So by now most everyone has heard about HIIT workouts.

HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training and the basic premise is mixing in short periods of higher intensity exercises with your lower intensity. The research behind it sounds promising. HIIT seems to help people reach their cardiovascular exercise goals faster than traditional cardio exercises.

In my efforts to become healthier, or like I would like to put it “running from genetics,” I have been trying to find interesting ways to get my exercise in during the day. Luckily for me, my work is right next to a basketball arena that welcomes walkers during the day. Each day during lunch, I walk over to the arena to walk and to just get some time away from the computer.

During my walks, I have started praying the rosary with the aid of podcasts.

My favorite so far is from Fr. John Ricardo. His meditations for each decade makes me think of each event of Christ’s life in a different way and then helps apply it to my own life. I am one that tends to lean towards an Ignatian style of prayer, help me visualize the events, what did the room look like, what might I smell, etc. Guided meditations like Fr. Ricardo’s help me do just that.

You are probably wondering by now, where in the world HIIT workouts fit in all this.

In my hunt to find more interesting ways to get more exercise in my day, I decided one day to combine my lunch walk and rosary, turning it into a HIIT workout. Since I walk in a basketball arena, there are lots of bleachers around, so I decided that would be my high intensity intervals. The rosary seemed to be the best “timer” so to speak. I start out walking through the first prayers and then when I get to the first mystery, I run the bleachers. Then walk through the “Hail Mary” prayers until the next mystery.