Benefits Of An Express Workout...

Express workouts are typically considered high intensity training (HIT). Sure you can create variations, but high intensity training has a ton benefits and you can get many of them in a short period of time. Most notably there are big metabolic and cardiac benefits as well as noticeably quicker improvements in conditioning.  

Do keep in mind HIT is different than high impact training. You can do HIT without the involvement of high impact training (often joint pounding). This is great news for anyone looking to increase their heart rate but want to keep their risk of injury down.

High intensity work is most easily identified at heart rate measurements greater than 80% of your maximum heart rate (you can estimate this). You also know you are in the zone when you have shortness of breath, you can't converse, and/or burning in your muscles.
 

Do more in less time...

We have more responsibilities and distractions that pull on us. The stress from all this can affect our ability to stay focused on our fitness goals.

Doing express workouts can liberate people with busy schedules! When you decrease the time to commit you decrease the psychological barrier allowing for a greater chance at success. We call this slow cooking your progress. How do you eat an elephant again?

Seek balance...

When we are out of balance our workouts, nutrition, and overall production suffers.

Many of us then pound caffeine and energy drinks reactively not realizing the metabolic storm coming (you control your chemisty FYI).

Let's get back to basics. Start with movement.

How to do it...

You can do these workouts with your body weight. It is that simple.

Focus on mobility, range of motion, joint decompression, hip function/mobility, torso conditioning, and you can even add basic strength moves.

Great news...

Learn and apply this word researchers came up with: High-Intensity Incidental Physical Activity (HIIPA).

This happens everyday when physical activities cause heart rates to spike and breathlessness to occur.

Think about running down a bus or train (try it LOL), sprinting up stairs, or doing yard work extra-fast (set a timer), or your dog walking you (well maybe). 

According to the new U.S. Physical Activity Guidelines, any moderate to vigorous exercise, for 30 seconds or a few minutes, can boost heart health if done several times during the day.

(It's an effort you can sustain for a short time, which is great for your busy schedule!) 

Sneak in a quick express workout by bounding up some stairs anytime, biking home to a timer, or doing 50 pushups on a bathroom break (not kidding). 

Always be ready! Pack workout gear to prepare for some HIIPA and or course implement structured express (HIT) workouts. We know that if it gets off your "to-do list" and onto your schedule you will more than likely get it done. Hold yourself accountable.