Those of you who have been following along for a while now will know that I am not one to do much cardio . . .

It’s no secret that I love lifting heavy weights and so when people ask me about what kind of training I do the conversation tends to go a little like this;

That being said, some days you just need a hard fast cardio blast am I right?!

And when those moments come I almost always opt for Tabata or HIIT (high intensity interval training) style training to get my cardio fix.

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

Research shows that Tabata/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 hours more!).

For those of you who are interested in training for fat loss or looking to lose a few kgs (or lbs) you might want to start adding Tabata or HIIT training 1-2 times a week because what this means is that long after your workout is over your resting metabolic rate will remain elevated so you will be burning a higher amount of calories even while your doing nothing.

Add in a couple of heavy lifting days along with some good quality fuel (food) and rest (yes rest!) and you should see some solid results. ♥

Talk about maximum bang for your workout buck!

That’s what I love about Tabata/HIIT training. It’s hard, fast 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 knock out done in just 10 minutes!

We will do just 6 simple exercises that will incorporate most of your major muscle groups, I’m talkin’ 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 –

6 basic exercises – Squats – Squat Jumps – Lunge – Jumping Lunges – Push Ups & Plank Jacks – we will do 10 reps of each exercise and repeat the entire sequence through for a total of between 4-6 rounds, sound good?

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

We will 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 30 seconds to catch our breath  grab a drink then we get straight back into it and repeat for a anywhere between of 4 and 6 rounds, or as many rounds as pretty in 10 minutes, deal?

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

If you have them available and want to kick things up a notch feel free to grab yourself a lighter set of weights, something appropriate to your own personal strength.  I tested this workout just using my own body weight for resistance and let me tell you, It was intense.

Not using weights does not mean you can’t have a killer workout. Trust me!

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 –

 10 Minute Total Body Tabata 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, delicious, nutritious, decadent, rich, subtly sweet, secretly healthy chocolate orange chiller sound?

It’s all natural, thick and creamy, subtly sweet, decadent and rich with a zesty orange kick.

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

Oh and it also happens to be vegan, dairy free and paleo friendly but, most importantly, it’s downright delicious ♥♥♥

I should warn you this smoothie is not overly sweet, if you prefer a sweet shake then you might want to add a little extra vanilla, a splash of maple syrup or even some stevia to sweeten things up. Have a taste, play around and adjust as needed.

Chocolate Orange Chiller
{Vegan. Gluten Free & Paleo Friendly}
Makes 1 all natural, light, fresh, thick, creamy, deliciously dreamy, decadent, rich, subtly sweet, seriously chocolaty smoothie with a zesty orange kick!

Ingredients –

1/3 cup coconut or Greek style yogurt

1/2 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or milk of choice)

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

1 Tablespoon of cacao

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1/2 (firmly packed) teaspoon of orange zest – or you could sub 1/4 teaspoon of orange extract

1/4-1/2  cup of ice – more or less to taste

For serving –

Cacao nibs – I use this cacao crunch by Power Superfoods ♥

Coconut Flakes

Method –

1 – Place all smoothie ingredients into a blender and process until smooth and creamy.

2 – To serve, pour into a chilled glass/mason jar or bowl and top with shredded coconut and cacao nibs if desired.

Note – You could also add in a scoop of protein powder (vanilla, chocolate or unflavoured would work really well 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 have yourself a killer day xoxo

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Question of the day –

What workouts are you loving lately?!

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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