If you’re like most people, it never feels like there’s quite enough time in a day. Daily schedules are stacked full with family, work, relationships, household chores, errands, and self-care. Where does exercise fit in? For most, it takes discipline and careful time management to fit even a short yoga class into a day.
But it’s no secret that a healthy body requires more than what yoga alone provides. To thrive, we need cardio and endurance training too. But who has time to squeeze in a run, weight training, and yoga even in the most disciplined schedule? It’s time consuming and it’s not realistic. Very few people have that much free time in a day, and even if we all did, would we want to spend it all exercising?
Luckily for the fitness community, there’s a new fusion that combines High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) and Pilates. Simply put, it’s called HIIT Pilates. HIIT Pilates takes the full-body, low impact exercise of Pilates and combines it with quick bursts of high intensity intervals that kick the body into hyperdrive. The result? A time efficient workout that improves postural alignment and flexibility while training strength and conditioning. Let’s look at the benefits of Pilates and HIIT to see why HIIT Pilates is so popular.
Benefits of Pilates
- Focuses on the core, with slow precise movements and breath control to stabilize and improve mobility for the whole body.
- Builds long, lean muscles while improving flexibility and posture.
- Increases the body’s overall potential through emphasis on core strength – we need core strength for everyday movements, lifting heavy objects, bending down, and living an active lifestyle.
Benefits of HIIT
- Focuses on large, global muscles.
- Achieve big results in a short amount of time – fast and effective.
- Burns more calories and fat than steady cardio alone.
- The quick bursts of movement followed by resting recovery boosts metabolism so you continue burning calories even after the workout is over.
HIIT Pilates usually involves a slower, traditional Pilates warmup, followed by sets of faster, Pilates movements used in a HIIT style format, followed by a cool-down. You’ll still find your favorite Pilates moves, but they will be used in timed intervals at a quick, repetitive pace. HIIT Pilates sneaks in cardio that will get your heart pumping and keep your brain more entertained than the same old jogging route around the neighborhood.
Benefits of HIIT Pilates
- Fast paced, low impact, creative multitasking that improves cardio, flexibility and strength.
- Requires little to no equipment.
- Can be taken anywhere – no gym membership required and perfect for travelers.
- Combines fast, effective intervals with slow, precise movements and breath control.
- Increases awareness of the body in space, while reducing the chance for incorrect form, poor posture and injuries from over lifting and strained muscles.
- Aims to accomplishes goals to build a strong, lean, healthy body and/or lose weight.
Why strengthen a body that you can’t move? HIIT Pilates is the ultimate fusion for those who want to get it all done it one go. Check it out and see if it’s for you with YogaToday’s new class.
