Current Favourite HIIT Workouts

Over Christmas, like many I didn't have access to a gym, but still wanted to keep fairly active over the festive period - mainly to offset the barrage of wine and Stilton I planned on enjoying!

To get the smugness out of the way quickly, I impressed myself by getting a few 7 / 8 mile runs, a couple of 10ks and a cheeky Parkrun in, and it was really nice to be able to get out so much. Normally in Winter I'm restricted to running on weekends, so it was good to have the freedom during the day to pound about.

Running 10k over the holidays

In true British style, the rain over Christmas was sometimes too much to bear, so I used HIIT training to mix things up.

I'm a massive fan of HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training), and incorporate it into my regime at least three times a week. More on the benefits of HIIT here and here.

I thought I'd note down a few of my fave workouts at the moment, in case you fancied some inspiration over the coming weeks. The workouts below include both home and gym based workouts. Obvs, I'm not a PT, I'm just sharing what I've been doing for the past couple of weeks. If you're not already, get on and follow the bloody gorgeous Joe Wicks on Insta etc, as all his HIIT workouts are great. He got me into it in the first place, especially the first workout..

Workout 1
Equipment: treadmill
This is my absolute go-to for a 'killa' workout if you're pushed for time.

Naturally, you'll need to adapt the sprint speed to suit you, I usually set this to between 17 - 18kph (18 being really challenging for me).

• 1 min walk warm up
• 2 mins run 11kph
• 45 secs sprint at desired speed level (17 - 18kph)
• 30 secs rest
• 45 secs sprint
• 30 secs rest

.. repeat until you hit 20 minutes. Trust me, it's an absolute beast. I love it.

If you've not done sprints before, or don't feel comfortable hopping on and off the treadmill edges, speak to someone in the gym - I did this when I first started because I wasn't confident with the speed, and getting someone to walk me through it really helped.


Workout 2 
It has two parts to it, A & B, and takes me around 40-45 mins.
Equipment: treadmill, weighted barbell, kettlebell, bench
I do these sprints with the treadmill turned off, to make it really tough. I grab the front handles of the treadmill, and push until the belt moves, then run as fast as I can (with my hands still gripped) for 20 seconds.

A)

• Treadmill (turned off) sprint for 20 secs
• Rest 30 secs
• Treadmill (turned off) sprint for 20 secs
• Rest 30 secs
• 10 barbell weighted squats (I'd probably use a 20kg barbell) - pulse up and down 5 times at end
• 10 Burpees

Repeat 5 times

B)

• 10 dips on a bench / chair
• 10 kettlebell swings
• 10 deadlifts (use the barbell for this, adjust the weights as necessary for you, I'll increase the weight here)
• Upper body get ups (sometimes called moving planks)

Repeat 5 times

Workout 3

This one's adapted from one of Joe's, it's a ladder workout and great to do at home as all exercises are bodyweight based. 

The method for this one is easy.

10 secs on, 10 secs off (each exercise).

20 secs on, 20 secs off,

30 secs on, 30 secs off,

40 secs on, 40 secs off,

30 secs on, 30 secs off,

20 secs on, 30 secs off,

10 secs on, 10 secs off.

You do as many of the below in the time available. Once you've completed all the exercises, you adjust the time. 

• Burpee tuck jumps
• Mountain climbers
• High knees
• Press ups
• Squat jumps
• Lunge jumps
• Plank

So, you'd do each of the above exercises for 10 seconds, resting for 10 seconds in between each exercise, then move on to 20 secs and so on. 

This one's sneaky; you're doing burpees for ten seconds thinking what the hell is all the fuss about, but just you wait until you're on 30 / 40 seconds. I had to remind myself not to get cocky!

If you have any favourite HIIT workouts, send 'em my way!

Innocent Mince Pies

I got fully into the Christmas spirit yesterday, tackling a load of Christmas shopping and making mince pies. I based the recipe on a post by the brilliant Little Green Spoon, who's recipes are always bookmarked for me to try out.

I didn't quite have all the ingredients, and will definitely invest in some vanilla for the next batch (as well as some festive pastry cutters!), but these little pies tasted lovely - definitely not a bad first attempt.

I used;

1 packet ground almonds

1 egg

2 tablespoons coconut oil

2 oranges

1/2 lemon

2 whole pieces nutmeg, grated

1 packet mixed dried fruit (sultanas, cranberries, raisins)

2 tablespoons cinnamon

4 table spoons Agave syrup

This made 9 mince pies.

First up, the crust:

Mix together your ground almonds, egg, coconut oil and 2x table spoons of agave syrup. My poor old blender couldn't quite cope with the stickiness of this mixture, so I ended up taking it out and hand mixing it.

Roll the dough into two balls and cover them in cling film. The original recipe suggests putting the dough in the fridge, but I opted for the freezer. 

Make the mince whilst this is chilling. 

Chop your oranges in half and squeeze the juice into a saucepan. Then, finely grate the remains of the orange until it hurts your arm too much to carry on. Do the same with the lemon and nutmeg. Heat it up and add in your cinnamon, dried fruit and 2x table spoons of agave syrup (and vanilla, if you have it). Remember to keep stirring!

Once it’s been cooking about half an hour take the dough out of the freezer.

Roll one out until you reach your desired base level. I went for quite a thick base, as I wasn't sure that a thin base could hold the mince.

If you've got a cupcake tray then line these with coconut oil. I used cupcake cases and greased them with a little coconut oil, which is why they look more like mince cakes than pies…

Use the rim of a cup or a pastry cutter to make circles, and place these in their cases. Use a tablespoon to dollop the mince filling on top the base.

Roll out your second dough ball to make the lids. Please be more creative than me on this bit..

(If your dough starts to crumble, just use your hands.)

Once all your lids are on, pop them in the oven at 180 degrees for 10 – 12 minutes.

Definitely best eaten warm; mulled wine mandatory.