Workout & training at home

Workout & training at home

So many of us want to get fitter or lose weight, but can’t find the time to go to the gym. We are now putting an end to these excuses and introducing you to the perfect form of training that allows you to easily get your workout & training at home done – it’s called HIIT! For years, this training method has been the talk of the town among sports colleagues and has been the subject of numerous sports magazines and Internet portals. With this variant, we’ll turn you into a real Hercules very quickly.

What is HIIT?

The abbreviation HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training and combines cardio training with strength training. The big advantage here is that a training session lasts only about 20 minutes. Anyone can squeeze this into their schedule. The intervals are divided into power and recovery phases. Due to this constant change, the pulse is always driven up and the body has to perform better. The big advantage of this workout is that the body is pushed to its limits several times and thus has an enormous afterburn effect. As a result, significantly more fat is lost than through pure cardio training, such as jogging. In conventional cardio workouts, the pulse usually remains in a more humane range and is accordingly less effective for calorie burning.

The training – The rough structure

In the vast majority of cases, the training session lasts 20 to 30 minutes. Within this period you will work through different intervals, which in turn are divided into load and recovery phases. The best-known training form of HIIT is the so-called Tabata method. In this method, the intervals consist of 20-30 seconds of load and 15 seconds of recovery.

Load phases – Bite your way through!

The load phases are the moments of your session when you will be pushed to your limits. During these phases your heart rate is pushed to a very high level and oxygen consumption is also significantly higher. It quickly becomes very exhausting, despite the stage time seeming quite short. However, make every effort to push yourself to your maximum potential and keep going until the end of the interval to ensure the full effect of the workout. You can divide these load phases into strength training stages, as we will describe below, or into sprint sessions on the spot. If you have a large garden, you can of course go for a real run there.

Recovery Stages – Take a Breath!

The recovery phases serve to give you a moment to catch your breath. Even if the recovery periods don’t seem very long with a length of just 20-30 seconds, believe us: you will appreciate them very much. In the short time you should really only breathe in and out deeply and, if necessary, shake out your arms and legs a little. Drinking a sip of water is not wrong either. But make sure that you take non-carbonated water, otherwise it will start to bubble inside you during the many fast movements.

Here’s how it works!

So that you don’t go into your workout completely unprepared, we’ve put together a rough outline with tips on what to look for in your HIIT workout & training at home. The exercises here serve only as a guide and can be adapted and changed according to your needs and preferences.

The right warm-up – get hot!

As with all sports, the correct warm-up is the be-all and end-all! This is not only to prepare your muscles for the load ahead, but primarily to prevent injury. You should never skip this point of the workout! Start with a relaxed “on the spot” jog and after 2 minutes work your way up by doing jumping jacks or as we all remember from childhood: Jumping jacks! After another two minutes, you can run on the spot again, trying to pull your knees to your chest as much as possible. After you’ve completed this, your body should be warm enough and your muscles well prepared for your workout & training at home.

Strong chest and triceps

Nothing beats a beautiful, toned and defined chest. Push ups are an ideal exercise for this. Support yourself on the floor with both hands and the tips of your toes to form a line. Now slowly lower yourself down until the tip of your nose almost touches the floor and then impulsively push yourself back up. Make sure that your body stays straight and that you don’t sag with your belly. To add a bit more movement, you can also do a bit of hiking with this exercise. After each push up, step to the side with your hands and feet and repeat the push up, moving back and forth a bit. Your arms should be at chest height and slightly wider than shoulder height apart for the chest workout. With the same exercise you can also tackle the triceps. For this you use the exact same exercise we described for the chest, with the only difference that you now keep your arms and elbows very close to your body. As an aid, you can also form a small triangle with your hands in front of you, so that you keep your hands nice and close together and thus perform the exercise more correctly. If you are into fitness equipment, a rowing machine, for example, would make sense for this body region.

Abdomen – The dream of a six-pack

With this exercise you will get closer and closer to a six-pack. You probably already know the “plank” exercise. Here you go into the usual push up position, but this time you support yourself with your forearms on the floor. As a little help you can clasp your hands together in front as if you were praying. Believe me – after a few repetitions of this exercise you will start praying that it will be over soon. So now you’re resting on your forearms in this position. Now at the beginning of the interval, alternately pull your knees forward. Pull them sideways in an arc forward and then back again in the same frame. Then switch sides and perform the exercise with the other leg. By doing this exercise, you will strengthen your entire core area and in time, you will tease out your six pack.

Legs and butt – Say goodbye to cellulite!

A perfect exercise to train your legs and butt equally is to perform jumped lunges. In this exercise, you always alternate between putting one leg forward and bending it at about a 90° angle. From this position you then push yourself up again powerfully and impulsively. With the push ups you should transition into a jump, with which you now switch sides and bring the leg standing behind you forward and now repeat the exercise for the other leg. Repeat this as many times as you can on the fly for the entire duration of the interval. Concentrate more on the correct execution of the exercise than on the number of repetitions. If you have the right equipment, you can also use a cross trainer, an ergometer or a vibration plate. Or if you like it very simple, a plyo box or just jumping rope will also work.

Regeneration – That’s how important the break is

As fast as home workouts are and no matter how good you like them, you shouldn’t do HIIT every day! Even if the training sessions are over relatively quickly, they mean an enormous effort for your body, from which it must recover. Especially because of the high afterburn effect, your body is still busy recovering hours after the workout & training at home. Therefore, you should give your body at least one day off between sessions to avoid damaging it in the long run.

Advantages of workout & training at home

Compared to other training methods, the HIIT workout brings the most benefits for your workout & training at home. Especially often, self-management workouts fail due to lack of knowledge about what the effort actually brings you. In order not to leave you in the dark, we have compiled the most convincing advantages for you:

Less time required

The first advantage is undoubtedly the comparatively small amount of time required. Just 20 minutes is enough to complete a very effective workout. This is a welcome alternative especially for working people or people who live far away from a gym.

No equipment necessary

Advantage number two is evident in its simplicity. You don’t need any utensils for your HIIT workout & training at home except for an optional yoga mat and water bottle. The load consists only of your own body weight. This not only saves space, but also cash. However, you should definitely have a towel handy, because you will sweat a lot. We promise you that!

No boredom

Another advantage of HIIT training that should not be underestimated is its versatility. You can always redesign the intervals and adapt them to desired muscle groups. This way you can always change your focus and bring variety into your training plan. This way you avoid the danger of boredom.

Anytime and anywhere

The biggest advantage, which you will surely curse from time to time, is that you are not tied to one place. You can really do HIIT anytime and anywhere. The long way to the gym or the opening hours of this, are probably the most welcome excuses of many – but sorry, that does not work from now on. So you will have to pull yourself together in order not to be plagued by a guilty conscience. And believe us, you’ll feel great afterwards!

The afterburn effect

The benefit that will probably motivate you the most is the presence of the afterburn effect. Due to the constant interplay of stress and recovery, the body has to expend a lot of energy again after the workout to bring your body back to its original resting mode. This keeps it busy for up to 8 hours and thus burns fat, even after the workout! Apart from this, training also increases the release of adrenaline, which also significantly supports fat burning. This has – surprise, surprise – quite a positive effect on your figure!