Burst Training, Oregon beach style, with yours truly
Remember, this one can be done anywhere. Even while traveling.
As long as you’ve got 2 working legs, no excuses. I”m talking about Burst Training.
Burst Training is one of the most effective, least complicated workout routines for women who are busy yet want to stay fit. (For a complete tutorial and schedule on how to do Burst Training, see my FREE Fitness Breakthrough kit you can download here.)
For me, Burst Training usually means a 15 minute quickie on my stationary bike.
Lucky me to blast through this routine for a change in barefoot freedom on the sand while here in Cannon Beach, Oregon. Two days in a row.
Bursts Finito!
It Started As A Walk
My sisters and I, while on brief beach holiday, have been hitting the beach for a walk after an early breakfast to catch the salt air, get in some good exercise, and generally squeeze some solid play time in at the start of the day.
By our second day, inspiration propelled my legs into Bursts on the beach. 120 footfalls at max speed til I was winded, followed by about 2 minutes of easy walking to recover. Another sprint. Recovery. And so on. Perfect.
More Outdoor Girl Shenanigans
After a lunch of grilled portobellos with potatoes and a pile of veggies, we drove north to find a trail high above the Pacific cliffs. We traversed a solid 3 mile loop, and turning from the steep climb to drop back toward the shore, with stunning views through the evergreens to the beach below.
Stunning views through the evergreens to the beach below.
In the distance, where I'd started the day with the footfalls of running.
What about you? How’s your Burst Training going? Any place is game.
- Trails.
- Tracks
- Sidewalks.
- Dirt paths.
- Pools.
- Bikes.
- Elliptical machines.
- Treadmills.
OK, I admit it, the beach sexes the whole thing up.
But the effect on your body and mind, anywhere, is the same. Energy soars. Sleep is sweet. Your metabolism gets stoked to a premium.
Please tell me about YOUR Burst Training method in below.
I have a question which you may have mentioned but I totally missed it – with burst training, how do you know when 2 minutes are up? I can’t run and look at my watch without tripping over something. Any ideas? I do love all your emails and suggestions.
Thank you!
Margaret
Margaret, you can get innovative by holding a writwatch in your hand that you can bring up to glance at, OR you can get a stopwatch or watch with stopwatch setting that you can program in time for. OR you can make recordings that last the intervals you choose and line them up in your mp3 – so that you are automatically cued to change tempo at a certain point in time. Heck, you could even make recordings that don’t have anything else except your voice at intervals saying “2 minutes”, “1 minute”, or “change”….come to think of it, maybe I should make something like that and make it available!
Thanks so much for your comments and of course I love that you love my emails and suggestions! They’re for you!
Lani
Lani, I just love it when you tell us about your workouts – even while traveling! You make it sound so easy and it inspires me.
Enjoy your time at the beach, it looks beautiful!
Thank you!
Collette
Collette, music to my ears that you are inspired! That’s what I aim for and I appreciate that you stopped by to tell me.
You go!
Lani
Dear Lani, how do I do burst training using low impact cardio if I don’t have an elliptical or bike machine?
Hey Jennifer,
You can swim, do regular biking, or climb stairs, which is minimal impact – Not knowing your ‘impact’ limitations, these are just off the top! Have you an injury you need to work around?
Lani
Lani, I have shin splints. In my experience, they go away if I rest my legs for a week. I still continue with my body shapers workout, but was just wondering how I could get burst training in.
Jennifer, ouch, so sorry to hear this. Stationary bike should do it, and put the ‘push’ into the heels so you move your attention to more work on the backside. Try this and see if you don’t have minimal sensation in the shins. Then, ice after. However, if doc says complete rest, then pay attention to that. And keep me posted!
Lani, so I need equipment in order to do burst training? I’ve googling this topic for a while. Here are some ideas I had for low impact burst.
1. Knee lifts? i.e. lift knee as high and fast as possible
2. High kicks, like in martial arts.
3. pushups
Your thoughts?
Jennifer, you don’t need equipment and I was offering alternatives to impact exercise in light of your shin splints. That’s why bike is a good solution. Swimming would also do the trick, but you need access to a pool.
It helps to look at it from the perspective of what we are trying to achieve with the Bursts. You want to work the large muscles in your legs so intensely and quickly that you reach the feeling of running from fire withiin 30 to 60 seconds. You can’t do that with pushups, the muscles themselves wear out before you get enough of a heart pound from large muscle group activity.
I had the sense that knee lifts and kicks would impact those shins, once you start moving fast enough, but you could give it a try. You’ll miss out on being able to really fire up those glutes, which are gems when it comes to getting Burst intensity. You COULD try a combination of squats, lifts, and kicks. Play around with it and see, it might work great! Just remember what you’re after – intensity in muscle, heart beat and breathing that after 30 – 60 seconds, you just can’t go on and need a break. This is difference from an isolated muscle workload that can’t continue – that’s isolation work and a different puppy.
Let me know how it goes!
Lani, I agree with you, pushups aren’t great for burst training, was just looking for ways not to aggravate the shins.
I felt better yesterday so I did some bursts throughout the day – jumping jacks for 1 minute twice in the morning and evening. Feels great!
Was also reading about this and came across something called tabata – where you do high intensity for 20 seconds, rest 10 seconds, and repeat for 7 more reps for a 4 minute workout. Is this the same as burst, or one is preferred over the other?
Jennifer, from what I understand about Tabata you’ve got the same thing going on. Haven’t researched in depth, but from what I hear, you’ve got it.
Jumping jacks with shin splints? You OK?
well, i had rested a few days and felt fine to jump. It did ache a little I just stretched and iced. Today I did sprinting in place with high knees on the rebounder using the tabata protocol. Wow! I am looking forward to my next tabata 2 days from now.