Incorporating High Intensity Training Into Regular Workouts

For anyone thinking about incorporating high intensity interval training into their workout, check out this exclusive insight from Lit Fitness trainer and Fitperez correspondent Ryan Walseth:

I recently traveled to New York City for a fitness conference right in the heart of Times Square. The goal for the weekend was 3-fold; re-energize, re-educate, and best of all…new ideas! The element that directly benefits both my loyal FIT TIP recipients and my dedicated clientele are all the fresh workout ideas:) A common theme in many of the workshops I attended was HIIT or High Intensity Interval Training.

HIIT are workout programs designed to shred fat and carve up lean muscles! Programs such as Zumba, P90X, Cross Fit and Insanity are a few examples of high intensity programs rockin' the market in 2011.

The highlight of the weekend was getting crushed in a workout by Shaun T, rockstar celebrity personal trainer and creator of Insanity! Insanity workouts aren't for everyone, in fact I think they are a good fit for about 10% of the exercise population.

However, 100% of exercisers can derive benefits of Insanity-style programs by taking bits and pieces of them and using intervals to infuse life into stale workout programs.

Here's an example of how I incorporate intervals into my client's programs:

Exercise #1: Chest press
Exercise #2: Tricep Pushdowns
Exercise #3: Ab Crunches on a Ball
Insanity-style Interval: Hillclimbers for 20-30 seconds as fast as you can!
Rest for 30-60 seconds and repeat

When we hit a plateau, change is good…strategically placing 20-30 second bouts of high intensity cardio intervals into your program will definitely take your conditioning and calorie burning to a whole new level!

"It is within the experience of everyone that when pleasure and pain reach a certain intensity they are indistinguishable."

- Arnold Bennett

Thanks for the tip, Ryan! We're looking forward to following your advice and adding a little bit of insanity into our workouts.

[Image via AP Images.]

Tags: chest, exercise, fit tip, personal trainer, research, ryan walseth, workout