Hello Melbourne!
If you are anything like our staff and students, you probably struggle to maintain a consistent rhythm with exercising. In fact, this discussion arose recently when one of our students requested some lifestyle advice. Should you need any help with that, do not worry! We are here to save the day… Once again ?
A common belief is that long workouts will get you shredded and in shape much faster… Well, I beg to differ. I’ve got here a few reasons why shorter workouts are better! (Woohoo!)
No more room for excuses!
Let’s BeReal™ for a minute. When life gets extremely hectic, that you find yourself completely overwhelmed between your two part-time jobs on top of school/uni, you probably won’t want to add an extra hour or 2 of workout every day. That’s why instead of dropping exercising altogether, get a quick 10-20 minutes of workout in, whether it is from home or on your way to/from the office. Before I hear you say you can’t even spare 20 minutes in your day, I know you can take that time out of the one you spend scrolling through tiktok ?
Get those results. Fast.
Long, extensive and tiring workouts will not get you to your objectives if you lack the consistency. And you probably don’t yet have the willpower and motivation to consistently spend an hour or 2 working out, every single day. That’s why a much more achievable target is very regular workouts, regardless of their duration, several times during the week. As long as you keep up that consistency, you will smile at the results you are about to achieve!
You will save in food
It was demonstrated in several researches that intensive and short workouts such as HIIT reduce your appetite, as opposed to steady-state cardio workouts. The former is extremely intensive whereas the latter tends to be more constant in terms of intensity, and it increases your hunger significantly. After HIIT workouts, you are more likely to eat normally and even maybe snack less.
Set the mood for the day
Keen to feel hyped? Unstoppable? Motivated to the max? Well, those little workouts can definitely improve your mood more than you think! Being in your zone, spending your energy and energising up for the day will definitely improve your productivity and who knows, you might actually get those 20-30 minutes spent working out back since you will be more productive! Whether it is in the morning to wake you up, or at night to release your energy for the day, your mental health will definitely see an improvement over the course of a week or 2 already.
So with all that said, get on YouTube, fire up the first HIIT workout video you find, and get those arms moving! Who knows, we might even start competing on who works out most ?