Home/Hotel Workout #35: Resistance Band HIIT (Shoulders)

Hotel Room HIIT

Thanks to conveniently quick HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) workouts and portable gym equipment (resistance bands and jump ropes), you never have to miss a workout, even when you travel! I designed this workout to fit into a tiny little hotel room.

PLEASE LISTEN: Stop doing steady state cardio on the treadmill or elliptical, and replace it with HIIT! Research shows that fat loss is far greater from HIIT than from steady-state cardio, even when the HIIT workouts were half as long in duration. Why? Because HIIT keeps your body burning more calories and more fat long after the workout is over. Remember to keep your rest periods SHORT. You should hustle from one exercise to the next without stopping. You never want your rest periods to be longer than 20 seconds. Always keep the rest periods shorter than the exercise periods.

KEY CONCEPT: Not only is HIIT great for saving time, but it is also great for fat loss and building muscle and power!

Resistance Bands

Before I was a dentist, I was a physiotherapist. Surprise!

When I was studying physiotherapy at McGill University (1998-2001), I recall resistance band training being hailed as the second coming of Christ for functional strength training and injury prevention/rehabilitation. I will never forget what my professor, Diana Perez would say to us on a daily basis .... let me paraphrase her:

When you engage in resistance band strength training, the length-tension curve of the musculature you are training is always matched. Furthermore, the resistance increases as the range of motion increases (ie. as you stretch the band). This is the best way to activate more muscle fibres and thereby increase strength.

In plain English, the resistance band provides CONSTANT TENSION to your muscles. Free weights can't do that because they rely on gravity to provide resistance.

So don't turn your nose up at a flimsy little elastic tube. Don't assume the big dumbbells are superior. Once again, less is more. This seems to be a common theme at DrSaraSolomon.com 😉

Equipment Required:

• A Gymboss Timer
• Shock-absorbing surface, such as interlocking floor mats.
• 2 Resistance Bands (I use the red ones which represent 10-50 pounds). These are light, portable and inexpensive. I always travel with mine!

• A Dr. Sara Solomon Cross Speed Jump Rope by Buddy Lee Jump Ropes. It’s portable and inexpensive. I always travel with mine!

Always a Must!

• Read my workout rules before you begin!

Drink your BCAAs!

Stay hydrated with water.

• I like to add BCAAs. Click here to read why.

This circuit consists of 5 different shoulder exercises (using resistance bands), each sandwiched with 30 seconds of high-paced jump rope. Perform the circuit as many times as you can in 20 minutes. Keep it mega-INTENSE! You can probably get through it 3 times. Let me know.

1. Jump Rope for 30 seconds (Bounce Step)
2. Squat and Overhead Press (2 bands), 12 reps
3. Jump Rope for 30 seconds (Bounce Step)
4. Alternating front & side shoulder raises (2 bands), 12 reps
5. Jump Rope for 30 seconds (Bounce Step)
6. Rear Delt Fly (1 band), 12 reps
7. Jump Rope for 30 seconds (Bounce Step)
8. Upright Row (1 band), 12 reps
9. Jump Rope for 30 seconds (Bounce Step)
10. No Money - ie. Bilateral shoulder external rotation (1 band), 12 reps

Do the workout with me. Just click on the video.