Spotlight on: As One

Hi everyone!

I hope you're all enjoying the week. I'm looking forward to some much-needed R&R with my parents and brother--we're off to Cape Cod on vacation. I'm really looking forward to our time away together, especially because getting away from it all to unwind and recharge is such a crucial component to living a fitness-able life. If you don't take that time for yourself, how will you find the energy to work out to your fullest potential?!

Now let's get down to FITNESS! This past Tuesday evening, I had the opportunity to attend a fitness meet-up sponsored by Lolë, Hudson River Park, and FITiST. As part of the Summer of Fitness event series, the fitness meet-ups offer free yoga, boot camp, core training and boxing-themed classes, taught by various qualified instructors. The word 'free' always appeals to me, but the coolest part about this series is the variety of workouts and the quality of the studios and instructors who participate. Many of the meet-ups feature workouts hosted by super-swanky, exclusive studios that may not be affordable to the general public. These events are great because they eliminate the single most frustrating element of fitness--inaccessibility--and highlight one of its best: group exercise.

The class I took was lead by George and Mark from As One fitness center, and they lead us through a tough HIIT routine that consisted of 8 exercises repeated for 8 rounds with thirty seconds rest in between each set. We did squats, push ups, squats with hands over head, rower sit ups, backward alternating lunges, planks, and last but certainly not least, my beloved burpees! There were several moments when I thought I just couldn't push out another second of a plank or another rep of lunges. To make the time go by faster (and distract myself from any bodily pain I was experiencing), I kept repeating those cheesy mantras over and over in my head to get me through, like: "It's mind over matter;" and "Pain is weakness leaving the body;" and even "Fatigue is your body adapting," (I stole that one from Mark!). It's amazing how much a little inner motivation can propel you to complete that last set, lap, or rep!
At the end of the workout, I felt like a million bucks. I love a workout that not only challenges me physically, but forces me to push myself mentally, as well. As such, I have to give this workout a high Fitnessability score. For a high-calorie burn that pushes your cardio-vascular system to its limits, HIIT training is key. The combination of quick bursts of aerobic interval trainings and short rest periods keeps your heart rate elevated which in turn revs up your metabolism and burns lots of calories. HIIT workouts score big points from me in terms of sweat factor and their ability to be practiced just about anywhere.

My only criticisms of HIIT generally are in terms of its difficulty and ability to be incorporated into one's existing routine. HIIT is not for the faint of heart, and it's something that you must build up to. Starting HIIT training before you're properly conditioned is a recipe for injury, so those who are new to intense cardio exercise or have injuries and/or preexisting conditions should take care to incorporate HIIT into their routines little by little.

Happy HIIT-ing!

Hilary

Click here to see photos of the Lole/FITiST workout!