When working out, high-intensity interval training (HIIT) is a practical, easy, and quick way to reach your fitness goals. The approach is equally suitable for casual gym-goers and hardcore professional athletes. It’s also an exercise style that can easily fit into most schedules since you don’t need to go to a gym to get an excellent workout or buy any equipment.
Another cool thing about HIIT is that you can easily mix up your workouts, so you don’t get bored with them.
HIIT workouts typically consist of periods of intense exercise followed by a short rest period. The intensity at which exercises are performed and the brief rest periods maximize your efforts. HIIT isn’t any particular type of exercise, like weight lifting or running; it simply means any type of physical activity involving intense energy bursts and short rest periods.
Some of the main benefits of adding HIIT circuits to your workouts include:
- HIIT helps maximize your V02 Max, one of the most used health metrics to assess cardiorespiratory fitness. Your V02 Max is the maximum amount of energy your body can absorb and use during intense activity.
- HIIT workouts allow you to burn lots of calories and strengthen your muscles in a short amount of time. A study in the Journal of Diabetes Research shows that HIIT participants ended up with a similar body composition to those who performed moderately intense workouts that lasted twice the amount of time.
- HIIT circuits are great for your cardiovascular health. They also help to improve blood pressure and blood sugar levels.
- HIIT workouts lead to the release of endorphins that help to improve your mood.
13 Effective HIIT Exercises To Add To Your Fitness Routine
Now that we’ve gone over the basics of HIIT exercises, let’s take a look at some simple exercises you should add to your next circuit:
1) Bodyweight Max Out
Here’s a 30-minute HIIT circuit that targets muscles all over your body. You don’t need any equipment to perform any of the exercises, making it an excellent way for people with busy workouts to get a good pump.
This HIIT workout includes some plyometric movements, so it also helps with your mobility. This workout contains 17 supersets in total. Here’s what the exercise looks like:
You can start with any exercises for warmup. 10 seconds of intense work with no rest between sets. It can include exercises like:
- Jumping jacks
- Butt kicks
- High knees
Once your body is nicely warmed up, you can move on to the core part of the exercises, which involves working at full intensity with different supersets for 30 seconds with 5-second rest periods. In between the supersets, you will rest for another 20 seconds before starting the next one. This will definitely increase your heart rate. Some of these supersets include:
- Cross mountain climbers
- Jump squats
- Alternating lunges
The last part of the exercise will have 8x core and abdominal exercises as a finisher. 30 seconds of intense exercise with 15 seconds of rest before the next exercise. It includes some of this exercises:
- Frog crunch
- Pike jumps
- Leg raises
2) Five-Minute Dumbbell Circuit
Here’s another five-minute workout that will raise your heart rate, increase muscle strength, and keep you burning calories at a higher rate long after your workout. Grab a pair of dumbbells of your choice so you can quickly cycle through the workout. It consists of five exercises performed at high intensity for 60 seconds with no rest in between.
Here are some exercises that can make up this HIIT workout:
- Curl to squat to press
- Row and deadlift
- Reverse lunge and curl
- Mountain climbers
- Press jacks
Try to get more as more rounds of this circuit as your fitness levels improve. It will have you looking ripped in little time.
3) Interval workout
This workout comprises five exercises performed for 40-second periods and 20-second breaks between each exercise. Here are the exercises that make up this workout:
- Pulsing jump squats
- Frog jumps
- Vertical jumps
- High knees
- Jumping jack planks
4) Military HIIT Circuit
Here’s another short 10-minute HIIT circuit that will quickly get you in military shape. It’s a great way to improve muscle strength and mass while giving you an excellent cardio workout. Try performing the circuit two or three times if you’re feeling brave.
Some of the exercises that make up this high-intensity interval training circuit include:
- Mountain climbers
- Jump squats
- Jumping jacks
- Alternating jump lunges
- In-and-out squat taps
- Flutter kicks
Perform each exercise for 45 seconds, followed by a 15-second break before moving on to the next exercise.
5) Burpee Interval Workout
Burpees are the pound-for-pound best exercise to improve muscle strength while getting a good cardio workout. Adding it to any HITT workouts only makes sense to push yourself to the max. Burpees engage every muscle in your body, making them an excellent exercise to add to any workout circuit.
Starting with the burpee-only workout, you will complete the exercises for 40 seconds with 20 seconds of rest in between. Aim to complete the circuit three to four times to get the most out of it.
This circuit consists of some exercises such as:
- Half burpee
- Full burpee
- Burpee and squat thrust
- Burpee and broad jumps
- Burpee and pushups
6) Lower Body Blaster
This circuit will ensure the muscles in your lower body get a great workout while raising your heart rate. You may grab a set of dumbbells or a medicine ball for a little more challenge. 45 seconds for each exercise with no rest in between within the rounds but you will get a 45 seconds rest before starting the next round. Some of these exercises within this circuit are:
- Crab walk with weights
- Bridge lifts
- Single-leg bridges
- Stiff legs deadlifts
- Lateral lunges
7) Battle Rope HIIT Workout
This is a great way to give your upper body, particularly your arms, a thorough workout with battle ropes. It is an increasingly popular exercise in martial arts gyms because of how effective it is at increasing your functional strength.
Set up the exercise by anchoring the battle rope you plan to use to an immovable object, with half of each end coming off the base so you can grab an end with each arm and make it taut. Aim for 4 sets of each exercise and rest for 30 seconds before moving to the next one.
Once you’re all set up, some of the common battle ropes exercises consist of:
- Double-Arm Motion: Grab both ends of the rope and whip it up and down as fast as possible. Your arms should be extended and flexed as you move the ropes. Keep your spine and core tense as you perform the exercise while using your hips to guide your arms.
- Alternating-Arm Motion: Grab the rope as you did for the first exercise, but alternate the movement this time so that one arm moves up while the other moves down. Keep your core braced when performing your reps as well as your hips.
8) Jump Rope Interval
Here’s a quick circuit that’s great for boxers and other combat sports athletes who want to be nimbler on their feet. A jump rope is the only piece of equipment needed to get through this. Aim to complete this circuit without much rest.
Here’s what the circuit looks like:
- Superset consisting of 3 jumps
- 20 seconds for each jump with no rest in between
- After the first superset, rest for 30 seconds before the next superset
9) Upper Body Blaster
You’ll need a pair of dumbbells to perform this 15-minute HIIT workout that will leave you with a nice pump by the time you’re done. The circuit primarily targets your back, arms, core, and chest muscles. Add this to your workout routine to prepare your body for summer beach days.
Here are some of the various exercises that make up this HIIT circuit:
- Hammer curls
- Alternative single-arm curl to press
- Overhead tricep extension
- Bent over rows
- Renegade rows
- Superman
- Chest press
- Shoulder press
- Front raises
10) 20-Minute Dumbbell Workout
This workout helps to increase your strength and endurance which will help with building muscles and weight loss. This targets almost all muscle groups so feel free to grab some weights to challenge yourself throughout this 20-minute workout. This circuit has 4 rounds and ending with a finisher.
Here are some of the exercises in this circuit with 40 seconds on and 20 seconds off:
- Goblet squats
- Romanian deadlifts
- Alternative curtsy lunges
- Upright rows
- Bicep curls
- Weighted Russian twist
11) Martial Arts HIIT Circuit
This HIIT circuit is designed to give you a full-body workout while helping to improve your martial arts skills. It’s lots of fun, but you’ll have to set up some equipment at home or find a martial arts gym around you.
You don’t get any breaks when moving through your circuits, but you get a 60-second break between rounds. Try going through the circuit three to five times, depending on your fitness level.
Some of the exercises that make up this circuit include:
- Hitting a heavy bag as hard as you can
- Crunches for abs workout
- Alternating roundhouse kicks with both legs
- Throwing alternating knees on a heavy bag
12) Muscle-Building Weight Blaster
You’ll need some proper weightlifting equipment for this circuit, so you might need to head to a gym for this HIIT workout if you haven’t already set up a home gym. One cool thing about this circuit is you can customize it to suit your fitness goals.
Focus on heavy weights if building muscle mass and increasing overall strength is your priority, and lighter weights if you focus more on improving muscle definition.
Here are the different exercises that make up this circuit:
- Skater lunges
- Deadlift and calf raises
- Dumbbell swings
- Plank rows
- Sit-ups
When you’re done, your muscles will have a nice pump, and you’ll work up a decent sweat.
13) 20-Minute Full-Body Circuit
This high-intensity interval training circuit is for anyone who wants a full-body workout that doesn’t require any equipment besides a bit of space. It involves performing each exercise for 30 seconds and resting for 15 seconds before moving to the next.
Here’s a breakdown of some of the exercises in this circuit:
- Shoulder Taps
- Commandos
- Oblique crunches
- Reverse crunches
- Skullcrusher pushups
- Superman hold
- Burpees
- High Knees
Give These A Try And Create Circuits To Reach Your Fitness Goals
The circuits listed above are enough to get you in the best shape of your life. Feel free to create your own circuits to suit your fitness goals. Remember, any combination of exercises can make up a high-intensity interval training circuit as long as you alternate periods of intense work with short rest periods.
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