Team Workout, Saturday, 6-20-09

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Click here to schedule a session: 

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I've heard that High Intensity Interval Training is getting popular in Eugene.

I first heard about High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) when I was trying to lose weight and gain some muscle on my bodybuilding routine 6-7 years ago.

HIIT or HIT (as I knew it) was a warmup, followed by rounds of high intensity running, with rounds of either slower running or rest between rounds.  Think running as hard as you can to the next telephone pole, and then walking or jogging to the one after.

How exciting!  You can get more results with 11-21 minutes of this than 45 minutes to 2 hours of Long Slow Distance running.  Very good stuff.

Most HIIT programs have you doing this once a week or every other day to ensure you get adquete rest.

Crossfit is a beast of a HIIT program.   It's the HIIT program to crush all other HIIT programs.  Here's just a few reasons why:

• Every day it's different - Crossfit taxes different metabolic systems
  
• We change the amount of hard sets between intervals
• We change to total amount of work you do
• Different movements - not just running.
  
• We change the amount of rest
  
• Sometimes these are set and sometimes these are not.  Even the workouts that seem all in one, you are stopping to rest or slowing down at points.
• By building Strength (on heavy days), and working with the olympic lifts Crossfit increases your raw power - so on the "HIIT" days you are getting more out of than if you stayed weak.

• By building coordination, accuracy, agility, balance with gymnastics and the oly lifts you get more out of the HIIT days.

• Crossfit mixes it all up in a beautiful package so you can do more than 1-2 days of working out per week and get WAY MORE results.

But what it really comes down to is fitness. (Read here for definition)  Crossfit is better than any "HIIT" program at making anyone fitter, faster, with less chance for injury.  And if any HIIT junkie wants to test that, I'm game.

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Also one of Daren's bands "Frown Squad" is playing a show in Eugene this weekend at Sam's Place on Wilson Street. The show is Saturday night at 8:00 till around Midnight.  Frown Squad plays a variety of Rock and Dance tunes.  It'll be a rockin good time!  Proceeds (Suggested $5/person) will help benefit a family who lost their home to a Fire.