Kicking it up a Notch

Inspired by Tina (from Carrot's n Cake)'s recent post about intervals on the elliptical (and a little fatigued from Monday's seven miler), I hit the gym last night for some interval training of my own. Intervals are a great way to boost the calorie and fat burn, really get that heart going, and really challenge yourself. Sometimes, we simply get stuck in our little ways and forget that a little speed won't be SO bad.

I hopped on the bike for a good 15 minutes to get warm. Then hit the weight room for a 5 min session of bicep curls, pushups and back extensions. I hopped on the PreCor EFX for my 30 min of intervals and let the fun begin.

Here's how my workout went, more or less:
Warm up @ level 2: 5 min
Speedy @ level 2: 30 sec
Recover @ level 2: 30 sec
Speedy @ level 3: 1 min
Recover @ level 2: 30 sec
Speedy @ level 3: 30 sec
Recover @ level 2: 30 sec
Speedy @ level 4: 1 min
Recover @ level 2: 1 min
Speedy @ level 4: 1 min
Recover @ level 2: 1 min
Speedy @ level 4: 1.5 min
Recover @ level 2: 1 min
Speedy @ level 5: 1 min
Recover @ level 2: 1.5 min
Speedy @ level 4: 2 min
Recover @ level 2: 1 min
Speedy @ level 3: 1 min
Recover @ level 2: 1 min
Speedy @ level 3: 30 sec
Recover @ level 2: 30 sec
Speedy @ level 4: 30 sec
Recover @ level 2: 30 sec
Rest @ level 3: 1 min
Cool down @ level 2: 1 min

I realize 1 min isn't much of a cool down, but my time was up so I headed for the bike again and did another easy 10 min to loosen up the legs and let the heart come back to earth. Man, was that a good workout! The sweat was still pouring off my arms and down my legs as I spun on the bike.

Afterward, I hit the weights again for 20 min of arms, legs and abs before a quick stretch and heading home. Today I'm definitely feeling it a little in the rear. I love it when you can feel how much effort you really put into a workout!

Tonight, I'm thinking of going to a boot camp class, but I may just park it at the gym. What's your "I feel the burn" kind of workout? Do you enjoy intervals? I definitely had fun counting the minutes and changing my level/incline quite frequently. It made the workout fly by.

Comments

Anonymous said…
That's definitely a "kick butt" workout! Nice Sass ;) My feet always fall asleep on the Elliptical - is that weird?! It drives me craaazy. haha, it's been a LONG time since I've even been in a gym, might be about that time...with these temps..ugh.
Amber said…
I LOVE intervals, especially on the elliptical or treadmill - I find them both boring otherwise!
I love intervals too. They're definitely the best and the most time efficient workout. Whoo hoo!

Sues
Air said…
LOVE intervals! You can get just as intense of a workout in half the time. Check out bodyrock.tv...pretty challenging workouts. I love them.

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