Finish Your Workout With a Bang - End of Workout Finishers

By Andrea Scarberry

Happy Monday everyone! This week we're talking finishers. A "finisher" is a blast of high-intensity work added to the tail end of your workout, intended to expend any of the extra energy that's left in your tank. They are usually fast, furious, and challenging. The theory behind a finisher is that the extra blast of work before you quit elevates your heart rate and challenges your muscles one last time, and in turn heightens the function of your metabolism. This gives your workout some lasting benefits that will stay with you for hours after you've completed your workout. Here are a few of our favorites:

• A Tabata, or Other Form of High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT): The Tabata was created and coined by Japanese doctor Izumi Tabata. It is a four-minute burst of exercise, broken down with 20 seconds HARD, 10 seconds easy, 20 seconds HARD, 10 seconds easy, and so on and so forth until you reach the four-minute mark. A true tabata is virtually impossible to achieve because of the amount of energy and oxygen expenditure that it requires, but it can easily be modified (maybe 40 seconds hard, 20 seconds rest, repeated four times to reach four minutes). The other option here would be a high-intensity interval, which is a very similar concept. With either of these two finishers, there are endless options as to what exercise you choose - You could use sprints, jump squats, the row machine, rope slams, sled push, etc.
• The Leg Matrix or Squat Series: Two fun leg burners. Wait, did I just say "fun"? Well, you give them a try and decide for yourself. The leg matrix is a four-move blast, intended to be finished as quickly as possible. Start with 24 bodyweight squats, then do 24 reverse lunges (12 each leg), then 24 jump squats, and finally, 24 airborne split squats. Ouch. The squat series is another burner, but might be a little less intense so it's better for beginners. For the squat series you'll need a timer. It's a minute-long finisher. The first 20 seconds are spent doing as many bodyweight squats as possible. Move into the next 20 seconds with as many jump squats as possible. The last 20 seconds is spent in a stationary bodyweight squat (similar to a wall-sit, but without the wall for support.) Yowza!
• Plyometric Exercises: Movements that require bursts of energy from your muscles are always great finishers. You can pick a few and do several rounds. For example, maybe you decide to pair burpees and sprints. Get through a set of 10 burpees, then go straight into a sprint, once around the track. Rest for 30-60 seconds and go into your second round. Repeat for 3-5 rounds depending on how you feel. Anything works here - just get creative!

I hope that this taught you something new, and gave you some motivation to challenge yourself to a killer finisher this week! Remember: everything suggested here is just that - a suggestion. Do what you can, but don't overdo it. There is a fine line between challenging yourself and over-training. Until next week, be well.