Welcome to Day 8 of Fitness Blender’s Free 2 Week Challenge! (note: there is no day 6 or 7)
Moderate your own intensity in this straightforward lower body strength with bursts of HIIT (high intensity interval training) workout. All the strength exercises are simple in that they don’t involve combination moves so that you can focus on one movement pattern at a time, selecting weights that are appropriately challenging for your current fitness level and training goals. Similarly, the short rounds of HIIT include exercises that are easy to modify or progress so that you can adjust the intensity based on your own personal perceived efforts.
For weighted exercises, you can decrease the intensity of the routine by decreasing your:
• Range of motion (for example, lessen your knee and hip flexion to decrease how low you descend into a squat)
• Weight selections (opt for a single weight if applicable or complete the exercise(s) bodyweight-only)
• Cadence/pacing (combined with decreased weight selections, decreasing the number of reps of an exercise per working interval will decrease the intensity of your efforts)
You will keep a relatively moderate pace during the strength circuits but your goal for the HIIT circuits is maximum effort (based on your personal perception of effort). The HIIT portions of the workout are less than half the length of the strength circuits because effort is inversely related to duration – as intensity increases, work interval durations decrease to ensure a sustainably high effort across intervals. Treat these cardio-forward sections as the secondary focus of the routine and approach each move as a supplement to the strength exercises (meant to enhance your strength training progress).
Lastly, feel free to track and benchmark your lower body lifting progress with this workout! Take note of your weight selections, range of motion for each exercise, modifications/progressions, and overall sense of comfort/discomfort from one workout completion to the next. Remember that if increasing your weights is a goal for you, focus on slow, incremental progressions. Your weight selections will not increase every workout nor will they follow an infinitely linear progression. Your soreness levels, muscle fatigue, sleep quality, nutrition fueling/refueling, life stressors, and the format and sequencing (program design) of each workout are all factors that affect workout performance. Celebrate your wins and improvements but don’t forget to enjoy the process along the way!
Workout
Warm-Up: 30 sec per exercise, no rest (4:00) - Bodyweight
-Bodyweight Squats
-Good Morning’s
-Alternating Reverse Lunges with Overhead Presses
-Inchworm + Down-Dog
-Alternating Lateral Lunges + Crossbody Ankle Reaches
-High Knee Skips (mid-tempo)
-Squat Jack Touchdowns (mid-tempo)
-Jumping Jacks
***30 sec off**
My Weights (not a recommendation, just a reference):
-Moderately Heavy/Heavy: Circuit #1 (1 Weight): 30 lbs. (13.6 kg)
-Moderately Heavy: Circuit #2 (2 Weights): 25 lbs. (11.3 kg)
Circuit #1 - 1 Weight: 30 sec on / 15 sec off / 2 rounds – Weighted (7:00)
-Goblet Squat
-Reverse Lunge - R (R hand holds weight)
-Reverse Lunge - L (L hand holds weight)
-Stationary Lateral Lunges (weight passoff)
***Water Break #1***
HIIT Circuit #1: 20 sec on / 10 sec off / 2 rounds – Bodyweight (3:00)
-High Knees
-Squat Jack Touchdowns
-Quick-Paced Jumping Jacks
***30 sec off***
Circuit #2 - 2 Weights: 30 sec on / 15 sec off / 2 rounds – Weighted (7:00)
-Deadlift (RDL)
-Curtsy Lunge - R
-Curtsy Lunge - L
-Narrow/Suitcase Squat
***Water Break #2***
HIIT Circuit #2: 20 sec on / 10 sec off / 2 rounds – Bodyweight (3:00)
-Twisting High Knees
-Squat Jacks
-Traveling Jumping Jacks (forward and back)
Cool-Down: approx. 4:00 (approx. 30 sec per stretch)
-Quads/Hip Flexors Split Stance Stretch + Overhead Reach - R
-Triangle/Forward Bend – R
-Figure 4 Stretch - R
-Quads/Hip Flexors Split Stance Stretch + Overhead Reach – L
-Triangle/Forward Bend – L
-Figure 4 Stretch – L
-Alt. Lateral Lunge Hold Stretch
-Hip Circles + Wrist Rotations