interval timer when I started but I always managed to do a workout. I also did most of them in modified version, I was in such a bad shape, let me tell you.

BodyRock.tv YouTube channel: click

BodyRock.tv blog: click

I like bodyweight workouts, no equipment needed or minimal equipment, that's why I don't like BodyRock workouts so much anymore. I still follow them and get inspired by their videos, blog, pictures they post (I like their yoga flow workouts a lot though), but I prefer Zuzka Light's workouts much more (she is one of the co-founders of BodyRock and she started her own Youtube channel). She's my superhero! :)

Zuzka Light Youtube channel: click

Jillian Michales 30 day shred is also HIIT, which I have also tried. It's fun, but I can't imagine I could be doing same workout for 10 days in a row (there are 3 levels, you suppose to do every level for 10 days). I like dynamic thing, like mixing up my workouts, so I don't get sick and tired of it.

In general, I really like lifting weights and skipping with a jump rope. I like having strong arms, which I never had in my life. You can use weight in many other ways, too. They are so handy (I will tell you about that in "my gear" post). And skipping is such a great cardio training, you can burn much more calories with it than with running.

I bought You are your own gym book last year and it covers basically everything you need to know about nutrition, why bodyweight exercises, what is "fitness", expains some myths, and the most important part: it has explained exercises and also a program for workingout. I recommend this book, it's a good starting point!

You can buy it here: click

I go jogging every now and then, but it's not so fun. I prefer going for long walks, walking is such a great cardio and always helps me to clear my mind.

 I got this book about yoga as a gift from a friend. Thanks :) <3

This summer I discovered yoga, I've been doing it every now and then when I don't feel like sweating too much, but I still want to do a badass workout. Yoga is great for your body and soul (well, I would say that any other workout is), it's good for toning your muscles and flexibility. And you can lose weight with yoga, too. I was actually thinking about taking a yoga class.

Here are some sites/YT channels I like to follow:

YogaJournal.com videos: click

Sadie Nardini Youtube channel: click

Now, that I have been working out for quite a few years now, I usually put together my own workout. I always combine cardio and strength training. Some days I do just cardio or extra cardio after the main workout, or I incorporate some of my equipment or I just do bodyweight. However I feel like it.

Official Gymboss interval timer site: click. I bought it on eBay though.

I believe there are interval timer apps for your phone, but I'm not familiar with those.

I do interval training, for example: 10 seconds of rest to write down my reps or take a sip of water and 50 seconds of work, 12 rounds in total, that means 12 minute long workout.
Or I do workout for time, for example I do 10x pushups, 20x jump squats, 10x pull ups, 30x side lunge jumps (this is one cycle) and I repeat that 5 times. When I finish I stop my timer and write the time down in my workout diary.
Third option is that I do for example the same exercises as I written before (pushups, jump squats ...) but I do a countdown, usually 12 - 15 minutes and try to do as many rounds a possible within that time.
I make sure I always give it my maximum effort. This is the most important thing about HIIT.

Other Youtube channels I follow:

Blogilates: click

TheLeanMachines: click

LeanSecrets: click

ToneItUpCom: click

I have never gone to a gym, ever. I hate working out in crowded places anyways. When I do my workout is just me and I, so I can give 110 %. And that's basically it :).

What kind of workout do you do? Have you ever tried HIIT? Yoga?

Have a lovely day,

What I ate Friday + workout OTD

I realized I haven't posted any "what I ate" posts in a long long time. I decided to do that today :). This post is kinda related to getting in the best shape for my birthday, so you get an idea what I eat on an ordinary day.

Breakfast: half of Greek yogurt, handful of mixed nuts, one nectarine, one spoon of honey and of course a cup of green tea. Yum! (and of course I accidentally deleted picture of my breakfast. I wouldn't be Deja if I haven't done something wrong or forgotten something. Silly me :))

WOTD (workout of the day that is :)):
I kept it kinda old school and simple.
First part had three main exercises: jump lunges or switch lunges (however you'd like to call them), tricep dips and squat jumps (regular squat with a jump when you come back up). I did 16 repetitions for each exercise and in between I did 4 burpees (squat down, hand on the floor in front of you, jump your feet back, do a push up, jump your feet forward and jump up). I completed whole sequence three times in 9 minutes and 44 seconds.
Second part was 10 minutes of random ab, butt and leg exercises.
Third part was wall sit for 3 minutes and held plank for 45 seconds (and my record is 3 minutes. lol)

Post-workout shake: chocolate protein shake with half of banana.

Lunch: green salad, rucola, 6 olives, half of avocado, half of tomato, mozzarella cheese, salt, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, mixed spices.

Afternoon snack: two corn waffles with little bit of Greek yogurt, honey, half of banana that was left from morning and shake of cinnamon. I would use peanut butter and honey, but I ran out of peanut butter, and my next "project" is to make homemade peanut butter :)

Dinner: omelette (one whole egg, two egg whites) with mixed veggies (zucchini, onion, carrot, rucola, green pepper and tomato) + evening tea :)

I usually have 4-6 meals per day, it really depends on when I wake up and what I do during the day.

Do you like this kind of posts?

xoxo Deja

May challenge

(I can't believe it's already May)

It's time for a new challenge!! I love them as you may know :).

It's very simple and I'll explain it to you very shortly.

You probably have a piggy bank at home. Now it's time to use it, if you haven't used it ever before :D. 

You will have to do a workout every single day of May. Do yoga, go for a jog, do hundred burpees, three hundred squats (yeah, it was a good idea, the next day I couldn't walk :D),go hiking, go to fitness, do BodyRock, be a Warrior ... Whatever you like. And you will need 1€ every day. Because for every workout you do, you will put 1€ in your piggy bank.

So, if you do a workout every single day, at the end of the month you will have 31 €. And you can go to a sport store and buy yourself a new sexy shorts or a sports bra, they can be pretty expensive.

Or you can go in a makeup store and treat yourself with some nice lipstick or two. 

Or buy anything else that makes you happy. Whatever you want. Just don't buy candy or junk food :P

I start tomorrow and I will be happy if you join me. :)

Hope you had a lovely Monday,

xoxo Deja