Monday, August 9, 2021

Favorite Quick HIIT Fixes


It's been said that time is of the essence...

The thing is, time is (often times) in limited supply for many of us. We all have the same 24 hours each day, and we all have the same seven days each week. Those days and hours, though, have a tendency to get loaded down with work, family, and household obligations.

Sneaking in a workout, or even some personal time, can be a struggle.

It's those really busy days when I turn to an old standby...HIIT!

HIIT, or High Intensity Interval Training, has been around for a long time. It can encompass many forms, but in its most basic definition, it involves short intervals of intense cardio (and, on occasion, some strength) exercises.  

An article that caught my attention, cited numerous benefits of doing HIIT workouts, several of which I have experienced myself. Some of these benefits include increased metabolism (during and after the workouts), loss of weight, reduction in fat, and increased energy. For me, all of these have happened with only doing one HIIT workout a week (in addition to my usual running, daily walking, planking, etc.).


For myself, I have several key exercises that I include in most of my HIIT workouts:

**A stairway. I know, this one's pretty obvious.

**Burpees. These are one of those moves that most of us love to hate because they're so tough.

**Mountain climbers. These have a way of sneaking up you (or at least they do me LOL).

**Push-ups. I typically filter these in as more of a recovery move.

**Body weight resistance moves.  These don't need much explanation, but squats and lunges are the head-liners.

**Strength-training. I do a lot of simple upper-body strength moves, with a fairly low-weight, which allows for a high rep count.

**other "recovery" options: wall sits, planks, slow-mo push-ups

Here's one of my HIIT favorites:


*5 stair flights (double-stepped)
*10 burpees
*10 push-ups
*20 sets of mountain-climbers
*20 plank jacks
*10 jump squats
*50 rope jumps 
*1-minute wall sit
***Complete four sets (with 20-30 second recovery between each circuit)***

  


As mentioned, I have a few favorite exercises that I tend to use repeatedly. I try to mix up the sequence of moves, and number of reps, to keep the workouts fresh. Often times, I sneak in a few strength moves (usually upper-body, since the bulk of my usual HIIT moves are more lower-body focused) to vary the muscle groups. Most of my HIIT workouts are over and done in 20-30 minutes.

Want a few more ideas on HIIT workouts? Check out these posts:


Do you have any go-to workouts when you're short on time? What are your favorite quick "sweat fixes?"

 I'm linking this with Kim and Zenaida for the Tuesday Topics Link-Up


I'm also linking with Debbie, DeborahLisaLaura and Jenn for the Runners' Roundup

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20 comments:

  1. These are great HIIT workouts, Kim.
    Burpees! You are right, I don't like them at all, but they are so effective!

    Lately, I haven't been doing any HIITs because of my track speed sessions. I need to get back to them again next month. Thanks for the inspiration!

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    1. I haven't been doing any HIIT lately either...I blame the running and biking LOL

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  2. You are the queen of HIIT workouts! I do love the short intense workouts to get the most bang for your buck!

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    1. I'm really glad I brought HIIT workouts into my (usual) routine. When the marathon is over and done, I plan to get back into a more consistent HIIT regimen.

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  3. I've said it many times, I love Pahla B Fitness. She also focuses a lot on workouts for women over 50. Her philosophy is that at that age, we are better served with more moderate workouts -- and I agree!

    Which doesn't mean they're easy, but they are rarely over 25 minutes. That works for me!

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    1. I don't think I've ever done a HIIT past 30 minutes...most of the time I'm done within 20-25 minutes, and that works for me ;-)

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  4. HIIT workouts are great! There's one of the Peloton platform called Flash 15. It's a quick workout but man does it leave me sweating! I love it when I'm short on time!

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    1. I'd rather do an intense short workout than a "long" one that's not as tough. Call me crazy LOL

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  5. Love that HIIT workout that you posted - I'll have to add that to my workout schedule!

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  6. Great list of HIIT exercises, Kim. I agree, burpees are NOBODY's favorite, but you gotta do them every once in a while ;)

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    1. Burpees are tough, especially by the time you reach the end of your set ;-)

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  7. I haven't done HIIT workouts in a long time. Probably because I find them hard, lol!

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  8. Interesting post.
    I have never done HIIT workouts in my life.
    Now I am retired so I always succeed in finding the time for a run but in the past, if sometimes I was terribly busy and I couldn't skip a workout because I was preparing a race, I went to run in very early morning (also at 05.00 a.m.).

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    1. Well, you probably know I'm a fan of early morning runs, too ;-) The HIIT workouts are challenging, but they are great for getting the heart rate up and give a good calorie burn...long past the last set!

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  9. I haven't done HIIT workouts in a long time. It seems like I'm either running, or if I'm not running I'm trying to rest my legs, OR I have some sort of injury that prevents me from doing too many of the movements. I agree that HIIT workouts are great though- someday I'll get back to them!

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  10. I know that HIIT workouts are great and yours always look fun and challenging, but I'm just not a fan. For myself I feel that my running is enough high intensity and I'll take my strength workouts tough but without the jumping around. I do love having my clients do them though!

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  11. I need t do more HIIT, but it's hard to get back in the habit. I like adding all kinds of squats, and snd some lunges.

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  12. I haven't done HIIT in a long time, since my strength sessions have been more focused on building muscle. I do some plyos though!

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