High-Intensity Interval Training Guide: How to Do a HIIT Workout

HIIT stands for high-intensity interval training. This type of training emphasizes short bursts of high-intensity exercise interspersed with short recovery periods. HIIT training sessions are shorter and more intense than steady-state workouts, which are moderate-intensity exercises, such as jogging and cycling, that involves working out for an extended amount of time.

Compared to lower-intensity workouts, HIIT sessions offer several notable benefits.

• HIIT rapidly elevates the heart rate. Intense exercises provide a great cardio workout. Over the long term, this can help lower your resting pulse and blood pressure. It can also improve lung capacity and insulin resistance and bolster overall cardiovascular health.
• HIIT is efficient. Many high-intensity workouts naturally incorporate a warm-up and cool-down, and they provide the recovery periods required to successfully build muscle and lung capacity.
• HIIT workouts are relatively short. A high-intensity training program packs a full-body workout into a short amount of time so that physical activity doesn't have to take a back seat in your busy day.
• HIIT requires minimal equipment. Most HIIT exercisers use little to no equipment in their high-intensity workouts. They use bodyweight exercises for strength training and use various running and jumping activities for aerobic activity.

There are many ways to customize a HIIT workout to fit your fitness level and athletic goals. One of the most popular high-intensity workouts is the seven-minute workout, an exercise routine that combines an array of aerobic, stretching, and bodyweight exercises to challenge your full body in a short amount of time. Perform each exercise for 30 seconds, followed by a 15-second recovery period.

1. 1. Jumping jacks
2. 2. Static wall sit
3. 3. Push-ups (or, if you want a greater challenge, burpees)
4. 4. Crunches or sit-ups
5. 5. Running up steps (or just stepping up onto a chair)
6. 6. Squats
7. 7. Triceps dips on a chair
8. 8. Plank
9. 9. High-step running in place
10. 10. Lunges
11. 11. Push-up and rotation
12. 12. Side plank on your left
13. 13. Side plank on your right

You can play with the order of these exercises, but try to maintain a rotation of cardio, stretching, and strength training via bodyweight. If you find the workout too easy, increase the length of each interval to 45 seconds or even a full minute.

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