Stepping it up!

After that very cold night, I really thought about it and I think it would be perfect timing to step things up a bit in the cardio department.

I think it is time to introduce some High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) into my program.
This is a concept that I was taught very early during my phys ed classes during school; push, push, give it all you got for a minute - then relax and wind down for a minute. Then do it all over again, 10 more times.

"So why do this, what are the benefits?", you may want to ask.

The main objective of this exercise is to train your heart. Training your heart to pump out more blood in less beats. Effectively, lowering your pulse a bit, but not the effect.
It is also good because it will allow your body to react much better in "explosive" situations, for example when you need to make that small sprint to get across the road or catch the bus.

"You know what I mean, we've all felt tired at one point when we suddenly had to push our bodies to the limit for that short amount of time."

Another very good effect of this is the boost to your metabolism. Specifically the body's regulation of blood sugar, particularly after meals. This is something that appears to be confirmed by studies as well as by the Men's Health Magazine.

One of the studies was recently published in the New York Times blog the other week.

Yup, this goes in the bag! But let's not go overboard.

I will be adding this as a small 10 minute exercise - which gives me 5 intensive minutes and 5 minutes of rest - on the cross trainer, in addition to my current 20.