Langley’s Country Club inside the stunning 5* Aberconwy Resort and Spa are proud to announce their new addition, The HIIT Room. A room that will give you the chance to ramp up your normal routine or perhaps experience your first taste of HIIT. I was excited to be invited to a Personal Training session in the HIIT Room by the Gym Manager Ross Davies, but before I get down to the nitty gritty, or completely sweaty in this case…
what exactly is hiit?
You may have heard the term HIIT bounced around for a while now, and if you didn’t already know, HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training, it involves short bursts of physical activity followed by intervals of rest.
so why exactly does everyone buzz about hiit?
The short sharp bursts of intense workout, which, by the way you only need to do for 30/45 mins (bonus) burns far more calories at a higher rate than your normal workout and for as much as 72 hours AFTER too! (double bonus, right?)
the warm up & workout
Ross showed me around the room and explained what everything was for, how to use it and also how versatile it was. The warm up started using TRX suspension trainers, these will definitely take you to depths you haven’t managed before, squatting even lower, performing one legged Pistol squats (which I was still feeling 3 days later) and basically enabling you to use your own body weight more effectively to maximise your workout.
Next up was the PLYO Box workout, these large lightweight colourful boxes of different sizes look fun and inviting but were actually pretty challenging and sure did make me work hard.
I started with a 12 inch box, performing sets of two footed jumps followed by rest, I attempted and succeeded the 18 inch box, this definitely got my heart and blood pumping, the biggest tip for the boxes is to believe, as they are definitely mind over matter.
Ross thankfully gave me a chance to rest and explained that everyone can use the HIIT Room as part of their membership. There is even a handy folder created by Hannah, with set workouts bespoke to the HIIT Room, which is suitable for all abilities.
You can book training sessions with all the team as everyone is PT qualified and there is an opportunity to hire the room to yourself, or take part in the ever-growing timetable of classes – check out the current ones here
The next part of my workout included the multi-purpose equipment (you can see the full breakdown below), I used the suspension trainers on my feet to perform suspended crunches, moves only possibly using TRX, unless your party trick is levitation of course.
I added weights to a bar and performed barbell push presses (girls, lifting is not just for the guys!) next up were sand bag bear hug squats (who knew that was an actual thing?) by the end I finished off any remaining energy giving it some on the battle ropes.
I would like to thank Ross for his expert advice and support, his style was so motivational and not once did he bark orders (I mean who wants a Sargent Major as a PT) he encouraged, guided and made me feel like I really could do each exercise well and safely.
By the end of the 45 min session, I definitely felt and looked like I worked hard (check out the beetroot red face in the photos) and was looking forward to taking some time to chill in the rest of the facilities, swimming pool, sauna, steam room and hot tub!
To find out more information on becoming a member of Langley’s Country Club and taking advantage of their HIIT Room and everything else that Aberconwy Resort & Spa has to offer click here.
warm up
- TRX Squats – 3 sets of 15 reps
- TRX Pistol Squats – 2 sets of 10
- TRX Squat Jumps – 3 sets of 15 reps
plyo box work out
- 12 inch Box jumps – 3 sets of 10 jumps with 30 seconds rest between each jump
- 18 inch box jumps – 3 sets of 10 jumps with 30 seconds rest between each jump
- Double box jumps – 3 sets of 5 double jumps
mixed hiit work out
6 exercises of 30 seconds on, 10 second off, 30 seconds on and 10 seconds off per exercise.
- Medicine ball walking lunges (ball above head with straight arms)
- TRX Crunches
- Barbell push press
- Sand Bag bear hug squats
- Kettle bell swings
- Battle ropes