FitFans is a Leicester Tigers initiative designed to get supporters of all ages active, even at home. 

Sessions are usually run in 10-week blocks on Monday evenings at Welford Road. But during lockdown we are publishing new sessions on the Tigers website every week, so take a look and join us!

Last week we ended our first 10-week lockdown block, but the good work continues and today we are looking at a different approach to your training plan and challenging you to do a little research yourself, exploring the concept of “HIIT” Training, then giving it a go.

Professor Izumi Tabata is a renown sports scientist and has created a style of High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) which has been scientifically been proven to:

• Increase anaerobic fitness
• Increase calorie burn
• Increased fat burning
• Increase performance (in elite athletes).

Professor Tabata found all of the above health benefits from performing 8 reptitions of:

• 20 seconds high/maximum intensity, followed by
• 10 seconds stationary rest 

This equals a total of 4 minutes’ work, excluding warm-up and cool down.

There are specially designed Tabata HIIT classes you can find in gyms across the country, but the effects of the training can be used for any style of exercise (i.e. body weight circuits / cycling / running / skipping etc). In fact, most of the studies performed by Prof. Tabata involved a stationary exercise bike!

There is also no excuse for the “I haven’t got enough time” trainers to take part as a complete session only lasts 20 minutes including your warm-up and cool down!

So this week’s challenge is to try to perform 3 HIIT circuits in a week in the following fashion:

Dynamic warm-up – get yourself fired up ready to give everything (8-10 minutes).

Tabata HIIT workout – Just 4 minutes total – choose what you feel works for you that you know you can confidently do. It could be sprint, cycle, burpees, skipping, a bodyweight circuit from a previous Fit Fans week. Perform the exercise to your best ability, give it everything:

20 seconds high/maximum intensity followed by 10 seconds complete rest

Repeat 8 times

Cool down (6-8 minutes) return your body to a state where you can breathe easily and enjoy the glow of your efforts.

FitFans is not just about exercise, though, as we bring tips on healthy living too and regular advice on nutrition.

Fit Foods

BBQ Turkey Burger

Ingredients/ serves 4-6

• 400g turkey mince
• Quarter cup chopped spring onions
• 2 tbl spoons fresh orange juice
• 1 tbl spoon soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon peeled, chopped ginger
• 1 garlic clove
• olive oil

Place all of the first 6 ingredients into a bowl and mix with your hands.

Make 4-6 patties, about three-quarters of an inch (2cm) thick, place on a tray and put in the fridge for 5-10 minutes.

Before placing them on the BBQ grill, rub a little olive oil over the patties and cook for 6-7 minutes each side.

Enjoy with some salad or place in a wholemeal bun with some lettuce and beetroot.

Why is it good?

• Turkey

A great source of protein and extremely low in fat.  Now we are approaching BBQ season, this is the meat of choice if you want to keep losing/maintain your waistline over summer!

• Ginger

Ginger is said to have a lot of health benefits in countries all over the world.  Many use it to treat or aid stomach and digestive issues.  It is also known to decrease inflammation as it claimed that it aids in blood circulation.

• Garlic

Garlic has been found to reduce cholesterol build-up and, thus, aid cardio-vascular function. It has also been found to help regulate blood sugar levels, much needed if you are going to be eating too much at the barbeque! It is also a great source of vitamin C and, combined with the orange juice, it will provide a lot of immune system, flu-fighting benefits.