The Online Fitness Revolution

There's no doubt that technology makes us lazy. In the first instance, there's no need to forage for food now that shopping can be conveniently accomplished from the comfort of your sofa without moving a muscle. On-demand films, online entertainment and social networking, to name just a few, have meant than we can socialize and amuse ourselves with minimum exertion required. Although perhaps I should mention that according to the Telegraph, smart-phone induced thumb injuries are on the rise!

That said, technology has a flipside. The wealth of health and fitness apps and videos has meant there's an abundance of accessible and free resources, albeit some with more dubious credentials than others. This lyrca-overloaded sample of workout videos bares testimony to that.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jE3KWhUCros. 

In the absence of a gym membership, I've been seeking out other ways to keep fit to complement running and I stumbled across a particularly handy resource. http://www.fitnessblender.com



Fitness Blender is run by a husband and wife team of personal trainers who create an enormous range of workout videos for every fitness level, completely free of charge and using very little extra fitness equipment. The website allows you to search for a workout based on length, difficultly, training type etc. Many of the workouts follow a simple formula of High intensity interval training (HIIT)or "Tabata" which allow you to focus on shorter exercises sets in order to increase strength and stamina. Filmed against a white background with clear and motivating instructions, Fitness Blender has avoided the amateur-ish looking workout videos awash on YouTube with tinny background music and confusing information. Excellent news when you need a gentle prod in the back to do some exercise.

I gave the 33 mins HIIT training a go this morning. http://www.fitnessblender.com/v/workout-detail/HIIT-the-Ground-Running-33-Min-High-Intensity-Interval-Training-for-Endurance-Total-Body-Toning/e3/   What felt like several hundreds of burpees and press-ups later, I pushed myself hard. But I'm not feeling guilty about technology making my life more sedentary for the rest of day.