Alright party people, raise your hand if you’re ready to get in and get good sweat on?!
🙋🏻🙋🙋🏻

Ok good because that is exactly what we are going to do today!

Today, I thought I’d we’d have ourselves a hard and fast total body HIIT (High Intensity Hit Training) workout because some days you just need a short, sharp cardio blast am I right?!

And when those moments come I almost always opt for HIIT style training.

If you’ve never done a HIIT workout before here is what you need to know – a HIIT workout is made up of short bursts of exercise where you go all out, as hard as you possibly can, followed by a brief period of rest then, then we repeat for a set number of rounds or to time.

It’s hard, fast and also kind of fun!

And yes, this really is my idea of fun!

Also, those of you who are interested in training for fat loss you might want to consider adding HIIT workouts into your training program 1-2 times a week.

Research shows that HIIT workouts boost your metabolism not only while your working out but it also produces what’s known as “the after burn effect” which means that your metabolism will continue to burn at this accelerated rate for hours (I’m talking like a good 24+) and what this means is that body will be burning a higher amount of energy (aka- calories), even while your doing nothing!

Talk about maximum bang for your workout buck!

That’s what I love about HIIT training. It’s short, sharp and seriously effective!

Get in, get it done and get on with living ♥

So here’s what we are going to do – a short sharp, total body workout that you can do anywhere, anytime in just 20 minutes!

We will do just 4 exercises that will incorporate most of your major muscle groups, think – quads, glutes, hamstrings, back, lats, delts/shoulders, chest, biceps and abs/core!

Just because your workout is short doesn’t mean it’s not effective, trust me. When you’re done with this workout, your heart rate will be pumping, endorphin’s flowing, metabolism firing!

Ah how I love that post workout rush!

So, here’s what we are going to do –

4 exercises – Burpees – Mountain Climbers – Walking Lunges – Jump Squats – we will do each exercise for 1 minute each followed by, a well earned, full minute of rest and recovery, then we will repeat the entire sequence through for a total of 4 rounds, sound good?

The aim is to move from one exercise to the next with minimal/no rest in between then once we have completed all reps of each exercises we will take a minute to catch our breath, grab a drink, then we get straight back into it, deal?

Nothing complicated, basic movements done with good form for a short but effective total body workout.

Although, we want quality not quantity, always! Never compromise your form, ever! If your form starts to fail your done, got it?

Take your time, concentrate, focus and breathe through each and every exercise. You are strong, you are amazing, you have big energy! You’ve totally got this!

And because nothing makes a workout challenge more fun than getting a buddy to join you. Why not grab your BFF or a family member or your fave workmate and have them join you, power in numbers baby!

Don’t forget to come back and let me know how you did once you’re done. Either leave me a message in the comments below, or you can give me a shout on the Facebook page or tag me (@EmSwanston) on Twitter , or Instagram (@emsswanston) . I mean it, I wanna hear how you did!

Ok enough chit chat time to work –

 20 Minute Total Body HIIT Workout

As always make sure you are nice an warm before you start your workout – Run on the spot, do jumping jacks, jump rope, dance around your living room, anything to get you warm then it’s time to get serious.

Finish with a nice little cool down and stretch, maybe take a walk or something anything to help bring your heart rate down. Finish with a few of your fave stretches. Please don’t skip the stretch people, its like dessert for the body.

Now onto our bonus smoothie recipe . . .

It’s so important to nourish and re-energize your body post workout, you want to make sure you give those muscles some fuel so that they can rebuild and repair themselves after working so hard.

How does a nice tall, light, fresh, clean, crisp, seriously refreshing, pineapple, mint and lime smoothie sound?

A combination of tart, tangy coconut yogurt, sweet, juicy pineapple pieces, some fresh mint and a little lime zest is not only all kinds of refreshing it’s an absolute taste sensation! 👌🏻

It really is simply divine, the perfect way to treat yo’ self and refuel and re-energize that beautiful body of yours on this fabulous Friday.

Oh and I should probably mention that not only does our pineapple, mint and lime smoothie taste like an absolute dream but, it also happens to be vegan, dairy free and paleo friendly – so much to love I tell you ❤️❤️❤️

Pineapple Mint and Lime Smoothie
{Vegan. Gluten Free & Paleo Friendly}
Makes 1 all natural, l light, fresh, clean, crisp, seriously refreshing, pineapple, mint and lime smoothie

Ingredients –

1/3 cup coconut or Greek style yogurt

2/3 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or milk of choice)

1/2 an overripe banana (preferably pre-frozen)

1/2 cup frozen pineapple pieces

1 Tablespoon of fresh mint leaves (about 8 large leaves)

1 teaspoon of freshly grated lime zest

1/4 cup of ice – more or less to desired consistency

Optional but recommended for serving –

Coconut flakes

Fresh Mint

Method –

1 – Place all smoothie ingredients into your and process until smooth, creamy and well combined.

2 – Pour into a chilled glass or mason jar then top with coconut flakes and a sprig or two of mint if desired.

Note – You could also add in a scoop of protein powder (vanilla or unflavoured would work best in this recipe) and some great lakes gelatin for an extra boost of protein if you’re into that kinda thing – do what you feel baby 🙂

Enjoy xoxo

Don’t forget to give me a shout out when you’re done – hit me up in the comments below via the Facebook page on Twitter or on Instagram

Now go and remember;

and have yourself a killer day xoxo

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Question of the day –

What’s your favorite way to refuel after a workout?

Feel free to share recipes, or links to your fave recipes in the comments below or on the Facebook page and please for the love of all that is good in this world when you do make this smoothie (or any of the recipes you find on this blog of mine) go ahead and snap a pic and share it either on the Facebook page, or tag me on twitter or Instagram. Sharing is caring remember.

Do it, do it You know you want to 🙂

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