High Intensity Workouts or HIIT (high-intensity interval training) exercises are the perfect solution for anyone looking to get fit fast! High intensity workouts are a series of short, intense exercise periods alternated with quick recovery periods. Have you ever wanted to get a good workout in but didn’t have enough time? Or maybe you were just too tired to push through a full one-hour workout! Well, having “no time to exercise” is no longer an excuse! With HIIT training exercises, you can burn the same amount of calories in a much shorter time frame. High intensity workouts can help you get fit quickly and may provide the same health benefits as regular exercise in less time! It’s a win-win!
Research has shown that you keep burning calories for hours after your workout is finished. High intensity workouts typically cause you to burn more fat, build muscle, possibly lower blood pressure, and improve heart rate. This training is quick and anything but boring, and its strict work-to-rest ratios make it arguably the most time-efficient way to exercise and burn calories. Try these 10 high intensity workouts to build muscle in no time!
- Jumping Lunge HIIT workout
- Mountain Climber HIIT workout
- Bodyweight Squat HIIT workout
- Jumping Jack Interval HIIT workout
- High Knees HIIT workout
- Burpee HIIT workout
- Jump Squat HIIT workout
- Bicycle Crunch HIIT workout
- Reverse Lunge HIIT workout
- Box Jump HIIT workout
Benefits of High Intensity Workouts
1. High intensity workouts help you burn calories.
HIIT training increases the amount of calories you burn during your exercise session and afterward because it increases the length of time it takes your body to recover from each session.
2. High intensity workouts build muscle.
High intensity workouts are designed to burn fat and build muscle fast by stressing muscles more than other workouts.
3. High intensity workouts improve athletic performance.
Whether you’re an experienced athlete or not, HIIT workouts help improve your workout performance and your day-to-day tasks with just a few short sessions a week.
4. High intensity workouts save time.
It can be very challenging to squeeze in a workout. HIIT workouts are quick and efficient sessions that leave you with more time to enjoy life while feeling fit!
5. High intensity workouts require no equipment.
High intensity workouts can be done anywhere and generally require little to no equipment. Running, biking, jump roping, and rowing all work great for high intensity training, and requires no equipment to get it done. It doesn’t get any easier!
6. High intensity workouts are adaptable.
The HIIT approach to cardio exercise can be physically demanding, but it can be modified to different levels of fitness. With high intensity interval training, you can work out at any level and however long you desire.
10 HIIT Training Exercises
1. Jumping Lunges HIIT Training Exercise
Jumping lunges are an advanced variation of a basic walking lunge exercise, leveling up the intensity by adding a jump. This workout helps develop and improve lower body strength and power, as well as challenging dynamic stability and coordination. When the jumping lunge is done correctly, you will target the glutes, quadriceps, hamstrings, hip flexors, and calves. As a great alternative to burpees, jumping lunges get your heart rate pumping to promote health and wellness.
Jumping Lunge HIIT Training Instructions:
- Start with your feet shoulder-width apart, core engaged and shoulders back. Take a step back with your left leg, with the weight on the ball of your foot and your front foot flat on the floor.
- Jump up to switch your legs in mid-air – left leg forward and right leg back. Use your arms to help you jump explosively and make sure your chest is lifted.
- Land with knees at 90°. Keep switching legs without the knees moving out of line, ensuring your knee isn’t further forward than your front foot.
- Aim for a few reps to begin and work up to a full 60 seconds.
2. Mountain Climbers HIIT Training Exercise
Climbing a mountain can be a daunting task for most people, but what if your mountain is the floor? Essentially, that is what the mountain climber workout is. Performed from a plank position, you’ll feel the burn from this HIIT training exercise! Mountain climbers are great for building cardio endurance, core strength, and agility. You are able to work several muscle groups with mountain climbers – it’s almost like getting a full body workout with just one exercise!
Mountain Climber HIIT Training Instructions:
- Start in a push up position with your hands shoulder-width apart directly beneath your shoulders.
- As quickly as you can, pull your right knee towards your chest without letting it touch the floor, then return to the start position.
- Switch legs, pulling one knee out and bringing the other knee in.
- Keep your hips down and run your knees in and out as far and as fast as you can. Alternate inhaling and exhaling with each leg change.
- Continue until you have completed the required number of reps.
3. Bodyweight Squats HIIT Training Exercise
The bodyweight squat is a great place to start if you’re new to resistance training or practicing squats. This high intensity workout strengthens the quads, glutes, and hamstrings. It involves shifting your hips and back and “sitting” toward the ground while in a standing position, stopping once your thighs are parallel with the ground, then pushing through the heels to straighten your legs and return to standing. It seems simple, but the bodyweight squat actually calls on your entire body!
Bodyweight Squat HIIT Training Instructions:
- Stand with your feet shoulder width apart. You can place your hands behind your head. This will be your starting position.
- Begin the movement by flexing your knees and hips, sitting back with your hips.
- Continue down to full depth if you are able, and quickly reverse the motion until you return to the starting position. As you squat, keep your head and chest up and push your knees out.
- As you finish the movement, squeeze your glutes and quadriceps while maintaining a neutral spine. At the end of each repetition, your shoulders should finish directly over your hips.
- Repeat for your desired number of reps.
4. Jumping Jacks HIIT Training Exercise
Jumping jacks are a powerhouse move in high intensity interval training for several reasons! They’re incredibility effective at raising your heart rate, a vital part of any high intensity workout. Jumping jacks are versatile and easily modified to suit different fitness levels. Beginners can start with a slower pace or reduced impact, while advanced exercises can add jumping jack variations like power jacks or incorporate weights for added resistance. They engage your entire body, including your shoulders, heart, lungs, core, hip flexors, and glutes.
Jumping Jack HIIT Training Instructions:
- Stand straight with your feet together and hands by your side.
- Jump up, spread your feet and bring both hands together and above your head.
- Jump again and return to the starting position.
- Continue this sequence, aiming for 10-100 repetitions across six sets. Focus on maintaining good posture throughout, avoid slouching or letting your toes turn outward.
5. High Knees HIIT Training Exercise
High knees might seem like a simple exercise to perform but cranking out a few sets of this HIIT workout gets your heart pumping, activates your lower body and core muscles, and leads to a quick sweat. The high knees exercise is an excellent weight-bearing, full-body movement that increases your heart rate, warms muscles in your lower and upper body, and prepares you for more complex exercises and activities.
High Knees HIIT Training Instructions:
- Stand tall with your feet about hip-to-shoulder width apart and your arms at your sides.
- Looking straight ahead, open your chest, and engage your core muscles.
- Begin by bringing your knee toward your chest, slightly above waist level. Simultaneously, move your left hand up in a pumping motion.
- Quicky lower your right leg and left hand.
- Repeat with your left leg and right hand.
- Alternate your right and left leg for the desired time.
6. Burpees HIIT Training Exercise
Burpees are a challenging exercise that work many of the major muscle groups in your body. It is considered a calisthenics exercise, which means you use your body weight for resistance. A burpee is essentially a two-part exercise: a pushup followed by a leap in the air. Doing multiple burpees in a row can be tiring, but this versatile exercise is definitely worth the payoff, especially if you’re looking for a way to build strength and endurance, while burning calories, and boosting your cardio fitness!
Burpee HIIT Training Instructions:
- Stand straight with your feet shoulder-width apart.
- Squat and place your hands in front of your feet.
- Jump back until your legs are fully extended and your body is in a plank position.
- Do a pushup, jump forward, and then push through the heels to return to the starting position.
- As soon as you land with knees bent, get into a squat position and do another repetition.
7. Jump Squats HIIT Training Exercise
Jump squats take your squats to the next level by turning them into plyometric exercise. Rather than rising out of the squat, you burst up, ending in a jump with your feet off the floor. This high intensity workout is considered a compound movement because multiple joints (ankles, knees, hips) and multiple muscle groups (quadriceps, hamstrings, abdominals, transverse abdominis, hip flexors, erector spine) are involved. You can use jump squats to add high intensity intervals to cardio workouts. It can be done as a single exercise or a combination that includes other movements before or after the jump!
Jump Squat HIIT Training Instructions:
- Stand with feet shoulder-width apart and knees slightly bent.
- Bend your knees and descend to a full squat position.
- Engage through the quads, glutes, and hamstrings and propel the body up and off the floor, extending through the legs. With legs fully extended, feet will be a few inches (or more) off the floor.
- Descend and control your landing by going through your foot (toes, ball, arches, heel) and transition into the squat again for another explosive jump.
- Upon landing, immediately repeat the next jump.
8. Bicycle Crunches HIIT Training Exercise
Bicycle crunches retain the upward bend of traditional crunches but amplify the intensity and benefits by incorporating twists and leg work, thus requiring greater core stabilization and muscle activation. Besides working your abs, you will also be toning your thighs, as both your hamstrings and quads will be involved with bicycling. Bicycle crunches are an effective HIIT workout that can be done in many ways to make it more accessible as you build core strength or to work your muscles in different ways.
Bicycle Crunch HIIT Training Instructions:
- Lay down on your back with your legs extended. Make sure to keep your lower back rooted into the mat by tucking your pelvis down.
- Bring your legs to a tabletop position and interlace your hands behind your head or cradle your neck.
- Lift your head, neck, and shoulders up as you twist your body, bringing your right knee to your left elbow. Come through the middle, rolling across your shoulder blades, to switch to the other side.
- Repeat and aim for 12 to 20 repetitions and three sets.
9. Reverse Lunges HIIT Training Exercise
The reverse lunge is a bodyweight and leg exercise that works muscle groups throughout your lower body. Perform reverse lunges by taking a step backwards, keeping your upper body aligned and your back straight. Lower yourself enough for your front leg to be at a 90° angle. With correct form, reverse lunges are one of the most accessible lunge variations you can use in your strength training program.
Reverse Lunge HIIT Training Instructions:
- Stand upright with your feet shoulder width apart. For a more intense HIIT workout, you may hold a pair of dumbbells or kettlebells at your sides.
- Lunge backward with your right leg as far as you can while dropping your hips downward.
- Once in the down lunge position, push back to the starting position with both legs at the same time.
- Repeat with the left leg.
- Alternate legs for the desired number of repetitions.
10. Box Jumps HIIT Training Exercise
High intensity workouts, like box jumps, are an excellent way to enhance explosive power! As the name suggests, box jumps involve jumping from the floor onto a box or other elevated surface. Plyometrics, or jumping exercises, push your muscles to the max, helping increase your power, strength, and speed. This exercise is a high impact HIIT workout, targeting your quads, glutes, hamstrings, and calves.
Box Jump HIIT Training Instructions:
- Stand with the box one short step in front of you and your shoulder-width apart.
- Bend your knees slightly and drop down, bringing your arms out behind you.
- Use the momentum from your quarter squat to propel you upward as you jump onto the box, allowing your arms to swing in front of you.
- Land softly on both feet with a slight bend in the knees.
- Step back and down. Repeat and aim to increase reps each time.
Easily Track your HIIT Training Exercises with RhinoFit
Whether your client’s goal is to build muscle, lose weight, or to advance their skill set, you need to create a training program and a timeline to achieve those goals. Workout tracking software is the ultimate solution. A tracking system saves you time, elevates your coaching skills, and enhances your client’s performance!
RhinoFit’s workout tracking system is designed for every type of gym under the sun! There’s no limit to what type of exercises you can create – it’s totally up to you! Build one set of high intensity workouts and another for a pre-class warm-up.
After completing an exercise, the results are entered into the athlete’s client portal. Athletes can compare their results and trainers can use this data to determine where they need improvement. The workout tracking software is the perfect tool to engage and motivate members. Athletes love to see their performance levels rise!
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