I\u2019m really, really bad at exercising regularly, despite the fact that I\u2019m a health professional and well acquainted with the many benefits. My mind is endlessly creative at coming up with reasons to evade any unwonted elevation of my heart rate\u2026 but it\u2019s having more difficulty with its rationalizations since I started using the Xiser a year ago \u2014 and my energy, stamina, and resting heart rate have notably improved. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s a pretty simple, adjustable mini-stepper that\u2019s built like a tank, so the chief complaint with other steppers (having them break while in use) is unlikely to apply. It\u2019s made from aircraft aluminum and can hold up to 400 pounds, but only weighs 14 pounds and breaks down for storage or travel very easily. It takes up very little space, even when it\u2019s ready for use. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s designed for sprint training and HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) which means that you can get a basic cardio workout in 8 minutes: 4 one-minute all out sprints as fast as you can go, and one minute of rest between them, or 4 one minute sprints spaced throughout the day. Even I have a hard time persuading myself that I don\u2019t have 4 minutes of exercise time a day, 3 times a week with the result that I\u2019m finally exercising long enough to feel the benefits of it. <\/p>\n
It took me awhile to get over my natural skepticism \u2014 how could anyone get a decent cardio workout in 4 minutes? But after checking out some research (largely positive), I pondered a bit. When you think about it, our bodies were designed to be the bodies of hunter-gatherers, so what was healthy for them is probably \u2014 by evolutionary design \u2014 healthy for us. How would hunter-gatherers get exercise through their typical day? Mostly by walking at a normal pace \u2014 with brief periods of all-out effort as they forded a river, climbed a tree, chased down a mastodon, or attempted to evade a mountain lion: Pleistocene Sprint Training! It\u2019s quite plausible, from an evolutionary standpoint. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s quiet and easy to use: all you need is a flat surface. In the beginning, have something nearby to grab in case you lose your balance, but you\u2019ll soon get the knack: bend your knees slightly, then step as fast as you can, keeping your head at about the same level throughout. You should be nearly tapped out and breathless by the end of 60 seconds; if not, adjust your speed or the resistance accordingly. <\/p>\n
Once you reach the point where that\u2019s easy, you can add arm exercises with hand-weights\u2026 so it\u2019s simple to increase the difficulty to any level that\u2019s required. You could also use it more slowly, while watching TV or such, but it\u2019s a lot more efficient to do burst training. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s easier to keep balance if it\u2019s placed on a hard surface, but with a little practice I have no trouble using it on my padded carpeting. Unlike some steppers or mini-ellipticals, it is not intended to be used while seated, but from a standing position only\u2026 and if you have difficulty stepping rapidly with your feet about 2 1\/2 inches apart, this probably won\u2019t work well for you. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s a bit pricey, but if you keep your eye out on eBay, you can grab a refurbished one on occasion at a deep discount (my unit cost $226). You can sometimes find used ones there as well, but be sure they include working hydraulic cylinders: they\u2019re not cheap to replace, and the manufacturer might not stock cylinders for the older models. If you\u2019ve been avoiding exercise as assiduously as I used to, consider giving this a try. While the best results are gleaned from a combination of different exercises, and not just HIIT alone\u2026in the end, the best exercise is the one you actually DO. <\/p>\n
High intensity interval trainer<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":76,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tkdev.kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29019"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tkdev.kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tkdev.kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tkdev.kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/76"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tkdev.kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29019"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tkdev.kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29019\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29021,"href":"https:\/\/tkdev.kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29019\/revisions\/29021"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tkdev.kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29019"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tkdev.kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29019"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tkdev.kk.org\/cooltools\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29019"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}