There is no turning back now! You’re deep into a consistent workout program that includes mobility, strength and cardiovascular exercises.

 

Up until this point, we’ve focused on moderate-intensity workouts. Today, we’ll explore how to effectively ramp up our workouts with high-intensity training.

High-intensity training is a workout style that involves periods of exercising intensely with an elevated heart rate that alternate with recovery periods. Here, we’ll do these exercises in conjunction with weighted resistance.

 

The biggest advantage of high-intensity training is efficiency. This type of workout delivers maximal calorie and fat burning in minimal time.

 

Any activity that gets you within 80% to 90% of your maximum heart rate is considered high intensity. To calculate your maximum heart rate, subtract your age from 220. Wearing a heart rate monitor will help you gauge your target zone.

 

High-intensity workout formats include:

• HIIT: High-intensity interval training is aptly named for its use of high-intensity exercise intervals broken up with periods of rest or active recovery. This is the most common form, serving as an umbrella term covering all specific styles.
• Tabata: Tabata drills, created by Japanese scientist Izumi Tabata, consist of the same exercise performed through eight rounds of 20 seconds of activity and 10 seconds of rest for a total of four minutes.
• Boxing: Because of boxing’s intense three-minute round, one-minute rest formula, it technically also falls into the HIIT category.

With high-intensity training, less is more and form is paramount! Take note that adding too much HIIT into your overall program could lead to burnout and injury. Leverage HIIT on days when you're short on time, no more than a few times weekly.

 

With all of HIIT’s advantages, it’s important to consider the risks, warns CNN fitness expert Dana Santas. Even short spurts of high-intensity exercise are exhausting. And as you get tired, it becomes more challenging to properly execute each move.

 

That’s why we’re sharing below safer alternatives to the burpee, a highly popular HIIT exercise. The burpee is actually multiple exercises done dynamically, often performed in rapid succession, that LA-based trainer Ben Bruno said in a CNN article is “a recipe for injury.” So pace yourself and ease up as you tire out.

 

Burpee alternative HIIT workout:

• Ten rounds of:
  • 10 push-ups (descending by 1 each round: 10, 9, 8 ... 1)
  • 10 goblet squats (descending by 1 each round: 10, 9, 8 ... 1)
  • 15 jumping jacks (remains constant: 15 each round)
  • 30 seconds of rest or less (try to decrease rest time as reps descend)

Select a weight for the squats that is challenging yet manageable through all 10 descending rounds.

 

Medicine-ball slam Tabata workout: 

• Eight rounds of:
  • 20 seconds of med-ball slams
  • 10 seconds of rest

Select the weight of your ball based on what you can safely raise overhead and slam hard enough to bounce and catch on each repetition. Don’t try to maintain the same rep count for every round; you will naturally slow down. Just try to keep your form through however many slams you can achieve.

 

For more details, check out Santas’ guide here.

Red alert: A sedentary lifestyle is worse for your health than smoking and heart disease, studies have shown. Fitness leads to longer life, researchers found; the benefits of exercise apply across all ages in men and women. Comparing those with a sedentary lifestyle to somebody who works out regularly, the risk of premature death was 390% higher. Just. Keep. Moving.

 

Did you know?

If the rat race has got you down, combat it with regular workouts. Cardio exercise can increase well-being and decrease psychological distress and emotional exhaustion, another study found. Resistance training was also notably effective in boosting a sense of personal accomplishment and reducing perceived stress.

Now that you’re more active, drink plenty of water. This humble liquid regulates body temperature, lubricates our joints and carries nutrients to cells. And, keeping up with your daily intake has the added benefit of making you get up from your chair regularly and move about to go to the bathroom.

 

The National Academy of Medicine recommends that women aim to consume 2.7 liters (91 ounces) of fluids daily, and men drink 3.7 liters (125 ounces). About 80% of our water intake comes from fluids and about 20% from foods, so that breaks down to a daily goal of about 9 cups of fluids for women and 12.5 cups for men. If you’re doing cardio, you’ll likely drink more.

The burnout crusher

Feeling depleted or even on the brink of burnout? Follow this routine from CNN contributor Stephanie Mansour, host of “Step It Up With Steph” on PBS, every other day. The moves in this workout combine cardio and strength training to fight off work anxiety and negativity.

 

For each movement, you’ll get to do a motion -- like stomping, kicking or punching -- that will help you visualize actually crushing burnout and getting rid of it. Syncing your mind with each move will help you focus and maintain proper form. Check out Mansour’s routine here.

Going high-tech with your workout routine can give you a gold mine of options. The Mirror is a giant, reflective screen that turns any room in your house into a home gym. For sure, this is an investment, but our partners at CNN Underscored, a product reviews and recommendations guide owned by CNN, like that it gives you access to thousands of workouts. Box, do Pilates, even do a family fun workout and more.

Phew! All this high-energy movement demands a lot from your body. That’s why recovery is an essential component of working out. We’ll close out our series next time by covering how and why recovery is the key to maximizing benefits and minimizing injury. See you back here soon!

 

Checklist to go:

• High-intensity training should be done no more than a few times weekly
• Stay hydrated
• Maintain form even if you have to slow down, which is inevitable

Important note: Before beginning any new exercise program, consult your doctor. Stop immediately if you experience pain.