Happy July 4th!

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) combines cardio activities – like running – with strength-training moves or lower-intensity exercises (like bench presses) for another interval, and you go back and forth.

In addition to supporting heart and brain health, much research proves that  fast-paced HIIT workouts can help you tone up and prevent exercise boredom.

Keep in mind: The whole point of high-intensity training is to kick up the intensity of your whole workout but especially the cardio elements for additional fat burning before the beach. Too late – it’s here!

HIIT Kickstarts Exercise Intensity

Alternating short bursts of intense activity with longer intervals at a much lower intensity blasts fat and calories, say our fitness experts. Athletes traditionally use interval HIIT training to improve performance – and picking the right moves to bounce between is key.

Bursts of speed and plyometrics can build strength and power by working your fast-twitch muscle fibers (the ones involved in quick, explosive movements), while dynamic moves like power lunges can challenge muscular endurance and perceived exercise exertion.

No Equipment Needed for HIIT

But it is more fun with lots of gym machines and moves thrown in. High-intensity busts in a HIIT workout might include intervals on a rower or stationary bike followed by anything plyometric like jumping lunges or mountain climbers to sharply increase your heart rate and exercise intensity.

Since summer bathing suit season arrived all-too quickly this year, we’ve scoped out the most effective, calorie-torching HIIT workouts across the web. And whether you do most of your physical fitness training at the gym, at your multi-family fitness space or even at the pool, you will get into synch with summer by smashing fat and calories with HIIT training once or twice a week in addition to your regular exercise regimen.

Here are some of our favorite HIIT workouts for a long summer holiday, get ripped!

HIIT Training With Dumbbells

More Fat-Blasting HIIT Workouts

Are You Doing HIIIT Correctly?

Have a happy, healthy and very fit summer season!

Maybe a New Home Gym?

The man in your life deserves to stay fit and healthy. FOr dad, the best way to get into shape is by taking his workouts outside this month and using outdoor recreational fitness equipment as often to sustain.

Outdoor fitness equipment and recreational exercises – like basketball courts, mini rock walls and outdoor weight circuits – will get dad and everyone in the family beach-ready in record time.

If you don’t see them already, you are going to start seeing a proliferation of sophisticated outdoor recreational equipment in cities and local playgrounds near you. What’s new? Everything from aquatic centers and new basketball courts to tamper-proof steel ab press machines near a set of adult parallel bars.

 Weatherproof and Tamperproof Equipment

Fitness machines and bolted, steel workout stations are popping up in green spaces in parks to promote wellness in local communities and to help in the fight against child and adult overweight and obesity.

The next time you are in a neighborhood park., take a good hard look around and see if there are grownup playground items adjacent or close to the kids’ areas.  You might find body weight exercises done in a circuit training format or within different cardio and strength stations can provide a complete workout – especially if you finish your playground workout with a brisk walk or run around the park to torch additional fat and calories.

5 Reasons for Dad to Use Recreational Equipment

He trains longer. Studies show exercise participants are likely to work out longer when they are outside in nature, resulting in burning roughly 5-7 percent more calories during outside exercise.

He trains harder. The rugged or varied terrain of a park might be just what your body needs to challenge itself to learn a new skill, like hanging upside down on a set of adult monkey bars. Get crazy, be confident, do more cardio!

He soothes stress. Outdoor exercise battles work stress. According to a report published in Environmental Science and Technology a 30-minute walk in the park made 71 percent of active people in the study feel “significantly less stressed,” while 72 percent of people who exercised inside actually felt more stressed.

He is the best role model.  You serve as instant wellness role model to your kids, your family and your office mates. That’ll keep you sweating and inspiring all season long.

He avoids getting sick. Indoor air is two to five time more polluted than outdoor air, according to a study from the Environmental Protection Agency, so you may just sidestep cold season by perspiring in the park instead of your favorite gym class.

We’ve developed a reputation for tough equipment that provides real workouts to even the fittest of users. At the same time our innovative, built-in assist mechanisms make our equipment accessible to all fitness levels. We work closely with our clients to create and deliver the optimal fitness experience.

We design your space while partnering with your architects, interior designer and contractors to fully optimize your fitness amenity into your building design. With our specialized process, we can provide realistic renderings of your facility while bringing a strong sense of detail and accuracy to your fitness space.

Call today for your facility’s free design assessment.

Pools and Gyms are Mandatory! 

Breakthrough research on Today’s Renters and research released  by Freddie Mac Multifamily finds growing segments of the population — Baby Boomers and Generation Xers in particular — showing much less interest in owning a home.

The survey finds half (50 percent) of Baby Boomers currently renting do not anticipate buying a home in the future, up eight points from 2016.

The latest “Profile of Today’s Renter” reveals that affordability remains the dominant factor driving renter behavior.

Multi-Family Rental Research:

50% Baby Boomers currently renting do not anticipate buying a home in the future

Of that 50 percent, 35 percent have no interest in owning

15 percent say they cannot afford to own but have some interest

19% of Gen Xers (aged 38-52) study respondents lacked interest in home homeownership

Read the whole Renters Report from Freddie Mac.

Rental satisfaction continues to run high across the country. A significant and growing majority of renters – 66 percent – are satisfied with the overall rental experience.

“America’s renters overwhelmingly see renting as more affordable and the right choice for them – right now,” said study author David Brickman, Executive Vice President and Head of Freddie Mac Multifamily groups.

Renting becomes a much more attractive option when the top three apartment amenities are met:

1. Parking
2. Pool(s)
3. Residential gym

To retain tenants, attract high quality consumers and connect communities, provide your tenants, clients and customers with well-branded well-designed fitness centers with the perfect wide array of amenities.

Keep Up With Demands for Wellness

The National Multifamily Housing Council and Kingsley Associates last year surveyed approximately 120,000 renters at 3,280 apartment communities nationwide to gauge their interest in specific communal amenities. While on-site parking is everyone’s first request, these wellness and safety offerings are common demands:

83% want a pool on property

82% request a well-equipped fitness center

80% demand safe security access

67% want community Wi-Fi

47% look for a business center

If locations are more or less the same between competing properties, wellness and fitness amenities have a big impact in competitive rent pricing as well as tenant satisfaction.

The National Apartment Association (NAA) is the leading voice for the rental housing industry and a trusted partner and advocate committed to serving 160 affiliates, 75,000 member companies and the 9.25 million rental housing units globally

Perfect for group studios, dynamic training areas, flexibility zones, multi-family fitness centers or anywhere you need extra functional training, there are TRX setups created for every kind of innovative fitness center. Highly customizable, a TRX Suspension Training system includes anchoring and storage units that boost exercise functionality and mobility for every fitness level.

Suspension workouts require extra attention to body position, and the parts (and handles) zero in on the core muscles of your abdominals, obliques, mid-to-lower back, and even the butt muscles.  When you work out and exercise your core on a regular basis, you do provide a strong and stable base for every movement in every other part of the body. 

Ask your favorite personal trainer to provide a suspension-training workout, and get ready to pump it up! 

Benefits of Suspension Training  

TRX Suspension Training Systems also utilize and adapt to every square inch of your exercise facility or personal training studio. TRX Corner Units, for instance, include mounted TV and self-guided straps and add-ons for functional training, upper body, lower body,and always your core muscles.