Focus & Benefits: In this under 30-minute total body HIIT routine (high intensity interval training) you’ll learn how to efficiently (and safely) move your weights through space and time all the while tackling dynamic, quick-paced movement patterns. The combination of added resistance and a fast cadence in this workout will help challenge your heart rate without requiring overly complex formatting or exercises. Fun fact: There are no plank-forward exercises in this workout!
Equipment: You’ll need your moderately heavy and light weight options relative to what you can safely lift/control for pace-directed, multicomponent movement patterns. Err on the side of caution and start with weights lighter than you think you would use for each exercise. Bring along a mat or other comfortable surface as well for the core finisher at the end of the workout.
Tips & Helpful Information: The addition of weights to any exercises involving hopping or more explosive movement patterns is optional (i.e., the first exercise in each HIIT circuit). If moving quickly with weights is uncomfortable or prohibitive for you in any way, omit the weights and complete these exercises bodyweight-only. If you choose to use weights for these dynamic moves, make sure to master the movement pattern before increasing your weights.
Difficulty & Modifications Explained: This routine is rated as a level 4 due to the addition of weights throughout the HIIT circuits as well as the core finisher. As mentioned above, omitting the weights altogether and/or opting for lighter weight loads will increase the accessibility of this workout.
Closing Notes: Remember that you ultimately determine the difficulty level of this workout with your pacing and weight selections. For this routine to feel like a true HIIT workout (maximum effort, near your breathless threshold), you’ll have to step outside of your comfort zone, revel in the discomfort, and potentially move with a quickness that is currently unfamiliar to your body. In other words, get comfortable with the discomfort!
Workout
Warm-Up: 30 sec per exercise, no rest between exercises (4:00)
-Hip Openers + Squat
-Zombie March + Reverse Lunge – R
-Zombie March + Reverse Lunge – L
-Lateral Single-Leg Hops (mid-tempo)
-Floor-to-Ceiling Blastoff Squat
-Football Runs
-Jump Rope
-Jumping Jacks
***30 sec off***
My Weights (not a recommendation, just a reference):
-Medium/Moderately Heavy: 20 lbs. (9.1 kg) / 25 lbs. (11.3 kg)
-Light: 15 lbs. (6.8 kg)
HIIT Circuit #1: 30 sec on / 15 sec off / 2 rounds (~4:15)
-Frogger Hop (forward/back) + Weight Pick-Up/Put-Down
-Push Presses
-(Bodyweight) High Knees
***Water Break #1***
HIIT Circuit #2: 30 sec on / 15 sec off / 2 rounds (~4:15)
-Weighted Pausing Switch Jumps (1 weight – goblet hold)
-Reciprocal Rows
-(Bodyweight) Lateral Squat Jumps
***30 sec off***
HIIT Circuit #3: 30 sec on / 15 sec off / 2 rounds (~4:15)
-Narrow Squat-to-Overhead
-Stationary Lateral Lunge + Low Row (1 weight – row in lunge, weight handoff)
-(Bodyweight) Skaters
***Water Break #2***
Core Finisher: 30 sec on / 15 sec off / 2 rounds (~4:15)
-(from tabletop) Weighted Iso Crunch (weight above chest) + Alt. Leg Extensions
-(from modified boat) Weighted Jackknifes
-3-Sec Iso Superhuman Lifts
Cool-Down: approx. 30 sec per stretch (approx. 4:00)
-Sphinx Pose Stretch
-Child’s Pose Stretch
-Lizard Pose/Quads-Hip Flexors Stretch – R
-Kneeling Hamstrings/Hinge Stretch - R
-Lizard Pose/Quads-Hip Flexors Stretch – L
-Kneeling Hamstrings/Hinge Stretch – L
-Chest Opener Stretch (hands behind body)
-Slow Arm Circles