DISCLAIMER: Prior to reading this, please note that I am not nor do I think I am a fitness guru. However, I do believe that we should all take care of our bodies and encourage everyone to lead a healthier lifestyle.

To all of those who asked, Fitness Friday is back (and we plan to continue it throughout the entirety of August as well)!!!

If I am completely honest, my July fitness routine has been pretty much nonexistent. And my diet…that’s a completely other story that I’d rather not get into (A.K.A. pizza after pizza, funnel cakes, sub sandwiches, chips and cheesesteaks). Ugh, my stomach hurts just thinking about all that I’ve eaten over the last month.

After having much control over my diet and fitness routine in previous months, my body has definitely felt the negative effects of my poor eating habits. I have less energy throughout the day, constantly feeling tired and slow, and my anxiety levels have been on the rise. Therefore, I’ve been trying to get my body back into shape, however, I feel as though I just do not have the time to fit in the proper workout I would like to. I KNOW, I KNOW…THERE IS ALWAYS TIME TO WORKOUT, but recently my busy schedule and low energy levels have forced me to sit on the couch rather than to hit the gym. Not to mention how difficult it is to get back into a fitness and health kick after taking a long vacation.

However, I’m refocusing my mind and body on getting back into the shape I want to be in, even if that means squeezing in a 15 minute workout any chance I get.

For me, the answer is cardio! It will probably be painful for many of you to read this, as the general consensus surrounding cardio is typically out of it’s favor, however, I ABSOLUTELY LOVE CARDIO, especially running.

Not only do I feel the most instant results from running and doing cardio, but doing so seems to be therapeutic for my mind as well.

So, here’s what I like to do…

There are two basic and most common types of deliberate exercise cardio; Low Intensity Steady State (LISS) and High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). I prefer HIIT (sprint training) much more than LISS cardio (walking), as it really makes you push your body to it’s limits.

For my HIIT training, I spend about 15 minutes on the treadmill switching back and forth between sprinting and walking interval periods. This consists of a one minute sprint immediately followed by a 30 second walking rest period. I then repeat these until I hit the 15 minute mark.

If you really want to up your workout, I like to perform the HIIT training prior to doing a leg, arm or full body workout as described in my first Fitness Friday post.

But, if HIIT training is just not for you and LISS sounds more like your pace, an equivalent workout to mine would be about 35-45 minutes of walking or lightly jogging.

What type of workouts do you enjoy doing most/what motivates you to workout?!? Let me know in the comment section below! xo

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