6 Mental Health-Hyping Chemicals Released During a Body Machine Fitness Class
While you’re getting your groove on in a Body Machine Fitness class, it’s not just your muscles and bones getting the work done. Your endocrine and nervous systems are also kicking into high gear, producing hormones and molecules that your brain interprets like coded messages.
And what are these messages really saying? They aren’t just reminding you how hot and powerful you are. Regular exercise actually changes the way your body produces and receives those messages. Over time, these messages become ever more positive and can even become addicting.
Meet Your BMF Mental Health Influencers
#1 Dopamine: The Motivation Molecule
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that plays a critical role in motivation, reward, and pleasure. When you engage in activities that your brain associates with reward, such as a high-energy BMF workout, dopamine levels increase. This not only makes you feel good but also motivates you to repeat the behavior, helping you to form healthy, addictive workout habits.
#2 Oxytocin: The Love Hormone
Oxytocin is often referred to as the “love hormone” because it is involved in social bonding, trust, and forming relationships. At BMF, the synchronized group workouts and supportive community atmosphere help boost oxytocin levels, fostering a sense of connection and belonging among our members. This hormone helps transform our studio into a social hub where friendships flourish.
#3 Serotonin: The Mood Stabilizer
Serotonin is crucial for regulating mood, social behavior, appetite, digestion, sleep, memory, and even sexual desire. Our immersive fitness environment, featuring rhythmic music and dynamic lighting, promotes the release of serotonin. This enhances your mood, reduces anxiety, and creates a sense of calm and focus both during and after your workout.
#4 Endorphins: The Pain Relievers
Endorphins are natural painkillers produced by your body in response to stress or discomfort. They help to minimize pain and discomfort, creating a sense of euphoria often referred to as a “runner’s high.” The high-intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts at BMF are specifically designed to maximize endorphin release, ensuring you leave each session feeling exhilarated and ready to take on the world.
#5 Testosterone: The Strength Builder
Testosterone is commonly thought of as a “male” hormone, but women’s bodies produce it in the ovaries and adrenal glands. Maintaining optimal testosterone levels ensures vital benefits for both men and women, such as heightened energy, drive, focus, and self-motivation to accomplish goals. Weightlifting and high-intensity training have muscle-boosting, testosterone-producing effects that promote increased muscle mass and greater bone density.
#6 Endocannabinoids: The Balance Keepers
Exercise notably increases levels of the body’s endocannabinoids, the molecules released by the brain, muscle, and fatty tissue that work to maintain homeostasis. The balance they promote is primarily in the mind, regulating key hormones in the nervous system like serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine. This natural chemical boost may have long-term effects on mental health, making regular aerobic exercise a game-changer in managing stress and improving overall well-being.
BMF = Body, Mind, Fitness
The beauty of a Body Machine Fitness workout exists in our comprehensive approach to activating both the mind and body. From the sense-arousing facilities and high-octane trainers to the intentionality behind every BMF session, your mental and physical health is hyped from the minute you enter and well beyond leaving.
By harnessing the power of these neurochemicals, Body Machine Fitness ensures that every workout is not just physically rewarding but also mentally stimulating and emotionally fulfilling. Join us for our group fitness classes in Ft. Worth and North Dallas and discover how the right blend of exercise, science, and community can revolutionize your health and happiness.
Get Hooked on HIIT
If you are taking the time to get your body in shape, you want to milk that workout for all it’s worth, and High-Intensity Interval Training offers the best bang for your buck both in and out of the gym. Here’s what it means to the millions of HIIT addicts out there and how starting your own HIIT practice may affect you.
A Quick Primer on High Intensity Interval Training
HIIT is the general term for workouts that involve short blocks of intense exercise followed by blocks of recovery. Exercises may be primarily cardiovascular in nature, such as running or cycling; a session may also involve lifting weights, or some combination of both.
The critical aspect is to raise your heart rate to peak level and then bring it back down in preparation for your next high intensity burst. This is what causes the higher calorie burn than other more steady-state endurance activities.
HIIT Addicts Burn Calories for Hours after Workouts
HIIT workouts produce what’s known as the “afterburn effect,” where your body continues to burn calories at a higher rate than it would normally for some time after your training session. Scientists refer to this effect as “excessive post-exercise oxygen consumption” or EPOC.
Strenuous bursts of activity send your body into overdrive as it continuously attempts to restore itself to a resting metabolic state. To get there, it needs ample oxygen which it derives by burning more calories. The more oxygen you consume, the longer the afterburn effect will last.
In other words, HIIT addicts will continue burning extra calories even when kicking their feet up hours after the workout is over.
Less Fat, Larger Muscles
Burning all those extra calories throughout the day helps facilitate a caloric deficit, which is critical for anyone looking to lose weight. But HIIT workouts aren’t necessarily about losing weight for everyone. Many beginners are more interested in losing fat.
Because your body needs so much oxygen to recover from high intensity intervals, it will seek out all available energy resources. When the carb tank runs low, it will seek out available fat reserves for the energy it needs. Even before you start seeing muscle mass gains, the burning of body fat may begin to reveal more definition.
HIIT workouts are also great muscle-builders, even for beginners. Why? High intensity intervals by their very nature are based on short, explosive movement. Think: sprinting, jumping, and quick deep squats. These movements activate the fast-twitch muscle fibers, which are responsible for muscle growth and strength.
Better Breathing, Blood Pressure & Blood Sugar
HIIT workouts can help improve the typical markers of health that your doctor looks at during an annual physical.
Increased Aerobic Endurance
Because this type of training pushes your heart and breathing rate, HIIT lovers improve their aerobic capacity over time. Greater stamina and endurance mean not simply better workouts, but everyday tasks become easier. Taking the stairs, parking farther away, and even walking to your destinations are suddenly options you might have avoided in the past.
Lower Blood Pressure
High blood pressure is a common health concern that many people treat with medication. But it is possible to lower the numbers with HIIT exercise. Simply put, regular exercise makes the heart stronger so that it can pump more blood with less effort. As a result, the force on the arteries decreases lowering blood pressure.
For those whose stiff arteries are to blame for their high blood pressure, regular cardiovascular activity can actually improve the blood vessels’ ability to expand and contract thereby lowering their BP reading over time.
Reduction in Blood Sugar
HIIT workouts boost the metabolism and reduce blood sugar levels, meaning they can even help those at risk of Type-2 Diabetes. When adults worked HIIT routines into their daily life they also experienced improved insulin resistance so that their bodies didn’t need to overcompensate and increase blood sugar levels. Keeping those blood sugar levels lower is key to preventing diabetes.
Brains and Brawn
If it’s not clear by now that HIIT is a game-changer for your body, please go back and review. (It’s amazing.) If we’re good, now you’re ready to learn about the positive impact this work has on your brain health.
It’s pretty well understood by everyone how brains release a flood of endorphins during any workout, but HIIT workouts take our brain activity to an even higher level. Once again, the secret lies in the intensity of the training session.
A burst of intense exercise as short as 6 minutes may produce Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor. BDNF is a protein that promotes neuroplasticity and the creation of new neurons. In other words, BDNF helps you create more brain cells, which in turn not only helps with continued learning, but it also helps stave off the cognitive decline associated with aging.
Get Fit Even as a Beginner
HIIT workouts need to be high-intensity, not necessarily high-impact. And definitely not complicated. If you’re just getting started on your fitness journey, it doesn’t matter how heavy your weights, how many reps you can do are or how fast you can move. All that matters is that you reach your high intensity level in timed intervals you can meet. Your only standard for comparison is YOU.
Guided HIIT workouts are an excellent option for beginners. Follow the lead of an experienced fitness trainer who can demonstrate exercises, provide modifications, and help you keep up with the fittest people in class— on your terms. Soon, you will be an expert!
Begin Your HIIT Addiction at Body Machine Fitness
Body Machine Fitness offers HIIT classes 7 days a week. Here, we’ve taken all the benefits of a standard HIIT class and amped it up with heart-pumping music, synced-up light shows, stellar equipment, and inspiring fitness coaches. The unique combination unlocks an experience that HIIT workouts at home or the gym simply can’t compete with.
The BMF experience unleashes a DOSE of good feelings in a completely immersive experience. The result is a flood of:
- Dopamine
- Oxytocin
- Serotonin
- Endorphins
We predict that when class is over, you will be already craving your next one. If you’re curious about starting your own HIIT fitness addiction, join us for your first FREE group fitness class in Fort Worth or Plano.
Exercise as Medicine
We’ll come right out and say it: incorporating regular exercise in your routine reduces your risk of disease and improves the quality and longevity of your life. While that may seem biased coming from a fitness studio, the power of exercise has been recognized for thousands of years.
Prescribing Exercise is Primitive
The folklore of medicine is one of the most ancient aspects of healing, first suggested by primitive physicians who would treat a person whole, from soul to body. Even if these treatments lacked evidence of efficacy, the power of belief would make the patient feel healed (enter placebo effect). What these physicians may not have realized is there has always been a remedy to internal and external woes: exercise. Despite being overshadowed by Western history, Susruta, a physician from 600 B.C., is notably the first medical figure to include exercise in his prescriptions to prevent and treat diseases.
Physical Activity vs. Exercise
Physical activity refers to steady, daily movement including household chores, walking to and from the store, and jobs for those who work on their feet. Our ancestors performed copious amounts of physical activity just to survive, but in our current age of convenience, supplementing with exercise is key.
What differentiates physical activity and exercise is intention and intensity. Exercise is structured aerobic activity that elevates the heart rate and amplifies the breath. In the words of Plato, “lack of activity destroys the good condition of every human being, while movement and methodical physical exercise save it and preserve it.”
The Preventative Approach
It’s much more difficult to integrate regular exercise when there’s pre-existing injury or illness, so starting early (while younger and less prone to biological weakness) is ideal for developing a coherent relationship with fitness. Many of the most common diseases and illnesses that lead to death do not have cures other than their prevention.
Regular exercise has the power to:
- reduce mortality and the risk of recurrent breast cancer by approx. 50%
- lower the risk of colon cancer by over 60%
- reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease by approximately 40%
- reduce the incidence of heart disease and high blood pressure by approximately 40%
- lower the risk of stroke by 27%
- lower the risk of developing type II diabetes by 58%
And those are just the heavy hitters! Exercise alone can improve sleep patterns, amplify your energy, and result in a more positive outlook on life.
Customize Your Movement
Exercise looks different for everyone, so educating yourself in the right ways to workout for your body will lead to better results and a greater likelihood that you’ll continue your fitness commitment.
Meeting with a trainer to share goals, concerns, and limitations is a safe way to plot out your ideal forms of exercise. For those who are looking to make exercise more a part of their lifestyle, joining a fitness studio with myriad offerings is a great way to find your niche. Here, take a free introductory HIIT class to try on the BMF lifestyle.
BMF Your Way to a Better Life
Being a BMFer means you’re on the track toward a longer and higher quality life! We recognize that one size doesn’t fit all—so our group fitness classes in Plano are varied and constantly evolving, similar to our group fitness classes in Fort Worth thanks to our talented team of trainers who are committed to change the way people see exercise as work. We’re here to make exercise one of the most exhilarating and fulfilling aspects of your life. Get started today and sign up for a free class on us!
Which Type of Exercise is Best for Your Brain?
With fitness trends so often in the spotlight, it’s widely accepted that exercise is vital to our mental health. But there’s more to it than just the mood-boosting endorphins.
At Body Machine Fitness, we use High Intensity Interval Training to tap the mechanisms of the brain that also preserve cognitive function. Comprised primarily of high-intensity and strength training circuits, our HIIT classes are designed to keep the brain and body guessing while activating brain cell production.
With that premise, let’s break down the component parts of HIIT and consider the relative impact a variety of movements has on our brain function and performance.
Breathe into the Brain
A steady flow of blood to the brain, or cerebral blood flow (CBF) is essential to your physical and cognitive health. The brain depends on this continuous blood flow to deliver both oxygen and nutrients while removing carbon dioxide and cellular waste. This means the best exercises to maintain and improve brain function are those that elevate your heart rate and increase CBF. A higher heart rate translates to more oxygenated blood flowing to your brain. Any aerobic exercise will increase heart rate, but focused aerobics interposed with interval training and high intensity bursts have the greatest impact on the brain’s enhancement.
HIIT Amplifies BDNF
Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) is a protein that helps create new brain cells and contributes to neuronal plasticity, which is essential for learning and memory. As we age, our neurons begin to deplete and become more difficult to replace. Exercise is the #1 stimulant in the creation of BDNF.
The best exercises for producing BDNF are those that challenge both the brain and the body. Workouts that are constantly switching focus whether by muscle group, movement style, or tempo keep the brain engaged throughout the session. Body Machine Fitness classes accomplish this with a HIIT format and routines that change every time you come to class.
You’re Just 6 Minutes Away From Boosting Cognition
Speaking of the long term, even a short “HIIT” of regular exercise can help prevent neurological decline consistent with age. A recent peer-reviewed study examined BDNF spikes after exercising under different conditions. Based on their findings, working out intensely even for just six minutes produced up to 5 times as much BDNF than prolonged periods of lower intensity exercise.
Lift Weight, Expand Your Mind
In addition to aerobic exercises, strength training offers significant benefits. Strength training, such as weightlifting or resistance training, can improve decision-making and problem-solving abilities. This continues to confirm a long-held scientific consensus that exercise is good for improving long-term cognitive function. To this end, BMF classes incorporate weightlifting and resistance training intervals in every class.
Train Your Brain at Body Machine Fitness
At Body Machine Fitness, our HIIT classes combine the oxygen boosting benefits of aerobic exercises with the problem-solving power of strength training. Being a BMF devotee benefits your body and mind in profound ways in a unique, endorphin-inducing environment.
Add our motivating music mix, synchronized light shows, and world-class trainers and you will soon find yourself hooked. Get the complete mind-body fitness package our state-of the-art studios in Plano and Fort Worth. Your first class is free!
How Long Does a HIIT Workout Need to Be?
Generally speaking, if you want to maximize the health benefits of high-intensity interval training (HIIT), aim to exercise for 30 to 60 minutes. Where you land in this range depends on who you are and the style of HIIT you’re interested in doing.
What Duration Is Right for Me?
Before starting a HIIT routine, a few factors can help determine how long the ideal workout is for you:
Fitness Goals
Asking yourself about your goals is crucial when diving into HIIT. Understanding your why will help you make decisions that are best for you and your specific fitness goals.
If fat loss is what you’re after, a shorter more intense workout can really rev up the metabolism to break down fat. Looking to improve your cardiovascular health? A longer workout can kickstart your path to a healthier heart.
Fitness Level
For someone just dipping their toes into the water, a shorter work out that builds familiarity with the intensity of a HIIT workout is a real boon. As your fitness level ramps up and stamina improves, workouts can get longer.
Intensity
HIIT workouts are intense, it’s literally in the name. But that intensity depends on who you are too. If you’re pushing your heart rate to 85-90% of your max heart rate, it’s difficult to do that for 60 minutes or longer.
Different Ways to HIIT It
What constitutes a HIIT workout is pretty broad, but there are some common styles of HIIT that can also help you find a duration that’s right for you.
Tabata Method
A great option for beginners and veterans alike. Tabata is built around 20 second periods of max effort, with 10 seconds of rest. This is repeated 8 times for an exciting and intense 4-minute workout.
30/30 and 45/15
HIIT is a bit of a numbers game, and these two styles can make the most of your time. 30/30 means 30 seconds of work followed by 30 seconds of rest, while 45/15 increases the work and decreases the rest interval. 30/30 workouts are usually 20 to 30 minutes while 45/15 workouts are usually a bit shorter.
Pyramid
Pyramids are a great way to build a better you. The work and rest periods start out short, only 20 seconds. They build up to a max period, sometimes as high as 60 seconds of work, before descending back down to the starting point.
Get Fit with HIIT at Body Machine Fitness
At Body Machine Fitness, we take advantage of every style of HIIT to keep your body guessing and working hard so you don’t plateau. It might be hard to believe that just 45 minutes a day is all it takes to transform your life completely, but that’s exactly what we do at Body Machine Fitness. Take care of yourself while still leaving time to take care of the million other things life throws at you. Sign up for a free group fitness class in Plano or Ft. Worth today!
4 Long-Term Benefits of HIIT Workouts
Over the long haul, HIIT workouts improve your heart health, build lean muscle, improve athletic performance, and even your brain health. Here’s how HIIT-ing a high-intensity interval workout a few times a week can improve your physical health and quality of life over the long term:
HIIT Workouts Build Lean Muscle for the Long Haul
To build muscle, you must push hard enough to put your muscles under the appropriate amount of stress for an adaptive reaction to occur. Cardio alone can’t do that—HIIT can.
A science-informed HIIT program will never let you plateau. HIIT workouts are built around short, explosive periods of all-out work followed by short periods of rest. This makes them almost infinitely customizable. As your fitness improves, you can add weight, reps, or intensity to continue exhausting muscles and encouraging them to grow stronger–even ten years into your regimen.
HIIT Reduces Visceral Fat for Better Heart Health
HIIT classes target visceral fat—the pesky layer of fat that wraps around your organs and is linked to issues like diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure. Having less visceral fat and more muscle can prevent chronic diseases and reduce your risk of cardiometabolic disease as you age.
After a 45-minute HIIT class, your resting metabolic rate will be higher all day long. This is called the afterburn effect, and all those extra calories burnt can translate into more efficient weight loss.
HIIT Enhances Athletic Performance
Science shows that HIIT leads to bigger gains in cardiorespiratory fitness, functional capacity, and lactate threshold compared to moderate intensity continuous training (MICT). Lactic acid, produced during intense exercise, causes muscle fatigue, soreness, and reduced performance.
A couple of HIIT classes a week can increase the lactate threshold, enabling you to exercise at higher intensities for longer durations before burning out. Over time, this means HIIT training can help you do more of what you love with ease–whether that’s finishing a 10K, hiking on the weekends, or dancing the night away with your friends.
A Workout That HIITs Your Brain Too
Brain-derived neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) is a chemical in the brain that acts like a crossing guard, helping information get from one part of the brain to the other. After your first HIIT class, you’ll experience a quick boost in BDNF, helping your mood, focus, and cognition improve.
If you keep coming back for more—and believe us, your brain will want to—you’ll begin seeing a sustained increase in BDNF. Having a little more focus after a workout is great, but with consistent BDNF production, areas of the brain associated with memory begin to grow. That’s right, you’ll grow your biceps and brain with every class.
Work harder, get smarter.
Reap The Rewards of HIIT at Body Machine Fitness
Before you can take advantage of a healthier heart, more lean muscle, improved fitness and increased brain capacity, you need to get started on your HIIT journey.
Take your first rep toward lifelong fitness today with a free group fitness class at Body Machine Fitness. Check out our schedules in Ft. Worth or Plano.
HIIT Training for Beginners
It’s a common problem. You want to up your fitness game, but the prospect is daunting. Where should you start? Can you do it yourself? Will you have to spend a fortune on personal training? Maybe you’ve heard a lot of noise on social media telling you that HIIT is the answer, but WTH even is that?
Don’t worry! At Body Machine Fitness, we got you. Our group HIIT workouts are the perfect setting for beginners. Read on to learn more about what you are getting into.
What is HIIT?
HIIT workouts combine fast, powerful bursts of exercise—executed to the best of your ability— with short periods of recovery time between each cycle. The exercises tend to hit multiple muscle groups at once while raising your heart rate to maximize the cardiovascular impact of the routine. The result is more fat burned in less time, improved cardio, and stronger muscles.
A typical HIIT workout might include a few rounds of exercises such as jumping jacks, curls, mountain climbers, push-ups or burpees, and squats.
Get Ready to Become A HIIT Workout Machine
Match Your Fitness Level
If you’re looking for a new exercise plan or think HIIT might suit you, don’t be intimidated by the “high intensity” in the name.
When you start training at Body Machine Fitness, you can talk to one of our expert instructors about how to get started with HIIT at your current fitness level. They’ll give you the run down on our HIIT classes and show you how to modify exercises to better serve you where you’re at.
HIIT is challenging and fun! It’s normal for our gym members to get addicted to our classes, which means that in no time you’ll start seeing improvements in your strength and endurance— you’ll be crushing the exercises in no time.
A Full Body Workout
As you’re lacing your sneakers before your first workout, you might wonder what kind of movements you can expect to be doing. In a Body Machine Fitness class, we HIIT all the major muscle groups over the course of the week.
If you hopped into our Monday class, for instance, you could expect to primarily work your arms while secondarily hitting other major muscle groups. While on Wednesday, we may primarily work the legs, etc. This approach ensures you’re working your entire body throughout the week without exhausting the whole thing in a single day.
Determine What Style of HIIT is Best for You
Depending on your fitness level and goals, there are a few different types of HIIT workouts that you can try. Consulting with a Body Machine Fitness trainer will allow you to create the best HIIT plan for your needs, but here are a few different styles you might consider.
- Tabata —20 seconds of intense exercise followed by 10 seconds of rest.
- 30/30 —30 seconds of intense exercise followed by 30 seconds of rest or low intensity exercise.
- 45/15 — 45 seconds of high-intensity exercise followed by 15 seconds of rest or active recovery.
So, to make it clearer how this would look, if you are doing the 45/15, you might do one circuit of 5 different exercises for 3-5 rounds total. When you finish a circuit, you typically take a longer rest period of about 1-2 minutes before diving back into another circuit.
Assess Your Schedule
It’s typically a good idea to ease into the HIIT lifestyle. Experts recommend starting with just one HIIT workout weekly for the first few weeks. You can get started this week with a .
As you start feeling more comfortable with the tempo and movements, you can add a second day a week into your schedule. Once the movements become second nature, you’re ready to start incorporating HIIT workouts three or more times per week, or however many times your regimen requires you to meet your goals
Expect to Be Sore
Speaking of exhaustion, HIIT workouts should lead to a healthy amount of soreness but shouldn’t completely wipe you out. If you feel any sudden pain or soreness beyond your muscles, that might be a sign of overtraining.
That’s why you want to get into HIIT with some professional supervision. Working with our trainers is the best way to ensure you don’t miss out on HIIT’s health benefits because of an injury or fatigue.
Your Diet is Key to Effective Workouts
We all know that what we eat directly impacts our energy levels, and HIIT requires a good deal of energy. If you’re an early riser who might not eat breakfast before a workout, ensuring your dinner consists of a balanced meal will put enough in the tank to crush your morning BMF sesh.
If you’re looking to decompress after the workday, ensuring your lunch has a good deal of green is a great way to guarantee you’ll have enough energy for your class.
HIIT leads to Increased Brain Health
HIIT workouts are gaining recognition for their positive impact on the brain, and Body Machine Fitness Classes are no exception. A single HIIT class floods the brain with dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and endorphins, leaving you with a sense of peace, joy, and clarity of mind.
HIIT The Ground Running— Start Today
When you sign up for one of our free nightclub fitness classes, you’ll experience a workout unlike any other. You can expect a fun light show with energizing music to get you feeling motivated and working hard. Our trainers are in on the action, too, helping to keep you motivated and engaged.
How Long Does It Take for HIIT Results?
You don’t need to spend 2+ hours in the gym every day to see the results you’re looking for. In fact, research shows that a round of HIIT can replicate the effects of common types of exercise like running or weightlifting in just a fraction of the time. Depending on how consistent you are with your training in combination with where your baseline fitness level is at, you may start seeing physical changes as soon as 6-8 weeks.
What is HIIT?
High-intensity interval Training (HIIT) is an infinitely adaptable workout program built around short, intense periods of work interspersed with shorter periods of rest. HIIT workouts range from 30 minutes to an hour, with a sweet spot of 45 minutes.
During a HIIT session, you’ll push, pull, jump, and lift your way through compound moves that improve your endurance, build muscle, and increase your resting metabolism rate— giving you a good fat burn long after class ends.
If I Start Now, When Will I See Results?
If you’ve ever done six crunches and lifted your shirt expecting to see a six-pack, you’re not alone. It’s natural to want immediate results when we start a new routine. However, as your mama probably told you, life (and fitness) has no shortcuts.
The question of how long it takes to see HIIT results is a tricky one to answer. The results of any fitness routine are impacted by more than just the reps themselves–what you eat, how you sleep, and how you handle stress can all affect how fast or slow you’ll start seeing changes.
However, if you’re eating lots of protein, getting that shut eye, and staying consistent with your workouts, you’ll set yourself up for these milestones:
1st Workout: Endorphins and Afterburn
There’s a lot of science behind how a HIIT workout impacts the body differently than almost any other type of workout. Namely, HIIT sessions produce the afterburn effect, meaning you’ll get the calorie-burning effects of your workout all day long.
Let’s say you hop into one of our morning by the time you’re getting ready for lunch, your body is still burning calories from the morning sweat sesh. Your brain will also get a boost with every HIIT session— exercise-induced endorphin release is dependent on the intensity of exercise, and high-intensity workouts do it best. You may feel mentally clearer and sharper, and experience a more balanced, positive mood.
2-4 Weeks: Improved Endurance
All this extra calorie burning means that, when combined with a diet that runs a caloric deficit, you can start to see inches fall off your waistline in less time. For people in the beginning stages of their fit lifestyle, these results can begin to occur in as little as two weeks. In addition, a few HIIT workouts a week can improve endurance, boost your V02 max, and build lean muscle in under a month.
2-4 Months: Visible Muscle Growth
Most inactive adults who start a HIIT program will start seeing physical results within 8 to 12 weeks. That’s because HIIT causes cells to make more proteins for their mitochondria than other types of exercise, according to a 2017 study in the journal Cell Metabolism. The study found that adults who did 12 weeks of high-intensity aerobic interval training reaped more robust improvements in their muscle protein content than their peers who were on other workout programs.
HIIT Up Body Machine Fitness and Start Seeing Results
If you’re in a time crunch and can’t afford to spend hours in the gym, then a 45-minute HIIT session at Body Machine Fitness might be the perfect solution for you. You can start working toward achieving your fitness goals today by signing up for a free class in Fort Worth or Plano . So, what are you waiting for? Your inner savage is waiting to be let out of the cage.
Rewiring Your Brain for Healthy Habits
Healthy habits are attainable. Here’s the truth: you can rewire your brain for new routines at any age–if you know how to crack the code.
Bad Habits are No Match for Neuroplasticity
Every time we learn a new skill, our brain restructures to adapt to the new stimulus or routine. The scientific name for this is neuroplasticity, and it’s the great equalizer in the battle against bad habits.
When you consistently engage in new behaviors and patterns, you forge fresh neural pathways that train your brain to trade old habits for new, healthier ones. As you continue to nurture and reinforce these positive habits–whether eating more vegetables or becoming a 6 am workout person–they become deeply ingrained in your neural circuits, ultimately leading to a changed brain.
Nourish Your Neurons and Flex Your Willpower
Your brain wants to eat just as much as your body does. Factoring brain health into your diet is essential for optimizing cognitive function and supporting neuroplasticity. Some vital nutrients that make your mind happy include:
- Omega-3 fatty acids: Fish, walnuts, and flaxseeds all contain essential fats that improve memory and reduce inflammation.[*]
- Antioxidants: Antioxidants like vitamins c and e combat oxidative stress to safeguard brain cells and boost cognitive function. Eating a colorful range of fruits and vegetables is a surefire way to up your antioxidant intake.
- B vitamins: Lean meats, legumes, and leafy greens have the B vitamins we need to optimize the production of neurotransmitters and maintain healthy cognition.[*]
Grow a Bigger, Healthier Brain
The science tells us that healthy brains are capable of learning throughout life, especially when they are stimulated by regular exercise. Even older folks suffering from mild levels of cognitive decline stand to improve their brain structure and function with aerobic activity.
According to a study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, regular exercise increases the size of the hippocampus, the part of the mind that controls verbal memory and learning. Another peer-reviewed study from the Journal of Sport and Health Science showed that aerobic exercise like HIIT activates brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), the molecule that helps repair and make new brain cells. BDNF is linked to the neuroplasticity and neural connectivity you need to turn healthy ambitions into healthy habits.
Become The Good Kind of Brainwashed at Body Machine Fitness
Finding a workout you genuinely enjoy is the shortcut to rewiring your brain for better habits. Body Machine Fitness’ science-backed fitness classes light up the motivation centers of your brain, so you start to crave exercise rather than avoid it.
By leveraging the interplay of lights, sound, and sweat, our classes induce a high state of arousal that taps into the brain’s reward and pleasure circuits to produce dopamine, oxytocin, and serotonin. In short, your brain will start chasing that same high and motivate you to sign up for a daily group fitness class in Plano or Ft. Worth.
Tiny Habits, Big Gains
Take that first step to a new healthy habit. Your first class is on us! Sign up for a free group fitness class today!
Smart Workouts are Safe: How to Avoid Injuring Yourself
Nothing puts big fitness ambitions on hold like an injury. Don’t take the risk. Body Machine Fitness is all about safer ways to get strong. Here are our trainers’ top tips for injury prevention:
Warm It Up and Cool It Down
Injury prevention starts before your workout begins. A warm up is called so for a reason: it warms up your body temperature and increases your heart rate, so blood starts to flow to your muscles—dynamic warmups like arm circles and leg swings prime muscles, joints, and tendons to perform safely. Static stretching to cool down reduces inflammation, helping to prevent soreness and injury.
Master Proper Form
How many times have you tweaked your neck tossing and turning in the night? Even the simplest movements present an injury risk if you aren’t practicing proper form. You’re in class to tone your muscles, not strain them. If you’re new to BMF and aren’t sure if you have the correct form, ask your trainer for help. They will be more than happy to assist! Proper form will help you maximize your session and minimize your risk of strain.
Mix Up Your Routine
Repeating the same movements day after day without time to recover can compromise your form and lead to injury. Mixing it up in the weight room not only keeps things spicy–it also keeps you safe. Moving in a different way every day makes for more balanced muscles, reducing the risk of injury. BMF trainers NEVER repeat workouts, so our members stay safe and never plateau.
Hit Your Hydration Goals
Drink up! And we’re not just talking during class. Proper hydration around the clock is crucial to lubricate your joints and fuel your workouts. Start sipping seriously two hours before your workout, shooting for 16- 24 ounces of water. Around twenty minutes before your group fitness class in Plano or Fort Worth, aim for a few more.
Don’t Forget to Feed the Machine
You know what they say–a protein bar a day keeps the orthopedic surgeon away! Eating a nutrient-dense diet helps your body build a strong defense against muscle tears and optimizes your recovery so you can rock your next sweat session.
The American Council on Exercise (ACE) advises comsuming this macronutrient mix after a workout:
- 15 – 25 grams of protein and
- 1-2 grams of carbs
- per 2.2 pounds of body weight per hour of high-intensity exercise.
So, if you weigh 150 pounds and take any 45-minute BMF class, you should aim for roughly 15 to 20 grams of protein and between 55 and 120 grams of carbs.
Get Stronger, Safer
Remember, injuries are complex and have many causes. Though there is no way to prevent injuries completely, Body Machine Fitness prioritizes warming up, cooling down, and switching up workouts so our members can work toward their goals sustainably.
New to our group fitness classes in Ft. Worth and Plano? Your first session is on us!