Good morning, good morning, good morning! Happy two-more-days-till-Friday day!
Last week I posted a workout review on the Bodypump #95 workout from Les Mills On Demand and I got a pretty nice response. That tells me there are people out there interested in these workouts! For this reason I definitely wanted to share the super ultra challenging workout I did yesterday. It was a Grit workout. Whomever decided on the name Grit is genius because wow. I learned I don’t have much, haha!
If you aren’t familiar with the Grit workouts from Les Mills, they’re high intensity interval training at its finest. These workouts are designed to improve cardiovascular fitness, increase speed and maximize calorie burn. I think the only thing I noticed trying Grit for the first time was definitely crazy high calorie burn. However, I was reminded that my cardio fitness could use some work (like, a lot of work) and that I felt like a 500 pound turtle the entire time. It was great!
Les Mills On Demand: Grit Cardio #08 Starter
Here’s what to expect from this workout:
Get set for a 20-minute high-intensity interval training (HIIT) workout that improves cardiovascular fitness, increases speed and maximizes calorie burn. This workout uses a variety of body weight exercises and provides the challenge and intensity you need to get results fast. The highlight is the metabolic kicker at the end, a final one minute challenge that ensures you finish your workout with nothing left.
No equipment is needed for this workout. My own body was plenty and I promise yours will be too. The workout consisted of a few different tracks that featured combo moves – jumping was definitely a theme here – that got your heart rate skyrocketing from the get-go. In between each track is a rest period. So basically, go hard, rest. Go hard, rest. There were jumping lunges, burpee squats, planks, other kinds of jumps and some core work at the end. I guess the tradition in the Grit workouts is to blast the core at the end. I appreciate that since I always seem to neglect core work.
I had to take a million breaks in this workout. It made me feel like a big suck-fest but I can’t expect to do very well when I haven’t done much for cardio workouts in a long time. Starting over is always hard. I’d like to continue so I don’t have to start over again. You’d think I’d learn. HA!
Workout length: 20 minutes
The entire duration from start to finish was about 26 minutes. All Grit workouts with ‘Starter’ in the title consist of 20 minutes of actual workout time. What I found to be super helpful was that a Les Mills trainer guides you along and explains the tracks before you do them. This breaks up the workout so you’re able to master the moves and increase speed before moving up to the regular Grit workouts. You’ll want to start with the Starter Grit workouts – believe me!
For the regular Grit workouts, you’ll be working for 30 minutes and there won’t be those few extra breaks in between! That scares me.
Final Thoughts
Even though this was one of the most difficult workouts I’ve ever done, I’m a big fan of Les Mills Grit. I’m just a big fan of Les Mills overall. I love the variety and I appreciate that they have a fun way of getting cardio exercise in. I didn’t “enjoy” the workout per se’… but I appreciate the challenge and the effectiveness of this specific workout. I also love the Les Mills trainers – they’re all motivating with crazy high energy!
Until next time…
