DAY 6 – Fitness Blender’s Brutal HIIT Workout Review

Decided to go through with a 50 min endurance HIIT session today, and it was the best decision ever!

I. AM. WIPED.

It was a real crazy session with minimal rest time between exercises. The time under tension for each exercise is only 20 secs though, so you either go all out with high speed and intensity, or you risk only being able to complete a few sets. For me, there are definitely exercises that are super tough and I can only knock down a few reps. But what does it matter? EVERY REP COUNTS!

If you are crazy enough, try this!

The first 10 min are warm ups before proceeding in this format:

Group 1 x 3 sets

1. Jumping Jacks – 20 secs x 2
2. Pop Squats – 20 secs x 2
3. Jumping Lunges – 20 secs x 2
4. Burpees – 20 secs x 2
5. High Knees – 20 secs x 2

Group 2 x 3 sets

1. Front Jacks (hands together in front, legs out and in) – 20 secs x 2
2. Rocket Squats (drop squats in 3 pulses) – 20 secs x 2
3. Mountain Climbers – 20 secs x 2
4. Side Lunges (one leg) – 20 secs x 2

Group 3 x 3 sets

1. Push Up + 1 Knee Up (Elbow to Knee Pushup) – 20 secs x 2
2. Squat Jacks (in and out) – 20 secs x 2
3. Side Plank + Toe Touch – 20 secs x 2 sides
4. Star Jumps – 20 secs x 2

A lot of work on the legs, and my legs definitely felt it! Time to rest and fuel for the next cardio pump in the evening!

Also, I decided not to procrastinate and took measurements for my waist and hip too! More details to track!

Research shows that women who fall within the 0.67 to 0.8 range are healthier. The chances of developing diabetes or having a heart attack have been found to depend more on the distribution of fat than on its volume, in addition to other factors.

A low waist-hip ratio is also linked to fertility. Not only is a wasp-waisted female likely to be healthy, she is also likely to be more fertile than her thicker-waisted sisters. Women with a low ratio, Professor Singh says, tend to start ovulating younger, and those with a high ratio find it more difficult to become pregnant and tend to have children later.

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The waist-hip ratio is calculated as waist measurement divided by hip measurement W ÷ H

So for mine, it will be 27/37 = 0.729

WOOHOO hello hourglass figure! But I’m still going to continue to scale those figures down, albeit in proportion!

The optimal waist-to-hip ratio appears to be about .70, or when the waist’s width is about 70% of the hips’ width (think of your typical hourglass figure). 

HAHAHA and to share an interesting study:

A more recent study wanted to see how important waist-to-hip ratio was to men by tracking guys’ eye movements. Essentially, the researchers wanted to know where men look when checking out a woman.³ To do this, researchers showed men naked images of women in upright poses from the front or back. Importantly, the women represented a range of waist-to-hip ratios. Regardless of pose, the results indicated that men rated women with a .7 waist-to-hip ratio as most attractive. Results also indicated that men paid most attention to women’s midriff and buttocks when the image depicted the woman from the back. When depicted from the front, men focused more on the breasts and then shifted attention to the midriff. Thus, the eye-gaze results demonstrate the important of waist-to-hip ratio, especially when viewing a woman from behind.
³Dixson, B. J., Grimshaw, G. M., Linklater, W. L., & Dixson, A. F. (2010). Watching the hourglass: Eye tracking reveals men’s appreciation of the female form. Human Nature, 21(4), 355-370. doi:10.1007/s12110-010-9100-6

Okay motivation motivation everyday!

Xoxo, Shermaine