The 30 Minute Body Burn to Make You Strong AF

Lifestyle
April 23, 2017
Lifestyle
April 23, 2017

The 30 Minute Body Burn to Make You Strong AF

I haven’t always liked working out. Throughout my life, there hasn’t been one workout activity I’ve done for more than a few

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The 30 Minute Body Burn to Make You Strong AF

The 30 Minute Body Burn to Make You Strong AF

I haven’t always liked working out. Throughout my life, there hasn’t been one workout activity I’ve done for more than a few years. I’ve done running, softball, crew, swimming, lifting, basketball, and more. Nothing ever stuck.

I also haven’t always enjoyed super strenuous workouts. Workouts that pushed me to my limits, that caused me to break a heavy sweat, drained my body for an entire day.

But after college, something in me changed. Maybe it was that I was dating a former collegiate athlete, but for whatever reason I started gravitating towards challenging workouts. I began going to hot yoga 4 times a week, and soon felt my body craving the sweat, heat, and endorphins. 

About a year ago, I decided to supplement my yoga routines with more strength-intensive workouts. I started doing High Intensity Interval Training, or HIIT, made popular by fitness influencers like Kayla Itsines and the Tone It Up girls.

At first, it sucked. These workouts pushed me to my mental and physical limits.

But as time went on, the workouts began getting easier, and I began noticing changes in my body that pushed me to continue: my butt went from super (guys, suuuper) flabby to round, my abs began to show more than ever before, and most importantly, I felt stronger.

HIIT workouts have gained notoriety in recent years due to research that suggests shorter, more intense workouts can lead to more notable effects than longer, lower intensity workouts. Personally, I love that my workout only takes 30 minutes, including breaks. Yes, you push yourself hard for 30 minutes, but it’s done before you know it.

I’ve come up with a 30 Minute Body Burn that targets your legs, abs, and arms. I do this routine 4-5 times a week, but for someone just starting out I would suggest doing it 2-3 times a week and working your way up.

Here’s how it works. Using the infographic below as your guide, set a timer for 6 minutes. Go through the first column of exercises two times. Once your timer is up, rest for 2 minutes, then set the timer again for 6 minutes and go through the second column of exercises two times. Rest for two minutes, then do it all over again. So it will look like this:

Minutes 1-6: rotate twice through column 1
Minutes 7-8: rest
Minutes 9-14: rotate twice through column 2
Minutes 15-16: rest
Minutes 17-22: rotate twice through column 1
Minutes 23-24: rest
Minutes 25-30: rotate twice through column 2

Make sense? Cool!

Some tips:

-Eat before you work out. I always notice a difference when I eat before a workout- I feel much more energized and the workout is less hard
-Don’t go fast. Take your time. You really want to work your muscles.
-Blast some music. Put it on high and lose yourself in the songs. Having great music on makes a huge difference.

The goal is always completion: always complete the workout. If this means slowing down or taking a break, that’s OK. But I believe that once you start a workout, you should push yourself to finish it. This develops a stronger mindset of dealing with both mental and physical difficulty.

Hope you all enjoy! XO.

The 30 Minute Body Burn to Make You Strong AF

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  1. HI SARAH! I RECENTLY FOUND YOUR BLOG AND LOVE THE POSTS ABOUT A HEALTHY DAILY ROUTINE THAT INVOLVES A LITTLE DESSERT! I ALSO LOVE HIIT AND TABATA WORKOUTS, SO THIS POST IS MY JAM.

    I JUST DID THIS WORKOUT AND HAVE A QUESTION (FOR TIMING PURPOSES) – THE MOVES WHERE YOU ALTERNATE LEGS (MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS, BICYCLES, LUNGES AND X JUMPS) DO YOU COUNT EVERY LEG OR EVERY OTHER LEG?

    THANK YOU!

  2. OMG Sarah, you should have searched for a much larger font for “AF”!!!! Hahaha!! What an awesome (and hard) workout! I’ve done it twice this week already and am hoping to get closer to the 30 minute mark with every try! Keep ‘em coming!
    xoxo, Maureen