Stop wasting time at the gym; exercise effectively for your body type by incorporating HIIT and weightlifting.
For my fellow curvy, endomorph, kapha body types, you know that we need that extra push in our workouts to make a difference. Daily bouts of cardio will not do the trick--although it certainly helps with endorphins and mood.
I knew high-intensity interval training (HIIT) was the “key to losing weight,” and I practiced various forms of HIIT over my decades of exercise, but it wasn’t until combining HIIT with whole food eating--no sugar, no gluten, no dairy, no alcohol, and, wait for it, no caffeine--that I finally started to see the baby weight come off...two years after giving birth.
If I had known the key to losing weight was cutting out those things, I would have done it sooner, but I thought my overall healthy eating and vigorous exercise regimen was enough. The curse of my slow metabolism told me otherwise.
After some rave reviews from another self-professed “thick mama,” I tried The Fast Metabolism Diet. You can find all of the guidelines on Pinterest for free, but I also read the book, which helped me dispel the belief that “a little won’t hurt.” When you are detoxing your body and working on speeding up your metabolism, just a smidge of one of the vices can slow things down.
I reintroduced caffeine after 6 strict weeks of following the rules, but I continued to largely avoid the other vices. The weight continued to slowly come off, and I would occasionally have a cheat of cheese or something with sugar, but I have since hit a plateau, i.e. my pre-baby weight.
I’m allowing myself to enjoy the holidays (and my caffeine), but starting January 7th, I’m back to 100% clean eating. This time I’m going to join Yogaja’s free Whole 30 group. Last time I lost weight, I was part of a weight loss challenge at Extreme Results by Vince, and the group support/encouragement definitely helped me avoid the occasional cheat.
While I loved Extreme and it’s a GREAT source of motivation and a kick butt HIIT workout, it’s too hard on my joints, particularly my bum hip. Yoga and low-impact HIIT agree with me more.
Since I don’t have the money to join Orange Theory, I’ve created my own HIIT, Orange Theory-inspired workout that can be done at any gym. I might look like a weirdo, but that’s the price I pay to tone and maybe, just maybe, lose another pound or two.
I'd love to hear about your workouts and I'm always looking to incorporate variety. Please comment below with your ideas/routines or how HIIT has changed your workouts. Thanks for reading!
HIIT Workout inspired by Orange Theory:
5min warm-up on elliptical
4min HIIT elliptical:
--1 minute push pace (HR over 130)
--1 minute full throttle (HR over 150)
--30 second recovery
--1 minute full throttle
4min HIIT rower:
--1 minute push pace
--10 jump squats
--1 minute full throttle
--10 jump squats
--1 minute full throttle
--10 jump squats
--30 second recovery
Lifting intervals (no rest) and repeat for 4-5 minutes:
--10 leg extensions (70lbs)
--10 garland squats (feet turned out slightly and butt touches heels)
--10 leg curls (70lbs)
Repeat elliptical and rower HIIT for 8 total minutes
Lifting intervals (no rest) and repeat for 4-5 minutes:
--10 leg presses (250lbs)
--10 calf raises: feet parallel, feet turned in, feet turned out
--10 single leg presses each leg (130lbs)
Repeat elliptical and rower HIIT for 8 total minutes
Lifting intervals (no rest) and repeat for 4-5 minutes:
--10 outer thigh presses (80lbs)
--10 plie squats
--10 inner thigh presses (60lbs)