Ripped with HIIT: Plyo HIIT

For more information on Cathe’s Ripped with HIIT program see the overview post.

Plyo HIIT contains two HIIT workouts and holy cow–Cathe has really kicked it up a notch! These were super tough and super intense! I always expect intensity with Cathe, but wow! I am on my first week of my Ripped with HIIT rotation and here was the plan: I do every workout as laid out once the first week (meaning no premixes unless it only adds one of the ab bonuses), then the second week I do most of them again except sample some of the premixes. Then post the reviews after doing most of the workouts twice. For the HIIT workouts (Plyo HIIT and Low Impact HIIT) the plan was: the first week do each workout once, then the second week do the “extreme” premixes that combine the workouts (on Plyo HIIT that is premix #2, combining Plyo HIIT 1 and Plyo HIIT 2 together into one long HIIT workout). After having done Plyo HIIT 1, all I can say is what was I thinking?!?!?! That’s not to say I won’t try it. But after day one of my Ripped with HIIT rotation, I may need to rethink some things! Plyo HIIT 1 was crazy intense!

Then I did Plyo HIIT 2–also very intense, but not as crazy intense as Plyo HIIT 1. Plyo HIIT 2 has LOTS of Power 7s btw–it is Power 7 heavy. So the extreme premix might be doable. Maybe. I will of course be reporting back here before this review even posts but right now, I am thinking I will try it. But first, let’s talk about the basics.

The basics: HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training. If you are really going all out, you are putting yourself in an anaerobic state which your body cannot maintain for long periods of time. That is why HIIT training is done in bursts. There are lots of ways to do this: 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off or 40 seconds on, 20 seconds off, or even 12 seconds on 8 seconds off. There are a million ways to do it. The main focus should be to go all out, as hard as you can, completely exhausting yourself. One of the best ways to facilitate this is through plyometrics. The benefits of HIIT training are high calorie burn during the workout, increased calorie burn for hours afterward (EPOC, which stands for excess post-oxygen consumption or afterburn effect) and it’s good for your heart. Also, since HIIT workouts are short due to their high intensity, your body never burns muscle for energy as it does with long steady-state cardio workouts. You are primarily burning carbs and fat. If you want more information on the value of HIIT training, check out Cathe’s blog post about it: The Science Behind HIIT.

Now, I own a lot of HIIT workouts and they all do the job to varying degrees. As mentioned above, in order to get the full effect you have to go all out, pushing yourself to the max during your “on” intervals. Obviously it is always up to you how hard you push yourself, but some exercises make it easier for you to go all out because they are so flipping intense. Plyo HIIT 1 contains a lot of those types of exercises. I was maxed out during the intervals and many times barely making it to the end of the interval before I knew my form had gone into the $hitter. That equals an effective HIIT workout. Plyo HIIT 2 had some of these, too, but Plyo HIIT 1 had many more. The interesting thing is, Plyo HIIT 1 uses no equipment except for a mat that is only used as a marker. Plyo HIIT 2 uses the step at 8 inches and a 10 pound dumbbell to increase intensity but still didn’t manage to be as intense as using your body alone.

Today I will be posting this review and this morning I did Plyo HIIT 1 premix 2 which is an extreme premix in which you do Plyo 1 warm up, Plyo 1 workout, Plyo 2 workout and finish with Plyo 2 stretch. It was 45 minutes and it was crazy intense. I still believe Plyo HIIT 1 is much more intense than Plyo HIIT 2, which is why I started with it. I was wiped out at the end of this workout and during the last 10 minutes I even started feeling a little nauseated. So, super intense workout!

Plyo HIIT 1 is 27 minutes long with a 5 minute warm up and a 4 minute stretch. All you need for this workout is a mat. You will use as a marker–jumping over and around it–making the workout much tougher!

1. Run 3 and Leap

2. Snowboards

3. Grapevine Tap, 6 Power Scissors

4. One Arm Burpees

5. Vertical Butt Kicks

6. Jump Front/Back Plie Jacks/2 Boxes

7. Vertical Knee Slaps

8. Lateral Leg Thrust Burpees

Pull out the mat for the rest of the workout.

9. Half Circle Shuffle Sprints

10. 2 Forward Hops, 1 Hop Turn, Air Jack

11. Wide Burpees

12. Lateral Hops and 1 Tuck Jump

13. High Reaching Pop Squat

14. 4 Power Hops/2 Plyo Jacks

Plyo HIIT 2 is 27 minutes long with a 4:30 minute warm up, 19 minute training time and 3:30 minute stretch. For this workout you need the step at 8 inches (only at 6 inches for the warm up) and one 10 pound dumbbell. Every single move is done on the step–so keep that in mind when looking at the names of the moves.

1. Straddle Jump Freezes

2. Over and Over Jumps

3.  Knee Off Side/6 Pulse Squats

4.  Jump Up and Down/1 Power 7

5.  Squats in a Box

6. 3 Wide Box Jumps/1 Plyo Jack

7. Fast Feet Straddle Shuffles

8. Forward Back Straddle Hops

9. 6 Wide Tap Lunges

10. 7 Power Turning Squats with Rockback

11. Over and Back Burpee/2 Tuck Jumps

12. Corner to Corner Front and Back Lunges

13. Jump Up Step Down/Ski Hops/Power 7

All of the Ripped with HIIT workouts included two Bonus Ab workouts:

Bonus Abs 1 is 10 minutes. I really enjoyed this abs workout. Lots of fun–I love how it starts standing. You will need an 8 pound dumbbell and a mat for this bonus. The workout starts standing, holding one 8 pound dumbbell. 1. Standing Oblique Crunches, 2. Alternating Oblique Crunches with Knee Lift, 3. Lay on mat, still holding one 8 pound dumbbell. Seated Lean Back Crunches, 4. Pullover Sit Ups with a Twist, 5. Pullover Heel Tap Extended Crunches, 6. Set dumbbells aside for this move; High Low Planks with plank Jacks.

Bonus Abs 2 is 13 minutes long. Bonus Abs 2 is much more challenging than Bonus Abs 1 and not nearly as fun. But still, very effective–I really felt it! 1. Seated One Arm V-Ups, 2. Ankle Grabber Sit Ups, 3. Bent Leg/Straight Leg Bike Maneuver, 4. Banana Holds, 5. Alternating Leg Forward Crunches, 6. Hip Lifts into Balancing Snow Angels, 7. Supermans into Swimmers

Plyo HIIT One Premixes: