These Breathing Techniques For HIIT Will Make Even The Most Intense Workouts A Little Easier

Too often, when I'm doing HIIT workouts, I constantly catch myself holding my breath throughout each exercise. And while I didn't think much of this habit in the past, I've come to realize that the way you breathe during any workout — but especially high-intensity interval training (HIIT) — can actually make a huge difference in terms of the quality of your sweat session. Even amidst all of the inevitable panting and sweating that'll happen in these intense workouts, following the right breathing techniques during HIIT exercises can help take your workout to the next level — and, you know, make sure you're not giving up after doing all of about three burpees.

"Breathing properly during HIIT training is a game-changer and will enable you to be fresh enough to go for a few more rounds as opposed to collapsing and taxing out early," Lisa Niren, an ACE-certified personal trainer and head instructor at Studio, tells Elite Daily over email. See what I mean? It's all in the breath, fam. That's because, according to Leah Kalemba, a fitness instructor for Evolve Personal Training, Fighthouse MMA, and Moveir Dance Studio, breathing oxygenates your body on a cellular level and boosts blood circulation, which is basically a fancy, scientific way to describe how the proper inhales and exhales can ultimately sustain your energy and prevent unnecessary physical stress during a workout.

"Shallow, rapid breathing expends more carbon dioxide from your system," Kalemba tells Elite Daily in an email, "[which creates] an imbalance that constricts your blood vessels, tires you out faster, and can even make you dizzy." And I'm sure you don't need me to tell you that the last thing you want to feel during a HIIT circuit is lightheaded and fatigued.

But aside from the physical ways in which breathing affects your workout, Kalemba says there's a mental aspect to it, too: Focused breathing, she explains, can bring you into a meditative state, clearing your head for the challenge and purging any negative thoughts that may be holding you back from giving your workout your absolute all.

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4 Ab Workouts You Can Do at Home in Just 5 Minutes

How to do each workout: See the exercises and circuits below. Repeat each exercise for 30 seconds, followed by a 15-second rest between moves, for a 5-minute circuit. You can add one circuit to the end of your run as a finisher or use it as a part of your cross-training workouts.

X-Body Mountain Climber

Start in a high plank position with arms straight, wrists over shoulders, body forming a straight line from your head to ankles. Engage your core and draw left knee as far as you can toward right elbow. Bring left foot back to starting position. Then draw right knee as far as you can toward left elbow. Continue alternating between legs as fast as possible

Squat Thrust

Stand with feet shoulder-width apart and arms at your side. Send hips back as you lower your body into a deep squat with hands on the floor. Kick your legs backward so that you land in a high plank position. Quickly bring your legs back to squat position and stand back up to starting position. Repeat

Plank March

Start in high plank position, with arms straight, wrists over shoulders, body forming a straight line from your head to your ankles. Bend right elbow to lower right forearm to the floor. Lower left forearm to the floor. Extend the right arm, then the left arm back to starting position. Continue to repeat, alternating which arm you start with each time.

Windshield Wiper

Lie faceup on the mat with arms straight out from your sides so body forms a “T”and legs straight up toward ceiling. Keep your abs braced and lower your legs to the right as far as you can without lifting your shoulders off the floor. Swing legs to the left and lower as far as possible without lifting shoulders. Continue alternating from side to side.

Crab Kick

Sit on the floor with your feet on the ground, hands under your shoulders, and press through hands to lift hips a few inches off the floor. Raise your right hand and left foot, bringing them to touch as fast as you can. Return to starting position. Repeat on the other side. Continue alternating between legs

4 Core Circuits to Try

Power: This circuit targets your fast-twitch muscle fibers to help power your final kick or your ascent up a gnarly hill.

Strength: Use this circuit to build stamina and endurance in your muscles.

Stability: Stability circuits are your friend if you want to maintain great form that will support you all run long.

Balance: Improve your balance on each side of your body, from legs, to abs, to arms. This will translate into more a athletic, balanced running form.

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The 20 Most Weight-Loss-Friendly Foods on The Planet

Not all calories are created equal.
Different foods go through different metabolic pathways in your body.
They can have vastly different effects on your hunger, hormones and the number of calories you burn.
Here are the 20 most weight-loss-friendly foods on earth that are supported by science.

1. Whole Eggs

Eggs are very filling and nutrient-dense. Compared to refined carbs like bagels, eggs can suppress appetite later in the day and may even promote weight loss.

 

2. Leafy Greens

 

Leafy greens are an excellent addition to your weight loss diet. Not only are they low in calories but also high in fiber that helps keep you feeling full.

 

3. Salmon

 

Salmon is high in both protein and omega-3 fatty acids, making it a good choice for a healthy weight loss diet.

 

4. Cruciferous Vegetables

 

Cruciferous vegetables are low in calories but high in fiber and nutrients. Adding them to your diet is not only an excellent weight loss strategy but may also improve your overall health.

 

5. Lean Beef and Chicken Breast

 

Eating unprocessed lean meat is an excellent way to increase your protein intake. Replacing some of the carbs or fat in your diet with protein could make it easier for you to lose excess fat.

 

6. Boiled Potatoes

Boiled potatoes are among the most filling foods. They’re particularly good at reducing your appetite, potentially suppressing your food intake later in the day.

7. Tuna

Tuna is an excellent, lean source of high-quality protein. Replacing other macronutrients, such as carbs or fat, with protein is an effective weight loss strategy on a calorie-restricted diet.

8. Beans and Legumes

Beans and legumes are a good addition to your weight loss diet. They’re both high in protein and fiber, contributing to feelings of fullness and a lower calorie intake.

9. Soups

Soups can be an effective part of a weight loss diet. Their high water content makes them very filling. However, try to avoid creamy or oily soups.

10. Cottage Cheese

Eating lean dairy products, such as cottage cheese, is one of the best ways to get more protein without significantly increasing your calorie intake.

 

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https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/20-most-weight-loss-friendly-foods

5 Reasons You Can't Stick With a Workout – and What to Do About It

You exercise for external reasons.

Motivation matters, with all sources of motivation existing on a spectrum from extrinsic to intrinsic. "Extrinsic motivation involves external rewards and punishment-motivating behavior," Carter says. 

How to alter your mindset: Make it personal.

When exercise is 100 percent intrinsically motivated, it is all about the pure pleasure of what you're doing in that moment, says Mary E. Jung, director of the Health and Exercise Psychology Laboratory at the University of British Columbia. However, as far as exercise adherence is concerned, working out for the simple joy of exercising isn't always realistic either. That's why she recommends thinking about your current sources of motivation and how you can move them along the spectrum to be more intrinsic.

Your goals take time.

Fitness results require time, consistency and patience, while humans prefer immediate rewards, such as the feeling of de-stressing in front of the TV or going out with friends. Even staying late at work comes with the instant gratification of crossing tasks off your to-do list, making it more enticing than the long-term investment of exercise. 

How to alter your mindset: Write down instant rewards.

"To get [the] immediate rewards of exercise, you have to be aware of them; you have to be looking for them," Jung says. She recommends keeping a gratitude journal to write down the ways in which you benefit from exercise during or after just one workout session. 

You let other people run your workouts.

Having a personal trainer or group fitness instructor can help take a lot of guesswork out of your workouts, but blindly following what someone else says isn't necessarily helpful toward building a long-term habit, Jung says. 

How to alter your mindset: Take ownership.

If you work with a personal trainer, talk to her about which exercises you like and dislike, and how you take part in the process of planning your workout routine, Jung says.

You don't feel like you're any good at your workout.

A 2003 Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise review found that confidence in one's exercise ability is the highest predictor of how much a person will exercise. 

How to alter your mindset: Play to your strengths.

"Confidence doesn't happen right away," Jung says. "But you can build it, starting by mastering things you know you can achieve." 

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How To Work Out If You're Not A "Gym Person," Because There Are So Many Options

1Walking

Walking is a great way to get in a little exercise, and it's something you have to do anyways. I end up walking about five miles a day just walking my dog. If you want to get more walking in, use your getaway sticks to get to where you're going instead of driving or taking the subway. Even if you don't have a FitBit, you can use that little health-button thingy on your phone to track your steps.

2Scientific 7-Minute Workout

If the mere thought of working out fills you with dread, you can actually get it all over in seven minutes. Check out the Scientific 7-Minute Workout, which incorporates cardio, abs, and strength training in a super-fast workout you can do at home. The best part? If you do it right when you wake up you don't have to think about it for the rest of the day. This is my go-to when I'm busy AF because I can do it and forget about it

3Roller Skatin

I don't know about you, but HBO's Sharp Objects filled me with roller-skating FOMO, and I immediately ordered myself a pair of roller skates from Amazon. Roller skates are back, they'll totally transport you back to those childhood skate parties, and roller skating is a super fun way to get a workout in.

4Swimming

Most cities and towns have public pools that offer hours for lap swimmers on the cheap. If you have access to a pool, swimming is a great way to get a zen, low-impact workout when you want to feel like a fish.

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