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HerFitness: High Intensity Interval Training That Makes A Great Study Break!

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Her Campus Placeholder Avatar Taylor Zepeda
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UCSD chapter.

Hey collegiettes!  With finals week right around the corner, it can be hard to find quick ways to stay in shape or even motivate yourself to work out.  Between studying, your social life, and work, it’s often difficult to balance your physical well being with everything else!  However, have no fear!  I’ve got just the solution for you.  Ever heard of high intensity interval training?  While it sounds intimidating, it’s a super quick way to keep your fitness up that’s easy to incorporate into your daily routine.  HIIT workouts consist of short, but high intense bursts of exercise that get your heart rate up and pumping even after you stop working out.  This means that your body keeps burning fat even after you’re done with your workout!  Here’s a HIIT workout that I usually do a few times a week that requires no equipment, and very little space.  You can do it in your room alone, or pump up some music and do it with a few friends! 

Step 1:  Cross Skis for 30 seconds

Start standing normally.  Cross your left leg behind your right, bend your knees, and touch the ground with your left hand.  Spring up and to the right, crossing your right leg behind your left, and touching your right hand to the floor.  Make sure to keep up a quick pace while doing this move as well as the other moves in this routine, as the exercises only last 30 seconds each. 

Step 2: Jumping Lunges for 30 seconds

This portion of the workout consists of 30 seconds of jumping lunges.  Start in normal lunge position, and then jump and switch your front and back legs.  Repeat until time is up.

Step 3: High Knee Jumps for 30 seconds

Start standing normally.  Jump as high as you can, bringing your knees to your chest as close as possible.  It may help to take a bounce in between each jump.  Repeat until time is up.

This whole set should be repeated three times, with a minute or two break in between each set.  As you keep up with the workout and improve your fitness, challenge yourself more by adding time to each workout, until you can do one minute for each move.  Good luck with finals, and enjoy spring break! 

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I'm a free spirit with a coffee addiction.
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Taylor is currently a senior at the University of California, at San Diego where she is studying for a BA in Communication Studies. She is the Co-Correspondent of the HC UCSD chapter, and also a member of the lovely Alpha Omicron Pi, Lambda Iota chapter. While she isn't busy reading 50 pages every day for her communication classes, she enjoys reading a plethora of other types of books (especially anything by Malcolm Gladwell!). Other interests include eating Gouda-grilled cheese sandwiches, drinking lots and lots of tea, attending concerts, watching Parks and Recreation, and attempting to buy every beauty product that Ulta and Sephora can offer. She has also been self-proclaimed as Katy Perry's #1 fan #katycat4life.