Have children at home that need to burn energy or are you considering what’s in your Summer arsenal to fight their boredom? The entire family can get involved in designing and then participating in a HIIT Obstacle Course. HIIT is key when it comes to boosting endurance, increasing metabolism, regulating insulin levels, and losing body fat.
True HIIT will require you design your obstacle course with quick unsustainable burts of effort followed by breif recoveries. Create your sets with short increments of 30 to 60 seconds of maximum effort followed by a quick recoveries of 30 seconds. The following video provides examples of functional movements that could help you & yours begin the creative process.
Setting of Increments:
Have older children map out the timed sets of 30-60 seconds of effort then the 30 seconds of recovery across the 30 minutes of your workout.
Plotting the Course:
Have the whole family brainstorm ways to create obstacles that mimic favorite gym activities with items in your household. Here are some ideas for rainy days and for sunny days.
DYNAMIC WARM UP
•Rainy Day variation: wash cloths or tea towels laid as 5-10 yard hash marks down hallway for series of the following: frog jumps, high knees, high kicks, kick backs, left & right shuffles, bear crawls, & crab walks.
•Sunny Day variation: use beach towels or pool noodles to create a lane measuring 5-10 yards. Complete series of following: frog jumps, high knees, high kicks, kick backs, left & right shuffles, bear crawls, & crab walks.
BOX JUMP
•Rainy Day variation: sofa or accent pillows stacked to jump over them.
•Sunny Day variation: lawn furniture cushions stacked to jump over them.
ARMY CRAWL
•Rainy Day variation: dining room table |clear chairs and crawl its length or down a hallway.
•Sunny Day variation: any grassy spot in your yard will do.
CLIMB OR HANG
•Rainy Day variation: Door Way Pull-Up Bar (get your own removable one here) Can’t do a pull-up yet? Modification: loop resistance band around pull-up bars then step into it with your knees. Allow band to assist you as you build strength & rely upon it gradually less.
•Sunny Day variation: Climb a tree & hang from branch for time. Use playground equipment to do pull-ups. Modification: If participant can’t yet do pull-ups, have person one step ahead be a spot during their recovery by supporting knees of pull-up person.
SQUAT PRESS
•Sunny day & Rainy Day variation: Lift bag of kitty liter, dog food bag, laundry detergent, or cans of soup for overhead squat press.
LATERAL BENCH HOP OVER
•Rainy Day variation: Place hands on floor and hop back and forth over bed pillows for time.
•Sunny Day variation: Hands on grass and hop back and forth over bags of mulch, dog food, or pool raft for time.
MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS
•Rainy Day variation: tea towels under each foot on tile or hardwoods or paper plate under each foot on carpet. Do sets of mountain climbers for time.
•Sunny Day variation: grassy spot in your yard will do for timed mountain climbers.
When finished build a sofa fort for a family slumber party. Queue the movie and bring the popcorn.
Workout developed by Forge. Co-Founder | Owner, John Buck and his daughter. Consult your physician before implementing any exercise or nutritional plan.
