Chuze Fitness

What is a HIIT Workout?

Thu, 24 Sep 2020 17:00:54 GMT

What is a HIIT Workout?

With time being a coveted commodity, many of us are continually looking for ways to burn calories fast. Luckily, HIIT exists, and it does just that. HIIT stands for ‘High-Intensity Interval Training.’ Today, we want to talk about what it is and how you can get started.

What Is HIIT Training?

You may be wondering, “What is a HIIT workout?” Well, if you have ever joined one of our Team Training sessions, you have done HIIT training. HIIT means that you are completing a quick burst of a high-intensity workout to get your heart rate to 80% of its capacity, working at your best efforts, followed by a brief rest or low-intensity exercise. Typically, you will see a 1-4 minute intense burst of workout, with a 1-4 minute rest. It may sound a little odd that this workout requires so much rest. By allowing your body to rest, you are consistently making it work on two opposite ends of the spectrum—bursts of your highest intensity vs. bursts of rest. The rest allows you to perform at your very best during those high-intensity exercise portions and builds up your cardiovascular exercise strength.

How Do You Know If You’re Hitting 80%?

It is hard to know if you are hitting an 80% heart rate. Studies show that this number makes the workout more effective. But, how do you check to make sure you are hitting that number? The first option is to buy a heart rate monitor (HRM). An HRM is an accurate way to keep track of your workout level, and can sometimes be incorporated into your interval workouts, like in our Team Training sessions where you can view your progress from the screens in our classrooms. You can grab them at any of our Team Training locations, and even enjoy a discount with your More Membership. For the most accurate results, we suggest one that straps around your chest. Watches like the Apple Watch, Fitbit, and Garmin are all excellent choices as well. But, if none of these sound like they will work for you, you are in luck. You can calculate your heart rate on your own by following the steps on Heart.org.

Benefits of HIIT Training

Burn Calories After Your Workout

HIIT is an intense form of exercise that gives you a lot of benefits. One of them, though, is that your body will continue to burn calories after your workout. Yes, even when you are an hour deep into the latest Netflix documentary. This is called EPOC (Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption), and its effects can last up to 24 hours resulting in up to 200 more calories burned. To put that into perspective, it would take about 30 minutes of an average-intensity aerobic exercise to burn 200 calories. That’s a pretty good bonus for just going about your typical day.

You Will Save Time

HIIT exercises don’t take long at all. In fact, a full-on Tabata HIIT workout can last four minutes! It’s become very popular over the years and is proven to give results. So, if time is of the essence, look no further! You can do a 4-minute workout during your lunch break and still have 26 mins to go for relaxing and enjoying your nourishment—amazing.

All You Need Is Your Body

We love bodyweight workouts. Committing a few epic bodyweight movements to your memory means that you can do an exercise and lean into self-care no matter where you are. With HIIT, you can combine bodyweight movements like burpees, jumping jacks, pushups, and jumps to create a workout on-the-go.

Lose Fat And Get Healthier

One way to keep your health in tip-top shape is to reduce the body fat you carry around your organs (or ‘visceral fat’). One study from the University of New South Wales researched participants in a HIIT exercise program for 12 weeks, with 3 20 minute sessions a week. Compared to the control group, the participants experienced a significant weight loss of about 3.3 pounds (1.5 kg) and a visceral fat reduction of 17%!

Where To Find HIIT Workouts

If you are looking for a perfect place to try a HIIT routine with an instructor to guide you through it, we have HIIT training in our Group Exercise classes and Team Training sessions. Check out the location near you to find the in-person schedule. If you would like to try a HIIT session at home, our virtual fitness platform offers bodyweight HIIT workouts, treadmill HIIT workouts, and various other options to get you in the best shape of your life. You can find out more on iChuze Fitness. You can also find tips for interval training on our blog—where we dive into topics covering the equipment in our gym, self-care, bodyweight workouts, stretching, rest, and more! Regardless of your fitness level or whether you visit us online or in-club, we are so happy that you are a part of the Chuze Family.

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What Is Your All-Time-Favorite Self-Care Tip?

Mon, 21 Sep 2020 17:00:14 GMT

What Is Your All-Time-Favorite Self-Care Tip?

There are a multitude of ways to practice self-care, and we should all have self-care as a central part of our wellness routines. When we give to ourselves, we can better give to others as well. So, we wanted to come right to the source—our Chuze Family—for your favorite self-care tips.

1 | Prioritize Working Out

When we feel low, getting out and getting active might seem like the least important thing on our to-do list. But, prioritizing exercise is one of the best self-care tips for mental health. In this article by the Mayo Clinic, they discuss how exercise releases feel-good endorphins into your body, introduces a positive way to cope with stressors, brings about more confidence, and can help you take your mind off of the things bogging you down. And, you guys agree! Working out was the number one answer we got when we asked you your favorite self-care strategies.

2 | Enjoy A Massage

With HydroMassage at all of our locations, we love seeing this easy self-care tip make the top of your list! Amongst HydroMassage’s many benefits is that it can help you relax, reducing anxiety and stress—don’t we all need a little bit of that?

3 | Grab A Book And Read

Books are magical. They can take us out of reality and into a whole different universe. It’s no wonder reading is one of your favorite self-care tips. Beyond the benefits of giving you time to focus on something you love, reading strengthens vocabulary, can help you fall asleep, helps with analytical skills, and can even build your writing skills. A win, win, win.

4 | Take Time To Meditate

When we meditate, we allow ourselves to focus inward. By tapping into how you feel physically and mentally, you are equipping yourself with the knowledge to move forward with self-care for the day. Meditating can help to reduce stress, increase focus, increase self-awareness, and help you sleep better.

5 | Add Yoga To Your Routine

Ahhhh, yoga—how we love this form of exercise and self-care. Yoga can be a great low-impact exercise, and simultaneously help you to relax. We put together the most relaxing yoga poses for you to try here. Feel your cares melt away as you stretch out all of the tension in your body and work on enhancing balance and strength. One of you even told us taking a nice bath after yoga is your idea of self-care, and we think that’s brilliant! Two self-care practices in a row is a great way to make sure you feel amazing.

6 | Get Ready For The Day

We love this tip. Getting ready for the day by doing your hair and makeup, or putting on nice clothes (Sorry, sweats. We still love you.) can set you up for success. If it makes you feel more confident, focused, and better overall. Getting ready might be a perfect addition to your self-care recipe.

7 | Take A Nap

Listen, there are many ways you can practice self-care through doing, but this one is through—well—not doing. You voted that napping was one of your self-care tips. We can get into the habit of always being on the go working, working out, traveling, being with friends, being with family, that relaxing can fall by the wayside. Naps are a great way to give yourself an extra break and truly let your brain and body rest. According to the Sleep Foundation, napping can even help you become more alert. The important thing to note is to listen to your body. If you need a nap, give yourself 20-30 minutes to sleep and rest. If you are wide awake and want to practice self-care, consider another self-care option.

8 | Go For a Run or Hike

Enjoying the great outdoors while getting in an exercise can help you release those wonderful endorphins while also giving you an immense appreciation for your surroundings. We are lucky to be based in beautiful Southern California where the mountains and beaches are within arms reach for a run, hike, or bike. But, no matter where you are, you can enjoy your community and get a workout in at the same time.

9 | Keeping A Positive Outlook

We all know a bubbly person who always seems to be happy and positive about everything. It might seem like their lives are perfect, without a struggle. But, the truth is, all of us are going through something. Research from Johns Hopkins Medicine determined that people with a positive outlook were 13% less likely to have coronary events (like a heart attack). They advise that you can work on building a positive outlook by intentionally smiling more, reframing negative situations into positive ones, and building your adaptability.

We love hearing all of your tips for self-care. Follow along as we celebrate Self-Care September on social media, in our clubs, and on iChuze Fitness. To see how we are celebrating, check out this article. We can’t wait to practice self-care with you.

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7 Bodyweight Exercises For Beginners

Thu, 17 Sep 2020 17:00:21 GMT

7 Bodyweight Exercises For Beginners

Wanna work out wherever you are? There’s good news! Bodyweight workouts travel with you, are compact, torch away calories, and send those feel-good endorphins running through your body. Here, we cover some bodyweight exercises for beginners so that you can get started today.

1 | Jumping Jacks

Seeing the word “jumping jack” might bring a flood of memories from your early P.E. classes. At the time, it was a workout used to warm us up or get us to pay attention in class. Jumping jacks, though, are one of the best beginner bodyweight workouts of all time. Not only are they a fantastic workout on their own, but they are also one of the best warm-up exercises for your entire body. Just a minute or two of jumping jacks will start to get your blood flowing and loosen up your whole body’s muscles. Plus, if you do jumping jacks as a circuit, you can start slow on your first round, a little faster on the second, and then a quick, calorie-blasting workout on the third and beyond—taking this from a warm-up to a workout. Our P.E. teachers were definitely onto something.

How to do a jumping jack:

Stand straight up with your feet together and your arms at your side
Carefully jump without locked knees and widen your feet just past your hips
At the same time, move your arms from your side up over your head, keeping your arms straight through the movement
Reverse those movements back to starting position
Repeat for one minute

2 | Lunges

Another dynamic warm-up and fantastic bodyweight workout is the lunge. Like jumping jacks, you can start off utilizing lunges to stretch out your muscles before a workout. Targeting your lower body, your thighs, hips, quads, and core will all feel much better after a lunge warm-up—plus, by adding a simple twist as you go down, this truly can become one of the most dynamic exercises ever.

How to do a lunge:

Stand up straight with your feet about hip-width apart and your hands on your hips
Lift your right foot and take a big step forward, keeping your core engaged and landing on your heel first
Lower your left knee down as your front leg bends, attempting to keep your knee at a 90-degree angle (be sure not to allow your knee to go past your toe)
Press back while engaging your core to return to starting position
Repeat with your other foot
Repeat ten times on each side

3 | Squats

These might be the most popular strength exercise, and they are perfect for when you have no equipment. Squats strengthen your legs and glutes, and—less widely known—they also help to improve your core and build strength for powerful movements.

How to bodyweight squat:

Stand with your legs a little more than hip-width apart, and your feet slightly pointed outward
With your back straight and core engaged, bend your knees and lower your glutes
Lower down to 90 degrees, keeping your back straight and head up, and return to start
Repeat ten times

4 | Pushups

Moving on up to an arm-toning workout, it’s time to talk pushups. You might have tried pushups for a great chest and upper body workout, but, done correctly, a pushup can work your whole body.

How to do a pushup:

Begin in plank position either on your knees or with your legs extended back (this is where core strength comes in)
Place your hands on the ground straight beneath your shoulders
Lower yourself down, bending your elbows and maintaining the plank position
Return to the start by pushing yourself back up to plank position
Repeat ten times

5 | Shoulder Taps

Shoulder taps are another workout done in the plank position. They allow you to work your core muscles, shoulders, arms, glutes, and even help keep your wrists strong. These look and sound simple to do—but done correctly—this beginner bodyweight exercise will make you feel the burn.

How to do shoulder taps:

Begin in plank position with your arms beneath your shoulders
With your right hand, tap your left shoulder (try not to twist your body, but rather stay straight in a plank position by engaging your core) and then return your right hand to the floor
Now, use your left hand to tap your right shoulder, then return that hand to the floor
Repeat 10x on each side

6 | Thigh Taps

As a cousin to shoulder taps, thigh taps are just as effective. Working your shoulders, arms, abs, glutes, and wrists, you will love adding this to your bodyweight training routine.

How to do thigh taps:

Start in plank position with your arms beneath your shoulders
Take your right hand and tap the front of your right thigh
Switch, and use your left hand to tap your left thigh
Repeat 10x on each side

7 | Superman Back Extensions

This back workout is going to give your arms a deserved relief. And, the best part of this bodyweight workout is that you get to lay down. Pretty great, right?

How to do Superman back extensions:

Lay on your stomach with your arms straight out towards the wall in front of you
Engage your core, arms, legs, glutes, and back and slowly lift your arms and legs off of the ground
Lift until your chest is off of the floor
Hold for a second
Slowly lower to start position
Repeat 10x

You can try any one of these bodyweight exercises independently, or try them together to give yourself a full-body bodyweight workout. To try this as its own workout, go through these exercises three times. You can do bodyweight exercises at any of our locations. If you would like to be led through a bodyweight exercise at home, join iChuze Fitness. Here, you can enjoy instructor-lead bodyweight workouts from the comfort of your living room (or wherever you are)!

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