What Is a HIIT Workout?
HIIT workout stands for High-Intensity Interval Training workout. Whereas a traditional cardio workout is all work and little rest, HIIT is the opposite. The ratio of work to rest time is more balanced.
Think of a soccer game; they run and then rest, and run again. Also, think of the physique of a soccer player. Pretty ripped, right? Those guys don’t look like they have any problems with weight loss.
HIIT Workout Definition
“High-intensity interval training involves working out as hard as you can for a short time, followed by a short, less-intense period” – Walt Thompson, lead researcher on the trends report and a regents’ professor of kinesiology and health at Georgia State University in Atlanta.¹
A HIIT workout is an excellent way to rebuild your body fast.
This HIIT type of training gets and keeps your heart rate up and burns more fat in less time.²
What is EPOC?
The HIIT workout creates an afterburn effect known as the Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC).
This afterburn effect is the furnace that can incinerate your fat more effectively than steady-state cardio. An example of steady-state cardio is a two-hour walk around the park: all work, little rest. But the work is not intense at all.
Are you sick of working out for an hour or more and not seeing results?
I bet you are.
A HIIT workout gives the busy person no excuses for being fat. You probably have at least 30 minutes a day that you can devote to your health. Thirty minutes is more than enough time for a simple HIIT workout.
The secret to a good fat burning HIIT workout is to keep your rest periods between sets down to 30 seconds.
Instead of resting up to 5 minutes between sets, you will be resting just 30 seconds. This short break is why high-intensity interval training HIIT workout requires a higher level of intensity than traditional cardio.
Types of HIIT Workouts
There are various types of HIIT workouts on exercise equipment, such as;
- Skillmill
- Treadmill workout
- Stairmaster
- Elliptical
- Rebounder
- Stationary bike
- Rowing machine
- Workouts with weights
15 Minute Fat Burning HIIT Workout | No Equipment
Example of Bodyweight HIIT Workout
You can do a HIIT workout with or without weights or equipment. This section will describe a simple bodyweight HIIT workout.
You can do this low impact HIIT workout at home or in a hotel room. So, you have no excuses when you are on the road or do not have access to a gym. Start with several repetitions for each exercise, whatever is comfortable for you.
If you can do five pushups, then start there. Don’t give up. If you can do 40 pushups, then start there. The same idea applies to all of the other exercises.
Below is one example of a simple 30 minute HIIT workout no equipment at home that you can do 2 or 3 times a week:
- Do 20 pushups, then
- 20 situps,
- next, do 20 squats, then
- 20 back extensions, and
- Finish off with 20 jumping jacks or 1 minute of jump rope
How to Do a Basic Pushup
How to Do a Basic Situp
How to Do Squats with Proper Form
Because the squat is so foundational for many benefits, it is not enough to give you bullet points like:
- In the starting position, stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, etc
Instead, see this great beginner squat workout. Do this workout, and you will increase your testosterone, growth hormone, and overall body strength because of the powerful benefits of squats.
How to do a Lower Back Extension at Home
If you went to a public school gym class, you know how to do jumping jacks. This exercise is a well-known example of a simple HIIT workout. Use a short amount of time to rest, no more than 30 seconds in between each exercise.
Do two circuits or pushups, situps, squats, back extensions, and jumping jacks. This routine will take you less than 30 minutes.
Caution: make sure you have filled out a Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire (PAR-Q) or your doctor’s approval before starting any exercise routine, especially a HIIT workout.
HIIT Workout Benefits
1. Reduce your workout time
A HIIT workout, by definition, will take you a shorter amount of time because you are resting less between sets, as little as 30 seconds. If you are tired of spending a lot of time in the gym, welcome to nirvana.
Of course, this does not mean that a HIIT workout is easy.
On the contrary, a HIIT workout is going to tax your muscles and recovery time. But, by the end of the exercise, you will know that you worked out. And, you will need to take the next day off for your muscles to recover.
10 Minute Morning Workout (No Equipment Bodyweight Workout)
2. No weights necessary
As you can see from the HIIT workout example above, you do not need weights. You can do a HIIT workout at home.
3. Burn fat for 48 hours after your workout
How would you like to keep your fat-burning furnace stoked even after your workout? This post-workout burn is the essential difference between aerobics and a HIIT workout. With aerobics or other steady-state cardio, you burn fat while you are working out.
As a result, if you take an hour or two-hour walk, you will be burning calories while you are walking or running. But, once you sit down again, your metabolism will go back to where it was before your exercise.
Any workout, though, which builds muscle, like bodyweight training or barbell/dumbbell weight training, will raise your metabolism. Your metabolism rises because you created an oxygen deficit during your HIIT session.
Also, your body needs to repair the damaged muscle fibers, which raises your metabolism as well.
When Should You Do HIIT?
Try to do your workout in the morning. If you need to get to sleep earlier, so you can wake up earlier, even better.
You benefit either way, by getting to bed earlier in the evening.
If you train in the morning, at least you know you have done your workout for the day. So, if anything else comes up during the rest of the day, you took care of yourself first.
What Is the Best HIIT Workout?
Of course, there are infinite variations of HIIT workouts. And you do not have to get complicated for a full body intense workout, even without weights.
Which workout is best, with or without weights?
The answer is that the best HIIT workout is the one that you do consistently.
Every day, every week, every month, until you reach your goal weight and body fat percentage. If you are consistent, the fat loss and HIIT transformation is sure to follow.
Please comment on how you like this HIIT workout. As you can tell, I am a big fan of a HIIT workout.
Do you have other simple HIIT workouts suggestions?
What’s Next
The minimum you need to do for body transformation is:
- Walk 30 minutes every day or go rucking a few times a week
- Follow SYSTEM 5™, a free plan to lose 20 pounds in 3 months using 5 easy steps
- Start a 12 Week Deadlift Program for Beginners using this Deadlift Workout Routine
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- 5 Cardio Workouts That Can Shred Fat in Just 12 Weeks
- Daily Workout Routines Vs Training; What is the Difference?
- One Great Beginner Squat Workout Routine
- 5 Best Deadlift Shoes to Get the Most out of Every Single Rep in 2020
Footnotes:
¹ Fitness Trends from USA Today
² What Type of Training Burns More Fat in Less Time?
From Visually.
Rich is a NASM Certified Personal Trainer (NASM-CPT), an