HIIT for Busy People: 5 Quick and Effective Workouts
HIIT is short for high-intensity interval training. It’s built on the process of performing super intense bursts of activity, followed by short rests in between.
When it comes to HIIT, short and sharp is your friend. Here are five workouts to try.
1) Full Body HIIT
HIIT workouts not only help to improve cardio fitness but also your strength too. Here’s an effective full-body workout to try:
• 20 Air Squats
• 15 Push Ups
• 10 Single Leg Glute Bridges per side
• 15 Jumping Jacks
2) Cardio Machine HIIT
Why not hit the rower, treadmill or even the cross-trainer and give this sprint workout a try?
• ON: 20 seconds of full effort
• OFF: 40-60 seconds of rest
3) Home HIIT
You don’t necessarily need a gym to get a good workout in. Get your workout in the comfort of your own home with just the need of a mat.
Each round takes just 5 min. Rest for 1 min after completing the circuit and repeat.
• 30 seconds Jumping Jacks
• 30 seconds Mountain Climbers
• 30 seconds Jumping Jacks
• 30 seconds Walking Lunges
• 30 seconds Jumping Jacks
• 30 seconds Cobra Reverse Lunges
• 30 seconds Jumping Jacks
• 30 seconds Shoulder Taps
• 30 seconds Jumping Jacks
• 30 seconds Air Squats
4) Stair Runs
They’ll strengthen your entire lower body and will provide an intense cardio workout too.
30 seconds of stair sprints - run up and down the stairs as quick as possible taking single steps as you go.
At the top of the staircase perform:
• 10 Push Ups
• 15 sec Wall Sit
• 30 Mountain Climbers
Jog back down the stairs and rest for 30 seconds.
Hang in there... You'll be Rocky in no time!
5) AMRAP
AMRAP stands for "as many rounds / reps as possible" - the objective is to complete as many rounds and reps of those exercises as possible within the set time frame.
Here's one for the gym and one to do at home with resistance bands. How many rounds can you do in 22 minutes?
• 10 Air Squats
• 10 Sit Ups
• 10 Shoulder Press
• 10 Suitcase Long Step Walking Lunges
• 10 Dumbell Thrusters
• 10 Burpees
• 10 Push Ups
• 10 Air Squats
• 10 Sit Ups
• 10 Banded Strict Press
• 10 Bodyweight Lunges
• 10 Banded Thrusters
• 10 Burpees
• 10 Push Ups
Final Thoughts
HIIT workouts are quick and intense yet very diverse. The basic structure is to go all out on just one exercise for a specific amount of time before resting for a short period and then going hard again. If you’ve tried HIIT before, you’ll know it doesn’t take long to work up a sweat and you can get a pretty effective workout without spending hours in the gym.
