At the core of any great fitness program is the belief progress is possible at any age, and this year two of our dedicated team members brought this belief to life for their residents in Arizona with the launch of their Superpowers program. The superpowers program was designed to spotlight the strength and flexibility gains residents can achieve with the right tools, guidance, and encouragement. They set out to empower residents to discover their inner superpower through intentional training, and their outcomes were extraordinary.

Strength Superpowers:

Fitness Specialist Kiona Garza led the strength portion of the superpowers program. Kiona said “it has been a goal of mine to educate our residents about progressive overload and how the body can better adapt to gaining strength through it.” She added, “I know residents get comfortable with the weights they use but if they were to keep using the same weights they would become ineffective at helping them build strength”.

Kiona’s strength program was split into 3 phases: muscular endurance, hypertrophy, and strength. Using the leg press for their 3-rep max test, residents were challenged to increase their strength by at least 25% in two months. Every single one of her participants exceeded that goal and some even achieved as much as a 200% increase in strength.

One resident, Garret W., is a standout. Starting the program with a 115 pound 3-rep max, Garrett increased to 210 pounds which was an impressive 82.6% gain. He had a goal to get stronger for his trip to Israel to celebrate his 90th birthday, and not only did he meet that goal he exceeded expectations by navigating hills, rocky terrain, and stairs with ease. His tour guide was so impressed noting that he had never seen someone Garrett's age move with such agility and independence. Garrett is living proof that age is just a number when it comes to strength.

Flexibility: The Hidden Superpower

Flexibility is often overlooked in fitness training, but Jabbar Harris another one of our dedicated fitness specialists knew just how powerful it could be. He led the flexibility portion of the superpowers program and guided residents through regular stretching routines designed to safely increase their range of motion, and comfort. One of his participants, Olivia Q., experienced dramatic improvements going from four inches short of her toes to reaching two inches past them - that's a 150% increase in flexibility! She shared with Jabbar that performing the stretches most days of the week not only improved her flexibility but also alleviated soreness in her lower back! Olivia's lower back discomfort went from a self reported “seven” to a “three”. Since completing the Superpowers program, Olivia has continued to incorporate stretching into her daily routine to maintain her new superpower.  

The superpowers program wasn't about magic, it was about movement, mindset and momentum. This program truly helped the residents we serve realize that strength isn't reserved for the young, and flexibility isn't lost with age. Through education, encouragement, and personalized programming our fitness staff empowered residents to unlock their potential. To Kiona and Jabbar: thank you for your thoughtfulness and dedication to helping the residents that we serve discover just how powerful they are!

As you approach your later years in life, exercise and movement can help combat some of the unpleasant effects of aging. There are many ways that you can exercise your body, but as you get older, how do you know what kind of exercise is the best and safest? The short answer is it depends. There is not just one kind of exercise that is the best. In general, incorporating aerobic exercise, strength training, flexibility, and balance work into your exercise routine will give you the most well-rounded benefits. Having the knowledge of the benefits of each type of exercise can help you determine what to prioritize based on your own individual needs.

Effects of Aging

As we age, we all know that our bodies experience wear and tear. A decrease in muscle mass, balance, and flexibility are inevitable with age, regardless of how active you are. Muscles and bones become weaker, joints become stiffer, and overall functionality declines. After the age of 30, you start to lose 3% - 5% of your muscle mass every decade. This rate increases once you reach the age of 60. Luckily, there are ways that you can reduce this rate of decline.

Exercise Recommendations

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that adults 65 and older should aim to get at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity every week. When you break it down, that’s only 30 minutes each day if you exercise 5 days in a week. This can be as simple as walking the dog, gardening, or playing catch with your grandkids. Older adults should strength train, stretch, and work on balance at least twice a week. Yoga is a great way to incorporate flexibility, core strength, and balance into your weekly routine. There are several different types of yoga, and this practice can be done seated or standing, so no matter your experience or ability level, anyone can participate.

It’s easy to overcomplicate or feel overwhelmed with these recommendations. If you are currently inactive, start with exercising just one or two days a week, then gradually increase. If 30 minutes all at once feels like too much, you can split up your exercise into 10-minute bouts throughout the day. Find an activity that you enjoy doing and stick with it. As long as you stay consistent, you will notice an increase in stamina over time. Building up stamina and strength will help you improve the overall quality and quantity of your life.

It may be beneficial to seek help from a fitness professional if you are unsure of where to start. A personal trainer can help tailor an exercise routine to fit your specific needs and goals. They can also ensure proper technique to reduce risk of injury and maximize benefits.

Benefits of Regular Exercise

The benefits of exercising regularly are plentiful! Let’s break down the specific benefits for each category of exercise.

Aerobic Exercise

• Improves heart health, lung function, and circulatory system
• Prevents illness and diseases
• Increases stamina
• Lowers blood pressure and heart rate
• Regulates blood sugar
• Improves sleep
• Weight management
• Improves mood and reduces stress

Strength Training

• Strengthens muscles
• Increases muscle mass
• Increases metabolism
• Reduces risk of falls
• Prevents osteopenia and osteoporosis

Balance

• Prevents falls
• Improves posture, coordination, and stability
• Reduces risk of injuries
• Improves quality of life

Flexibility

• Increases range of motion and mobility
• Prevents injuries
• Improves circulation
• Reduces pain
• Promotes relaxation

Building an Exercise Routine

Each individual body is unique and there is no one size fits all exercise routine that everyone needs to follow. There are several factors that may come into play when deciding what to prioritize, including age, medical conditions, current activity level, and personal preference. For example, someone with osteoporosis may want to focus on strength training and balance to increase bone density and decrease fall risk. While someone who has arthritis might want to prioritize stretching to improve joint flexibility. An individual with hypertension should probably work on aerobic exercise first to decrease blood pressure and heart rate.

Following a holistic approach to exercise by incorporating pieces of aerobic exercise, strength training, flexibility, and balance into your exercise routine is your best bet for staying fit and functional as you age. Using the CDC’s exercise recommendations as a guide can be helpful, however, you have the freedom to prioritize what you think is best for your own individual needs.

Westminster Village of Terre Haute was thrilled to participate in the first year of Pump it for Parkinson’s last year! My residents enjoyed the program, learning about the benefits of exercise for those fighting back against Parkinson’s Disease, as well as contributing to a nationwide goal of achieving one million steps along with thousands of other seniors in communities across the country. They also enjoyed the excitement of potentially winning a new NuStep T6 for our fitness center. Residents commented that even if we did not win the machine, at least we aided in the message regarding Parkinson’s Disease being delivered. Once the BIG Day came to an end and our community learned that we won the drawing for the grand prize, our entire community was thrilled and in shock! Now, let’s discuss three features that my residents have been LOVING about their new NuStep T6 recumbent trainer:

Seamless Setup – Numerous residents must only be instructed on how to utilize the NuStep T6 once. Residents enjoy the idea that they can sit within the machine and simply begin to move for the machine to respond to them beginning the activity. The fact that their personalized seat number setting is displayed on the screen allows residents to easily adjust as needed to fit their needs.

Walking Trails – Once residents are set and ready to go with their personalized settings, many utilize the touch screen to select the first dialogue box titled “Walking Trails”. This dialogue box is by far the most popular selection allowing participants to “travel” during exercise. Residents enjoy having me by their side as they travel through the various environments to discuss the architecture within each environment. Each trail supports users in making physical activity more engaging and less monotonous through their work out!

Workout Summary – At the completion of each workout session, the machine displays all the hard work completed for review. Residents are keen to share their workout summaries with me as they complete their workout and ask questions regarding parameters that are tracked that they may not be familiar with. This feature is a great segway into explaining the purpose of exercise utilizing the NuStep T6 while the residents learn something new regarding their physical activity capabilities and progression. I have had a few residents track their workout summaries within their personal journals so they can track their progress and share it with me on a weekly basis.

I highly recommend the NuStep T6 for senior living fitness centers both from the satisfaction in which I see my residents enjoying it as well as my vantage point as a degreed fitness professional and the motivation and engagement I see it supporting my participants in being physically active.

Which of the three categories do you think the residents within your community would enjoy the most? We are pumped to contribute our steps this World Parkinson’s Day on our new NuStep T6!

Follow us at Pump it for Parkinson's on Facebook as we strive for 10,000,000 steps to represent the 10,000,000 people worldwide living with Parkinson's Disease on World Parkinson's Day, Thursday, April 11! 

Anyone and everyone can benefit from having better balance. From professional athletes to the active aging population, balance plays a critical role in everyday life. Whether a professional gymnast is flipping on a beam, or a senior is simply trying to lower their risk of falling, improving balance starts with two things: identifying muscle imbalances and follows up with corrective exercise. The skeleton is put together in a way that encourages a steady base and equal weight distribution. This allows a person’s center of gravity to be right around the belly button. If a person has no muscle imbalances, their weight and center of gravity would be sitting directly above the pelvis. The hip bone then distributes that weight to each of the legs. In a perfect world that would mean the person’s knees would be directly below the hip joint and the ankle would be straight below the knee joint. The perfect world hardly exists, and muscle imbalances are the reason.

Every moving joint has a muscle origin point on either side of it. For example, the shoulder joint holds the origin points of the biceps brachii and triceps brachii muscles. If the biceps muscle is stronger or tighter than the triceps muscle, the shoulder joint will be pulled and rotated forward. Any muscle imbalance will cause a change in mass distribution, ultimately resulting in a new center of mass. The body will compensate for this by changing gait or shifting other joints into a position that will feel stable. Unfortunately, this new position is usually one that the joint is not meant to be in. Until the initial imbalances are corrected through training, more imbalances will occur. The longer someone waits to begin corrective exercise, the harder it will be to correct, and the likelihood of injury or sustained damage will increase.

When the skeleton is completely in balance, all the joints are aligned, and the body is in its most stable position. Recognizing these imbalances are important, especially with the active aging community. The most common shifts in the skeleton are:

• Anterior Pelvic Tilt (when the pelvis is rotated forward)
• Excessive Kyphotic Posture (rounded back/shoulders)
• Internal Rotation of the Shoulders (which can cause shoulder injury)

And all these deviations will not only cause pain, but a shift in someone’s center of balance. Being mindful of these imbalances and working on correcting them as soon as possible are very important. Corrective exercise will allow someone to achieve better balance while also relieving the pain caused by the skeletal shifts. With every muscle imbalance, there is a tight muscle and a weak antagonist muscle. Both issues should simultaneously be worked on to correct the imbalance.

Ways of releasing the tight muscle temporarily include:

• Soft Tissue Massage
• Foam Rolling
• Stretching

Ways of strengthening the weak muscle for long term correction include:

• Moving the Joint
• Isolation Exercises
• Isometric Contractions

Including any combination of these in an exercise program will help alleviate those muscle imbalances, providing pain relief and better balance. Consider scheduling an assessment with a fitness professional to have these possible imbalances identified and exercise prescribed to help!

Why 10,000 steps a day?

10,000 steps per day has become a well-known exercise recommendation to achieve better health, but how important is it to aim for that many steps per day? Some people feel that in everyday life, 10k steps isn’t very attainable and while that may feel true, that is exactly why the bar is set so high. Older adults, along with most other age groups live a mostly sedentary lifestyle and walking is one of the simplest exercises that can be recommended for someone looking to get more movement in their day. So why 10,000 steps instead of 1,000 or 5,000? Basically, studies are showing us that the more movement we have, the more our risk for several health issues decreases. For example, this journal was published linking 10,000 steps per day to less cardiovascular disease (heart disease, stroke and heart failure), 13 types of cancer, and dementia. For a healthy, older adult, 7,000-10,000 steps are ideal. However, keep in mind that if you currently live with a disability or chronic illness, your step recommendation may be different. Talk to your doctor before starting an exercise plan and setting a step goal to make sure that is the right plan for you!  

Building up to 10,000 steps

 The great news is that some steps are better than no steps, but we should all certainly be aiming for more since the average American only gets about 3,000 steps per day! Maybe you are reading this blog because you have been given the goal of 10,000 steps per day, but you aren’t sure how to achieve it. So, let’s talk about it! First, it is probably a good idea to invest in a pedometer. These can be purchased online or in stores or can use your smartphone app (most have a built-in step counter!). Better yet, if you have access to fitness professionals, tap into their knowledge and set a plan.

Here is an example of how NIFS Fitness staff might encourage a member to build steps:

• First, find your baseline. Spend a few days tracking your steps to see what your average per day step count is. Do not try to get more steps on these days because that will skew your actual average.
• Second, focus on adding 250-500 steps each day or every other day so you can feel how your body responds.
• If 250 additional steps each day leaves you feeling sore and fatigued, do not add more steps for 2-3 days, but maintain that additional 250 instead.
• Once your soreness has subsided, add another 250 steps to your daily count.

 Creative ways to add steps:

• Are you a member of a fitness center? Take an extra lap around the track or add a 1–2-minute cool down to your treadmill work out.
• Carve out time daily to get outdoors to walk around the block or walk the park path. Invite a friend along.
• Consider setting an alarm to remind you to get up and get moving!
• Going shopping? Park your car a couple of spots further away to add steps (unless it is icy or raining- then you need to park closer!)
• Stuck at home? You can do seated steps! At every TV commercial, sit up straight in your chair and start marching those arms and legs!

Senior living communities with robust fitness centers offer residents a variety of fun and unique ways to stay active along with traditional fitness, like biking, swimming, and strength training so that walking doesn’t have to be the only option to stay active. It is good to become aware of the number of steps you take because it benefits your health and the simple act of being conscious toward your step count is a great start. Having a goal to achieve a certain number of steps each day can have lasting improvements in many aspects of your life and if you find exercises that are fun for you, you will notice that achieving your step goals will be easier. Additionally, the effects of goal setting and attaining those goals you established can improve self-confidence and motivation toward exercise. You can even challenge your friends, family, or peers to see who can reach the highest steps each day. Keeping exercise interesting, fun, and attainable is important to staying engaged and committed to improving your health.

What are some ways you have managed to be less sedentary and get in your steps most days of the week?

Want to get a full body workout without the aches and pains of traditional exercise? Aqua exercise could be perfect for you! This low impact exercise is for people of all ages and varying physical abilities. Aqua exercise is especially great for the active aging community. Common workouts performed on land such as walking, running, and weightlifting, are important for building strength and endurance, but these workouts can be strenuous on the joints, ligaments, and bones. There are many ways to exercise in the water and you can do it with or without any equipment. Moving under water is a full body exercise, working your muscles in every possible direction with decreased rick of injury due to less impact and strain. With the help of specially designed exercises, you can achieve a full body workout, activating every muscle group without dealing with stress and strain conventional exercises can cause you. Listed below are four reasons you should be exercising in the water!  

GRAVITY. The biggest difference between exercising in water versus land is the effect of gravity on your body. In our daily lives outside of water, we are constantly feeling the force of gravity at 100%. This force is most felt in the ankles, knees, hips, and back, especially during exercise. Submerging just hip deep into water will eliminate 50% of that force! If you go even deeper into water to perform your exercise, the amount of pressure on your body will continue to decrease. The water alleviates pressure off your bones, ligaments, and muscles. Because of the vast differences between land and water, exercising in a pool is perfect for individuals with chronic pain, arthritis, joint replacements, and even just general lack of strength.

HEALTH BENEFITS. It is important to always exercise according to your own physical abilities and limitations. Just like exercising on land, you can exercise in the water with the goal of elevating your heart rate and breathing for short bursts at a time. Studies have shown that older adults have seen improvements in body composition, explosive strength, functional fitness, and cognitive function after participating in several weeks of aqua aerobic exercise.

ADAPTABILITY. There are many ways you can cater your water workouts to best fit your goals and physical abilities. If you are not the best swimmer, you can purchase a floatation belt or vest which will help to make you feel more comfortable performing exercise in the water. If you want more traction in the water, you may want to consider wearing water shoes or athletic shoes into the pool. There is also equipment you can use to increase the resistance on your muscles and help to build even more strength. You can use water weights which are generally shaped like dumbbells that range in the level of buoyancy. A pool noodle is also a great tool to perform both upper and lower body movements. 

If you have never tried an aquatic workout, I challenge you to give it a chance! You can even perform the same exercises you typically do on land in the water and see the difference.

Arthritis is an increasingly common condition that refers to 100 different types of diseases, affects all age groups and affects 1 in 4 adults, equating to 80 million people in the United States. The most common form seen is osteoarthritis or degenerative joint disease and we see these conditions impacting the lives of residents in the senior living communities we serve every day. Studies have shown that half of adults living with this condition do not believe anything can be done, but in fact there are many strategies that can be employed in daily living and in exercise that can provide a better quality of life for those affected.

Everything starts with your feet so investing in shoes with adequate cushioning and stabilization should be a top priority. Sneakers with extra cushioning should be your choice for most athletic activities, New Balance are great for different width selection and are very durable. Hoka provides excellent cushioning and a ‘rocker’ shaped sole for easier propulsion. Some trial and error is required to find a brand and style that will work best for each individual. Ensuring you are at your healthiest weight will also relieve stress on the joints and associated pain. Speaking of pain, use the 2-hour rule which is if a joint is still hurting from an activity after that duration of time it is a sign that you are most likely overexerting yourself. Next, learn how to move with efficiency and purpose using the best posture and techniques possible. That means reducing range of motion on movements that cause sharp pain and avoid exercises with heavy heel strikes like running or stairs. Low impact is always better, exercising in water, exploring yoga and tai chi and choosing an elliptical vs a treadmill are all savvy decisions.

Another important factor to note is exercising with joint replacements which have general and specific guidelines depending on the joint that was replaced. A general rule is to decrease the range of motion and speed of movement for all replacements as well as avoiding contact sports. Total hip replacements should avoid flexion greater than 90 degrees or 70 degrees with a history of dislocation and crossing the midline of the body in the front or back. Total knees should look out for rotational stress and begin with closed chain work such as a bicycle before progressing to open chain exercises with heel and toe strikes such as pickleball. Total shoulder replacements should avoid contact sports like basketball, heavy, repetitive lifting and chopping motions.

A rest day in between every bout of exercise is recommended with 3 days a week being a great goal for most exercisers. Respecting pain and prioritizing recovery are essential for adherence as well as adapting extra rest days when your body is calling for a long, less active weekend.

Finally, rest and relaxation are essential to managing arthritis with flexibility done at the end of sessions to ensure adequate blood flow in the areas being stretched. In addition, meditation and guided imagery are helpful in focusing on areas that are tense and can be relaxed through isometric contraction and relaxation such as Jacobson’s progressive technique.

As you can see, there are numerous considerations to improving or maintaining joint health and our qualified fitness staff in senior living communities across the US are developing customized exercise plans helping residents move more with less pain.

Working on one’s strength, agility, form, balance and flexibility are all so very important. Building/working on one’s strength helps prevent or lessen an injury. Using weights helps to strengthen the muscles. That being said, working the same muscles every day is not beneficial. Muscles need time to recover. Doing repetitive movements breaks the muscles down and causes wear and tear which leads to injury.

An example would be a marathon runner. Many runners only run, which puts a lot of strain on the body. Some runners cross-train (cross-training is doing another from of exercise that helps your muscles work in another way. (elliptical, bike, swim)).

Cross-training helps the muscles to work differently. Some runners have this thought that if they lift weights it will slow them down. When it’s actually the opposite. Weight training helps strengthen the muscles that the pressure is putting on those joints and body parts while running.

Switching up a land based class to an aqua class

Bike > Nustep

Nustep > Elliptical

All of these things will force one to use their muscles differently.

Another thing one can do while on a piece of cardio equipment is change the resistance and or speed on the machine. Increasing the resistance for 30 seconds to 2 minutes will get the muscles to work harder. Then go back to where you started from. The same with speeding up on the bike or Nustep for 30 second intervals and then going back to the starting pace.

While using weights, the amount of weights that one uses should be changed up for 6-8 weeks or maybe earlier depending on the individual. The muscles need to be challenged, by using the exact same weight all the time doesn’t do that for a person. When the same weights are being used over and over the body is going through the motions. Even if you can’t do as many reps, build up to the amount of reps you are doing with the new weights. Do one set with heavier weights, go back to the original, then go back to the new weight.

It is important to keep track of how long you have done the same workout for. It would be great if one can remember to change it up every 6-8 weeks. This will keep shocking and challenging the body to be the best it can.

Compare this to eating the same food all of the time, one gets bored and loses the flavor. The same goes for exercise, the body gets bored and doesn’t get the results that are wanted by doing the same thing all of the time.

Barre, a fitness regimen, has recently gained a lot of popularity over the years. This low-impact exercise does not require any fancy, expensive equipment and people of all ages can do it. It is a workout that combines elements of Ballet, Pilates, and Yoga. It focuses on low-impact, high repetition, and small isometric movements to strengthen and tone your body.

I personally love barre and believe it is such a good workout. I try to implement it into my own weekly fitness regimen! When I started working at my community, I thought why not introduce Barre to our residents? It’s a fun and low impact workout choreographed to upbeat music, they might just like it. We introduced the class and added it the schedule and have gained a good group of “regulars” since then.

Here are a few reasons why I believe Senior Barre is a must try workout to add to your schedule:

• Appropriate for those of all ages: The small range of motion and low impact workout is a great option for those with limited mobility. Barre is modifiable for all fitness levels yet can still be challenging enough to push yourself further than you thought was possible.
• Improves strength and balance: Certain exercises may be done on one leg which allows balance and strength to be tested. A lot of exercises will require you to use multiple muscle groups at the same time while engaging your core. Barre also targets a lot of the smaller, intrinsic muscles in your body that are often ignored when performing other strength training workouts.
• Creates a sense of community: Going to a Barre group fitness class gives people an opportunity to see their neighbors and friends while still being healthy. Attending these classes help create a sense of support, teamwork, and commitment!
• Improves posture: The class spends a great deal of time focusing on proper spinal alignment form the top of your head to the tips of your toes. It especially includes a focus on the hips, spine, neck, and shoulders.
• Improves flexibility: You don’t have to be a flexible Ballerina to enjoy Barre, but it will help improve your range of motion. Maintaining good flexibility can help you stay mobile and participate in all different types of activities.
• Reduces anxiety or stress: Regular exercise can help divert you from thinking about what you are anxious about. Your body also releases endorphins during exercise which can help keep your mind sharp.
• Can be done at home: With everything going on with COVID and with a lot of gyms and studios shutting down or having extra restrictions, Barre is the perfect workout that can be done at home. It’s doesn’t require any crazy equipment and since most homes do not have an actual ballet bar, most exercises can be done using a chair. Also, if you don’t have a set of weights at home, you can use soup cans or water bottles. 

Barre’s functional training component can help give seniors the proper form to help them with everyday activities of daily living. It also has a great number of positive physical, mental, and emotional health benefits. There are so many fun and challenging ways to keep your body moving during these classes, so the next time you are thinking of changing up your fitness routine, try a Barre class!

High intensity interval training (HIIT) sounds like something that is best for the 20-40 year old or athletes, however research begs to differ. Studies show that high intensity interval training is good for all ages, even if there are chronic health issues and you’re not a lifelong exerciser. In fact, HIIT workouts may be able to provide more benefits than other less-intense modes of exercises, such as steady state cardio.

Steady state cardio vs Interval training vs HIIT

When most people go to the gym, they get on their favorite piece of cardio equipment set the speed and move at the same rate throughout their workout. This type of cardio is known as steady state cardio. Sometimes, people will use the different functions on the machines such as hills, weight loss or interval training. All of these have a different levels of high and low intensity. This is known as interval training. HIIT workouts are similar to interval training with the primary difference being the intensity of interval. With a HIIT workout the intensity is between 80-95% of your maximum heart rate. (220-your age= your maximum heart rate)

Benefits of HIIT Workouts

Increases Muscle Size and Strength

Did you know it is common to lose eight pounds of muscle as we age? Maintaining or improving muscle mass is not only important for everyday physical tasks like picking things up, reaching for something, getting up out of chair, but healthy muscles are essential for organ function, skin health, immunity and your metabolism.

Stronger Heart and Better Lung Capacity

Numerous studies have found that HIIT workouts are more beneficial than steady state cardio at improving cardiorespiratory. A study published in Cell Metabolism found that cycling between short periods of intense exercise and periods of recover, improved both cardiovascular and respiratory health in older adults. The over-65 group specifically experienced an impressive 69 percent increase in their ability to take in oxygen.

In addition, research shows that HIIT and interval workouts put less stress on the heart when compared to steady state aerobic exercise.

Lower blood sugar and insulin resistance: We know exercising is beneficial for losing weight, however according to a report by the Aarhus Hospital in Denmark, a short 10 minute HIIT routine three times a week, is one of the most effective forms of exercising for reducing type-2 diabetes risk and lowering blood glucose levels to healthy levels.

Improves Memory: Memory loss is something that can affect us all, however as we age our memory recall seems to fade. HIIT exercises are very beneficial for improving memory. Specifically, it improves the high-interference memory—the kind that helps you tell two similar things or memories apart.

Ready, Set, Go: Before starting any new exercise regimen, make sure to get clearance from your doctor. The best way to integrate HIIT workouts into your current exercise plan is to start with longer rest periods, such as 1 minute high intensity followed by a 3 minute recover. As your recovery improves, work on shortening the recovery time. Remember to have an effective HIIT workout, giving yourself time to recover is key.

Some ways to add HIITS to your current workout routine

Walking: Start by walking at a comfortable pace. Then for one minute walk as fast as you can and pump your arms and/or raise your knees. If you’re on a treadmill, increase the elevation. Then walk at a pace that will allow your breathing and heart rate to come down.

Swimming: Swim a few laps at your normal speed, then swim one lap at an all-out sprint. Go back and swim at your normal or a little slower speed.

Bike/Nu Step: Start by peddling with little or no resistance. To raise the intensity you can either increase your speed, increasing resistance or both. After your sprint, go back to the speed/resistance you started with.

Looking for some other ways to increase the effectiveness of your workouts? Subscribe to the NIFS Fitness blog.