What is HIIT?
A HIIT exercise, or high intensity interval training, might sound intimidating, especially for beginners. As the name suggests, it’s an intense level of workout mixed with short intervals of rest. So it’s actually a kind of exercise that really pushes you to your hardest, without having to exercise for a long period of time. So let’s explore the benefits of HIIT and some of the best HIIT exercises you can do.
HIIT Workout Benefits
1. Fat/Weight Loss: Even though these are short exercises, HIIT exercises are more intense than steadier but slower workouts. And these more intense burst of exercise are better for burning calories, supporting natural weight loss. Even studies have found that doing a HIIT workout benefits overweight people in their weight loss journeys (1).
2. Reduces Blood Sugar: For diabetics, HIIT workouts could be the better option as it’s shown to reduce blood sugar levels (2). Even doing a high intensity exercise just once a week would help improve insulin sensitivity in people and control blood sugar levels particularly in diabetic patients.
3. Boosts Metabolism: The internal effects of such short bursts of exercise don’t stop once your exercise ends. Your metabolism remains running fast and strong hours after your exercise ends, which means you’re burning calories even later in the day and not just during your workout.
4. Workout Efficiency: Some people might want to start working out regularly and get into exercising for losing weight, gaining muscle, or simply keeping themselves fit. But in our busy daily lives, they might not find enough time to dedicate to a full-blown workout. This is where high intensity cardio exercises can be considered more efficient than other regular exercises. High intensity interval training takes a shorter amount of time than spending hours in the gym – and you’re still able to fulfil your exercise goals!
5. Muscle Gains: HIIT isn’t just great for burning fat – it also actively helps boost muscle gain. The short bursts of high intensity exercise push your muscles to work harder than traditional cardio, thus promoting muscle growth. Although weight training could arguably be more effective than HIIT for gaining muscles, HIIT still does contribute to increasing muscle mass and strength (3).
Some HIIT Exercises to Start Out With
1. Burpees
How to: Start standing, squat down, place your hands on the floor, kick your feet back into a plank, do a push-up, return to squat, and jump up.
Benefits: Burpees work your whole body, combining cardio and strength, and are fantastic for burning calories and building muscle endurance.
2. Jump Squats
How to: Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, squat down, then jump up with power. Land softly and go straight into the next squat.
Benefits: Builds powerful legs, increases heart rate, and boosts explosive strength.
3. Mountain Climbers
How to: Begin in a plank, bring one knee towards your chest, then quickly switch legs. Move quickly as if “climbing”.
Benefits: This move targets your abs, shoulders, and legs, while giving you a strong cardio boost.
4. High Knees
How to: Run in place, lifting your knees as high as possible with each step and pumping your arms.
Benefits: Increases heart rate quickly, burns fast calories, and improves lower-body agility.
5. Push-Ups
How to: With your body in a straight plank, lower yourself to the ground and push back up.
Benefits: Builds upper body and core strength while providing a mild cardio effect when done quickly.
6. Jumping Jacks
How to: Stand upright, jump with your feet out while raising arms overhead, then return to start.
Benefits: A beginner-friendly cardio move that fires up your metabolism and works multiple muscle groups.
7. Skaters
How to: Stand on one leg and jump to the other side, landing on your other foot and swinging the opposite leg behind you, as if you’re speed skating. Alternate sides quickly.
Benefits: Improves balance, leg strength, and cardiovascular fitness.
8. Flutter Kicks
How to: Lie on your back, with your legs extended, and rapidly alternate kicking your legs up and down a few inches off the ground.
Benefits: Engages your core and hip flexors, aiding in core strength and endurance.
Tips to Start HIIT
We’ve got some tips for you to safely start out with HIIT workouts, and better incorporate them into your routine:
• Start Slow: Ease into HIIT by beginning with low-impact moves or longer rest periods. Since these are short but intense workouts, you should ease into them to not throw your body off with a surprise. For total beginners, maybe take short intervals of brisk walking to help you get used to the pattern of work and rest.
• Warm Up and Cool Down: Never skip the warmup for any exercise in general. You need to prepare your body before jumping into your workout, so always spend a few minutes warming up before your HIIT session. And cooling down afterwards is equally important to prevent injury and help your body recover.
• Limit Sessions at First: Start with just 1-2 HIIT workouts per week to let your muscles adapt and recover between sessions. As your fitness improves, you can do more HIIT exercises throughout the week. But 2-3 times per week should be enough.
• Mix It Up: Combine different exercises or change your intervals (like 20 seconds high, 40 seconds rest) to keep things interesting and challenge your body in new ways.
• Listen to Your Body: HIIT is intense – if at any time you feel dizzy or overly exhausted, stop and rest. It’s normal to push hard, but don’t push yourself dangerously past your limits. Safety always comes first.
• Rest Days Matter: Get ample rest or keep some lighter workout days between HIIT sessions to give your body enough time to recover. It also needs strength to recover to be able to keep up during your next HIIT workout, so limit HIIT to only 2-3 times every week.
Final Thoughts
To sum it all up, HIIT is a powerful and time-efficient way to work toward your fitness goals – whether that’s burning fat, boosting muscle, or simply staying healthy. With its quick, intense bursts, you don’t have to spend hours at the gym to see real results. And best of all, you can easily adapt HIIT to your level. Just start slow, focus on good form, and listen to your body. With consistency and care, HIIT can turn those small bursts of effort into big gains for your body and overall health.
FAQs
Q1. What is HIIT workout?
HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training) is a workout style characterized by short bursts of intense exercise with brief intervals or rest periods in between, allowing you to work hard for a short time and recover before repeating.
Q2. Is HIIT good for weight loss?
Yes, HIIT can be effective for weight loss because it helps you burn a lot of calories in a short time and boosts your metabolism even after your workout ends.
Q3. Can I do HIIT everyday?
HIIT is a really intense exercise, so it’s not recommended as a daily exercise. 2-3 times per week is enough to achieve results while giving your muscles enough time to recover in between and avoid injury.
Q4. What are the best HIIT exercises?
Some of the best HIIT exercises are burpees, jump squats, mountain climbers, high knees, push-ups, jumping jacks, skaters, and flutter kicks – each targeting different muscle groups and boosting cardiovascular fitness.