🏋️‍♂️ build strength and torch calories with HIIT

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Here’s what’s going on today:

• How to plan out your ab training.

• Six reasons to try HIIT workouts.

• The Mountain returns home to strongman.

Training Tips

An Ab-Solutely Good Workout

Admit it, you wring your hands over the perfect progression scheme, pine away long nights thinking about your macronutrient timing, calculate the ideal rest period for muscle growth down to the millisecond, and then go do five random minutes of abs until you get bored and feel like going home.

Even though everyone knows the importance of strong abs, very few lifters, from beginner to advanced, make any effort to program an effective abdominal training regimen.

Take some dirt from that mountain of forethought you put into your squat and construct yourself a little ab routine to fit your goals. Use the workout below as a base, then make the same kinds of intuitive progressions you would for training any other body part. If you’re a beginner, you get the privilege of starting off on the right foot, and if you’re an old dog, this is a trick you can still learn.

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Workouts

HIIT It Hard

HIIT workouts are great for the time-pressed fitness junkie who wants to shed fat while still getting some muscle-building work in. Shorthand for high-intensity interval training, both the acronym and the full name pretty much spell out the kind of training this represents.

You really will feel like you’ve been punched in the face the first time you tighten your laces and jump into a HIIT workout. But the advantages of using short bursts of extreme effort paired with short rest times are well worth it. By understanding the concepts of HIIT workouts, you can establish a strong conditioning base for yourself while still draining your muscles to where you can’t even lift your protein shake when it’s all over.

Read more about the benefits of HIIT — along with tips on how to program it into your routine — below.

Strongman

Returning to Valhalla

After taking time out to train for a boxing match against fellow World’s Strongest Man winner Eddie Hall, and re-dabbling in the world powerlifting for a stint, Hafthor Björnsson is finally throwing his enormous hat back into the strongman game. And now we know exactly when he’s making his return.

Hafthor’s first contest back will be at the ultra-heavy Arnold Classic in early March of 2024, followed by another shot at the Arnold UK a few weeks later. Björnsson will finish off his comeback year with a trip to the 2024 Rogue Invitational. Have the likes of Tom Stoltman and Mitchell Hooper passed this legend by, or will the Icelander return to the top of the sport? Frankly, we just can’t wait to watch these battles unfold.

Everything Else

Don’t Hit the Snooze

• A monumental builder of the posterior chain, the Good Morning will have you questioning your life choices at any time of the day. Learn how to do this move the right way.

• Find out how the best electrolyte packs on the market can elevate your performance.

• On October 22, France plays host to the Girl Power powerlifting tournament, featuring the top women from around the globe as they look to topple IPF world records. Here’s how you can watch the action.