You don’t always need 90 minutes of exercise to get in a good calorie burn or metabolic jumpstart. This 9 minute HIIT workout video is a good example of a routine that you can squeeze into a hectic schedule, a way to fit in a good sweat on days where exercise might otherwise fall to the bottom of the priorities list (hey, it happens to us too, we aren’t judging).

We start off with a few minutes of a quick cardio warm up to get the blood flowing and the muscles warmed. The only thing you will need to do outside of this video is a short cool down and stretch to help dissipate lactic acid in the body (lessening the likelihood of muscle soreness the next day).

Just in case you are new to Fitness Blender workouts and/or high intensity interval training (HIIT), the basic gist of this type of training is that you work at maximal exertion levels for a short period of time in order to create a metabolic disturbance that your body must recover from. While it’s recovering, or renormalizing itself, it burns calories at a higher rate of expenditure than normal. Studies have shown that your body can be burning calories at a higher rate than normal for up to 48 or even 72 hours later (even while you’re sitting on the couch).

Routine Layout & Details
- 9 Minutes total
- Short cardio warm up + 5 minute HIIT
- Cool Down not included but recommended

HIIT Structure
- 2 Bodyweight exercises
- 20 Seconds On, 10 Off, twice per
- 2 Rounds

HIIT Exercises
Double Butt Kickers – Getting both feet up for a “butt kick” and then back down under your body, ready for a proper landing, takes an incredible amount of energy and coordination. You will likely find that both the muscles of your lower body, and your lungs, will be screaming after this one. One word of warning regarding this exercise; it can be easy to roll an ankle or endure and injury during this exercise if you are not paying attention, not appropriately fit for the demanding move, or tired from a previous workout. Your safety is important to us, so make sure that you only kick up with both feet if you are feeling strong and well conditioned. An easier modification for this exercise is simply doing the same motion, but with one foot up at a time.

Burpee Jacks – Drop down into a Burpee, push right back up and do a jumping jack. We love this exercise because it is high energy and because it engages so many muscle groups at once without any equipment at all.

How many calories does this HIIT workout burn?
We estimate that this workout burns between 10-14 calories per minute, or 90-126 calories total. Because it’s a short routine, the overall expenditure is not overwhelmingly high, but the rate per minute is good in terms of using time efficiently.

What other Fitness Blender workouts should I use this high intensity interval training routine with?
If you have more than ten minutes to exercise, we recommend that you pair this routine with one of our strength training workouts for either the upper or lower body, or core (remember; abs, upper & lower body 2-3x/week each). It will boost your overall caloric expenditure and the lean muscle you build will further help you get or stay lean. If you are on a rest/pure cardio day in terms of strength training, you would benefit from doing this routine twice daily, or choosing one of Fitness Blender’s low impact cardio workouts for a second workout session to more drastically boost your metabolism.