The Great Mix Up

One of the hardest components to staying consistent with my exercise routine is the changes. Not so much the workouts changing, but keeping my muscles guessing. I use a variety of resources to help me mix up my workouts, such as; fitness magazines, Pinterest, personal trainers, BodyBuilding.com, or just watching others at the gym.

Today, I had the privilege of working with a new trainer, Joseph at my gym. Joseph had me do a total body HIIT (high intensity interval training) workout this morning. I was sore when it ended, and I know I will be sore tomorrow. Here's a breakdown of my workout:

I started with a six minute warm up which included 3 minutes of running and 3 minutes of walking.  I did the following exercises 6 times for 20 seconds with a 10 second rest between sets and one minutes breaks between exercises. It sounds easy enough, but when I got to the sixth set, I could feel the intensity.

Jumping Jacks
Wall Squat
6 inch Leg Hold
Bosu Ball Push Ups
Plank plus half set of side plank each side
Step-ups plus half set of high knees
Sitting Arm Row

Joseph challenged me with this workout, and I fought my way to finish. I enjoyed learning some new exercises that I will most definitely add to my regular routine.

If you're interested in trying this workout or something similar. Then you should take advantage of Fitness 19 Cary's Black Friday deal- $99 for 5 sessions. Visit Fitness 19 for more information.

After my personal training session, I headed over to Park West Village in Morrisville to learn more about a new place to really mix it up-- Orange Theory Fitness. Orange Theory Fitness is a different type of gym, it's more like a big class offered multiple times throughout the day. The one hour class is divided into 2, 30 minute segments. The first being cardio with treadmills, indoor rowing and stationary bikes. While the other half is weight training, TRX and interval exercises. Each participant is fitted with a heart rate monitor and is encouraged to reach 84% on the monitor to achieve the optimal calories burned (500-1000) and maximize your metabolic rate.

They don't have on-site childcare, but I spoke with the owner, Kristie and she is hoping to partner with My Gym in Preston Walk on childcare options. So, if you're looking to mix it up or find a new routine, check out Orange Theory Fitness. They are not opening until January 2014, but they are offering some exceptional introductory offers.

Interested in trying a free session ( a $25 value). Then register to win below:

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