We’ve joined up with Greatist to bring you a month-long challenge of easy daily fitness hacks for all of July. Friday the 10th is the day to come up with a great playlist to hit the pavement, pump iron, or wiggle your booty (as long as it raises your heart rate) along to. We created one with some serious flavor to get you in the zone, from warm-up to cool-down. And since making mix tapes isn’t really an option anymore (boo), we’re sharing it here. To access this playlist from your phone more easily, follow us on SoundCloud. You can download the app for free from your smartphone’s App Store.
To go along with our baller playlist, we’ve also put together a workout that you can do anywhere. Do it at home! Do it at the beach! Do it at the office if you don’t care about getting sweaty in a cubicle! All you need is thirty minutes total, a timer, and some killer tunes.
HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) varies between intervals of intense work and rest. It’s extremely popular because it raises your heart rate quickly which allows you to torch tons of calories in a short amount of time. Some studies show that your body even continues to burn extra calories up to 24 hours after you work. The idea behind HIIT is that since you’re only working for a brief period of time before the next rest, you should be performing at maximum effort.
The workout we’ve put together follows a Tabata style, meaning you work for 20 seconds, take a 10 second break, move onto the next exercise for 20 seconds, and so on. After 8 rounds of work, enjoy a minute-long break before moving on to the next 8 rounds. Check the App Store on your smartphone for some great free timer apps. There’s even one called Tabata Timer that takes care of the :20/:10 interval timing for you. Here’s an example of how 1 4-minute long circuit looks:
- Circuit 1
- 20 sec Exercise A
- 10 sec rest
- 20 sec Exercise B
- 10 sec rest
- 20 sec Exercise A
- 10 Sec rest
- 20 sec Exercise B
- 10 sec rest
- 20 sec Exercise A
- 10 sec rest
- 20 sec Exercise B
- 10 sec rest
- 20 sec Exercise A
- 10 Sec rest
- 20 sec Exercise B
- 1 min rest ‘cause you crushed it
- Continue on to next circuit
Before you begin, warm up for 3-5 minutes. Warming up is extremely important for injury prevention. It’s intended to raise your body temperature to prepare your muscles for the work they’re about to do; just like how warm butter is easier to spread than when it’s cold, your muscles need a temp increase to be at their most flexible. Your circulatory and pulmonary (breathing) systems also need to get ready for the intense yet awesome work you’re about to put them through. Here’s a warm up we like to do along to the first song of our playlist:
- 0:00-0:30 Jog in place
- 0:30-1:00 Jumping jacks
- 1:00-1:30 Butt kicks
- 1:30-2:00 High knees
- 2:00-2:30 Jog in place
- 2:30-3:00 Jumping jacks
- 3:00-3:30 Butt kicks
- 3:30-end of song High knees
If you feel something’s still tight and needs some extra attention, give it some, and then get movin’. The playlist is timed appropriately for our workout (if you don’t feel the need for extra warming up after the first song), so once you start it to begin your warm up, let it run!
- Circuit 1:
- A: Burpees
- B: Alternating lunges
- Circuit 2:
- A: Squat jumps
- B: Push ups
- Circuit 3:
- A: Plank jacks
- B: Speed sumo squats
- Circuit 4:
- A: Mountain climbers
- B: Toe touch crunches (legs extended)
Once you’re done with all 4 rounds, make sure you cool down. Don’t sit down (or lie down on the floor with all the lights off. No shame.) until your heart rate drops significantly- all the blood that you just got pumpin’ needs to settle back down. Walk around, shake out your limbs, maybe put your hands on your head for easier breathing. Rehydrate and do your favorite stretching during the duration of the last song on the playlist. Congrats, you just slapped that workout in the face!
Don’t forget to join the challenge yourself! Tag any of your posts with #FlavorfulFitness and our handle, @drinkbai. Keep checking our Instagram, Twitter and SnapChat (drinkbai) to see how we’re participating in the challenge ourselves and to find out how to win awesome giveaways.
