By Kate Horney, Beyond Fit Physiques
As a busy mom I often find it difficult to fit in a full workout…. can you relate?
Rather than miss exercise all together my husband and I started to do high intensity, 1 minute blitz training exercises wherever we could: in our living room before dinner, the park, even in the kitchen while wait for breakfast to cook.
“I don’t have time” is the most common reason why people fail to exercise.
By utilizing blitz training, busy families can workout together without sacrificing family time and without spending hours at the gym.
Blitz-training is an all out focus on one particular body part with the goal of achieving complete failure.
This is a workout for parents and kids (yes, even 7 month olds in a jump-a-roo) to do together!
Short all out blitzes lasting up to 1 minute have profound effects on metabolic fat burning.
Here are a 3 things you need to know about a Blitz workout:
The idea behind bursting is to use what is known EPOC (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption). This is a fancy term in sports science that refers to the fat calorie after-burn generated from short intense exercise.
It is extremely brief, intense, and can be applied literally anywhere. Unlike other exercise protocols, blitz training has a style and approach that is perfect for busy moms whose time is limited.
I often use this technique out of necessity. The idea of taking time to drive to a gym, do a workout, and then drive back home is often enough to keep most busy moms from exercising all together. But any mom can fit in just ONE MINUTE of exercise into her day!
In the old way of thinking, it was thought that to be of value exercise had to last a certain amount of time (i.e., 20-60 minutes)….
But studies show this is simply not the truth!
Even the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have acknowledged this fact. In 1995 they released a joint statement reporting short bouts of activity induce an effective physiological training response. Here is a direct quote “accumulation of physical activity in intermittent, short bouts is considered an appropriate approach to achieving the activity goal.”
If done properly even a ten second workout of significant intensity can increase fat burning for 24-48 hours after your blitz.
Choose your body part. (legs, chest, arms, shoulders, etc)
Choose your exercise.
Set your timer and begin!
Some of our favorite 1 Minute Blitz Examples:
– 1 minute squat jumps
– 1 minute push-ups
– 1 minute burpees
Set your timers for 1 minute and get to it! Click share below to let us know what you think after you finish your workout!
By Contributing Author, Kate Horney, BeyondFitPhysiques