A Quick Guide to HIIT-ing It at Home

 

 

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SPECIAL NOTE: As always, please consult with a medical professional before taking on a new exercise regimen; we aren’t medical professionals here, just real people who enjoy real food & good health. 

 

Working out and staying in shape over the past year has been an exercise in and of itself. The fear of returning back to gyms has hindered a lot of our personal fitness goals. But here’s the catch: it doesn’t have to. There are a myriad of different ways you can exercise and stay on track without leaving the comfort of your home.

 

One of those ways is HIIT or High-Intensity Interval Training.

 

Here are a few quick tips and an even quicker to jumpstart your exercise plan and keep you on track this year.

 

What is HIIT?

 

HIIT or High-Intensity Interval Training is a form of exercise performed in short, intense bursts. These high-intensity bursts are alternated with low-intensity recovery periods. Typically HIIT workouts are performed in 10 to 30 minutes. It’s often regarded as the most time-efficient means of exercise that one can perform.

 

Despite this, HIIT workouts can produce health benefits similar to twice as much moderate-intensity exercise in a fraction of the time. In short, doing a 15-minute HIIT session can be just as if not even more effective than 30+ minutes of walking on a treadmill. 

 

For example, you could sprint as fast as you possibly can on a treadmill for 45 seconds to a minute against high resistance or incline, followed by several minutes of slow, easy walking with low resistance.

This would be considered a “repetition” or “rep” of HIIT, and you would typically complete 4 to 6 repetitions in one workout.

 

Fortunately, there is no exact formula to HIIT. That means you can perform these high-intensity bursts by sprinting on a treadmill, rowing on a rowing machine, or bodyweight exercises at home. Better yet - outside! The flexibility of this style of workout means that it is not only efficient but accessible too!

 

Plus, there are more benefits to HIIT than meets the eye.

 

The Benefits of HIIT

 

In addition to the speed of the workout, HIIT circuits have some other great benefits you can take advantage of for just a little hard work and 15 minutes of your time.

 

First, you can burn a lot of calories in a short period of time. This is because HIIT workouts allow you to expend the same amount of energy but spend less time exercising.

And even after you’re done, HIIT workouts help you burn calories even after you’re done working out. Some researchers have even found that HIIT increases your metabolism after exercise even more so than jogging and weight training. In the same study, HIIT was found to orient the body’s metabolism toward using fat for energy over carbs, making it a great companion to the Keto diet.

 

Because of the tendency of your body to prioritize fat over carbs when doing HIIT, you are also more prone to losing fat. Though the time commitment is much lower than running on the treadmill or spending an hour on the stationary cycle, studies have also indicated that body fat, particularly visceral or bad fat, can be reduced by in large by regular HIIT exercise.

 

But that’s not all.

 

According to a 2017 review in Sports Magazine, HIIT can contribute including increases in how much oxygen you can use during exercise and improvements to insulin sensitivity–which is how responsive your cells are to the hormone insulin–regulation of blood pressure and increases in cardiovascular function.

 

With all the perks of spending 15 minutes working out, there are no excuses for you not to get started. We’ll even give you a quick workout that you can do right now.

 

A Quick 15-Minute HIIT Circut

 

Clear out some space in the living room, lay down a mat, and prepare to sweat. The key to successfully tapping into all the benefits that HIIT has to offer is giving maximum effort to see maximum benefit.

 

(SPECIAL NOTE: High-intensity interval training is pretty taxing on the body. So, it should not be done more than 3 times a week - every other day as an absolute maximum. Before doing HIIT, make sure you consult with your doctor)

 

HIIT in 15 Minutes

4x Groups of Exercises -- 30 Seconds on, 20 Seconds off -- 3 Sets Per Exercise

 

Group 1

Mt Climber x 5

Jumping Lunge x 5

<Rest >

Group 2

Burpee x 5

<Rest >

Group 3

Jackknife Crunch x 5

Bicycle Crunch x 5

<Rest >

Group 4

Star Jumps x 5

Supine Push Up x 5

<Rest >

Plank Jack  (Burnout 1 Min)

 

HIIT in 20 Minutes

20min AMRAP (As Many Reps As Possible):

5 Push Ups

10 Sit Ups

15 Squats