High Intensity Interval Training
HIIT is a type of workout that involves brief bursts of intense effort broken up by a short rest or active recovery.
A HIIT workout does mean that you're doing a cardio workout that includes short bursts of hard work, but the key is that during those bursts you're exerting yourself at almost max effort.
Complete a circuit set of exercises 3 times, with rounds of work and rest depnding on your level.
30 seconds of work
30 seconds of rest
20 seconds of work
10 seconds of rest
45 seconds of work
15 seconds of rest
HIIT is the ideal workout for a busy schedule - whether you want to squeeze in a workout during your lunch break or to get in shape for a fast-approaching event. Research shows you can achieve more progress in a mere 15 minutes of interval training (done three times a week) than the girl jogging on the treadmill for an hour.
Not only do you burn more calories during a HIIT workout, but the effect of all that intense exertion kicks your body's repair cycle into hyperdrive. That means you burn more fat and calories in the 24 hours after a HIIT workout than you do after, say, a steady-pace run.
Most people aren't used to pushing into the anaerobic zone (that lovely place where you can't breathe and you feel like your heart is trying to jump out of your chest). But in this case, extreme training produces extreme results. One 2006 study found that after 8 weeks of doing HIIT workouts, subjects could bicycle twice as long as they could before the study, while maintaining the same pace.
Running, biking, jump roping, and rowing all work great for HIIT, but you don't need any equipment to get it done. High knees, fast feet, or anything plyometric like jumping lunges work just as well to get your heart rate up fast. In fact, some equipment like dumbbells can make HIIT less effective because you want the focus to be on pushing your heart to its max, not your biceps.
Anyone who has been on a diet knows that it's hard to not lose muscle mass along with fat. While steady state cardio seems to encourage muscle loss, studies show that both weight training and HIIT workouts allow dieters to preserve their hard-earned muscles while ensuring most of the weight lost comes from fat stores. Win/win!
In addition to increased fat burning and more muscle preserved, HIIT stimulates production of your human growth hormone (HGH) by up to 450% during the 24 hours after you finish your workout. This is great news since HGH is not only responsible for increased caloric burn but also slows down the aging process, making you younger both inside and out!
You can do it in a boat, you can do it with a goat. You can do it here or there, you can do it anywhere! Dr. Seuss would have loved HIIT. Since it's such a simple concept - go at maximum effort for a short period of time followed by a recovery period and repeat. You can adapt it to whatever time and space constraints you have.
This is not a workout you can do while reading a magazine or chatting with your friend. Because it's so short, you will be working hard the whole time. The trade-off is this format offers seasoned exercisers a new challenge and new exercisers a quick way to see results. You may be in pain, you may be sucking wind, but you definitely won't be bored!
Push-ups are a universally recognized measurement of upper-body strength and endurance. It's also an ideal exercise for training HIIT at home (or anywhere else you decide to take your workout). You can also modify them to match your fitness level or choose a new push-up variation so you never get bored.
01
Lie face-down on the floor with your legs straight and feet together.
02
Place both hands shoulder-width apart at your chest.
03
Keeping your back, hips and legs straight, push up with your arms until your elbows are fully extended.
04
Bend your elbows to lower your chest to the ground.
Lunges are a staple of lower-body workouts for a reason: They build leg strength, endurance and cardiovascular fitness. Just like push-ups, there are nearly an endless supply of variations to keep your at-home workouts fun and engaging.
01
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
02
Step forward with one foot until the knee of the back leg hovers above the ground. Both knees should be at 90-degree angles, and the front knee should remain over the ankle of the front leg (not over the toes).
03
Push off the front leg back to standing.
04
Repeat on the other leg.
Step-ups are an extremely functional exercise. After all, how often do you find yourself going up a set of stairs? Alternate legs or train one leg each set; either way, you'll get a great cardio workout and work your legs from glutes to calves.
01
Stand in front of a box, step, bench or other knee-height, sturdy object.
02
Lift your right foot and step up onto the box so that your right leg is straight.
03
Lower back down to the start. Make sure you do the same number of reps on each leg.
Another excellent body-weight upper-body exercise, tricep dips primarily work the back of the arm — where your triceps muscle is located. These can either be done on a box, bench or chair or from the crab position (face up on all fours).
01
Sit on the edge of the chair and hold onto the chair near your butt.
02
Scoot off the chair so you're supporting yourself with your hands on the chair and your feet on the ground.
03
Bend your elbows so they point back behind you. Only bend as far as you can without pain in your shoulders. Straighten back up and repeat.
If you want to add some plyometrics (aka plyo) to your workout, squat jumps are a great place to start.
01
Stand with feet hip-width apart, feet pointed slightly out. Bend at your knees and hinge your hips back to lower into a squat.
02
Using the power of your legs, jump up and fully extend your body as you reach overhead.
03
Land with knees slightly bent to protect your knees before dropping into your next squat.
Even though all of these HIIT exercises will get your heart rate soaring, there's nothing like mixing in a good old-fashioned cardio drill to really elevate your workout.
01
Stand up tall and draw one knee at a time up toward your chest, quickly alternating legs back and forth so that you're constantly in motion. It feels a bit like you're running in place with your knees out in front of you.
Without a doubt, burpees are one of the best exercises that combine cardio, strength, mobility and balance. They can be tricky to master, so if you've never done one, start with a few practice reps until you get the hang of them.
01
Start standing with feet hip-width apart.
02
Bend down into a squat and put both hands on the ground between your feet.
03
Jump your feet back into a plank.
04
Perform a push-up.
05
Hop your feet back to the squat.
06
From here, launch into a jump with arms overhead.
07
Land with knees slightly bent going into your next rep.