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Are you looking for a way to build strength and endurance without having to slog out a 2-mile run, or hit the gym after work? There is a different, even quicker way this can be done. Best part is, you don’t even have to leave your house to do it. It’s called High Intensity Interval Training, or HIIT. Today we’ll show you a 30-minute HIIT workout you can do pretty much anywhere. Break a sweat, burn calories and save some time with this quick 30-minute HIIT workout.
What is HIIT?
- Basics of an Effective 30 Minute HIIT Workout
- 30 Minute HIIT Workout With Weights
- 30 Minute HIIT Workout At Home
- 30 Minute HIIT Workout Body Training Zones
- Upper Body HIIT Exercises
- 30 Minute HIIT Workout Routine
What is HIIT?
High intensity interval training, or HIIT is a form of cardio that is done in short intense “bursts” or intervals. The aim of HIIT is to maximize effort and intensity while your muscles and body are deprived of oxygen.
We all know that cardio is a good way to burn calories and increase your endurance, and we know that resistance training is a great way to burn calories and build strength. HIIT workouts are designed to improve both of those areas. You can use your own body weight or add some additional equipment such as dumbbells, kettlebells or Plyo boxes.
The key to any HIIT workout is the intensity at which you perform the workout. You want to maximize fat oxidation during your workout, as well as taking advantage of the benefits of a post-workout oxygen consumption, or EPOC. This will enable your body to continue burning calories even after you’ve finished your workout session!
Basics of an Effective 30 Minute HIIT Workout
Starting with a short warm-up of about 5 minutes, your HIIT workout will focus on 3 areas of the body: the upper body, your core, or abdominal region, and the lower body. Each exercise will target one of these areas of the body.Try some dynamic stretching to get your body ready for this workout.
During each rep, whether its repetition based or time based, you want to be performing each exercise at near all out effort. After the rep is complete, rest for only 15-20 seconds before moving to the next exercise in the set. After each set is complete, you will rest for 1 minute.
The reason for these short rest times, is that you are not allowing enough time for your heart rate to come down, while still getting some rest. This insures that your body stays working hard for the entire set.
If you’re new to this, feel free to alter rest times, until you’ve worked your way up to the shortest rest time. Remember, the goal of the HIIT workout is to maintain a high heart rate and keep the body working hard. You are giving maximum effort for a short interval.
A great option we recommend if you feel like you might need some help with HIIT workouts is to try Aaptiv. This is a fitness app with personalized fitness training without a gym. Readers of Guardian-Elite Fitness can get this 30-day free trial to start with.
30 Minute HIIT Workout With Weights
Using equipment for this workout is completely optional, but in case you want to use additional equipment, here is what is recommended.
Kettlebell
Kettlebells are a great tool for a home-based workout. They can be used for strength, endurance, flexibility and balance. A kettlebell is a versatile and effective training tool, and worth a try if you want to expand your home workout routine.
having an adjustable weight dumbbell set is a great alternative to going to the gym to use the same equipment. They are compact, easy to use and give you the same workout you would get using an individual dumbbell set.
Adjustable Dumbbell Set
30 Minute HIIT Workout At Home
Ab Roller Wheel
Want to really focus on your core? Try an Ab wheel.
The ab roller wheel is like a standard plank on turbo. Rolling out using the ab wheel may seem hard at first, but know that you are really working the abs how they are meant to be used naturally. That is to prevent back extension through arching. When you roll out straight using the ab roller wheel, your back will want to arch. It’s your abs flexing that will keep it straight.
Jump Rope
Jumping rope is a more effective workout than you think. It’s portable, stationary and you’re going to burn some major calories. Jumping rope could be a great alternative to traditional cardio.
Perfect Pushup
The perfect pushup is intended to help improve your pushup form, while also engaging more stabilizing muscles during the pushup movement. If you experience wrist pain at the joints while performing a pushup, the perfect pushup may be a helpful tool.
Battle Rope
Battle ropes can act as a full body workout, training upper back, arms, abs, glutes, etc. Using battle ropes are also great for integrating into any HIIT workout.
Plyometric Box
Our HIIT workout will include squat jumps and explosive movements, you can enhance these explosive movements and add some variety using a plyo box. Generally used for plyometric exercises, you can also incorporate a plyo box into a HIIT workout. For more plyometric exercises, see this full plyometric exercise post.
Exercise Mat
Using an exercise mat won’t add anything to your workout, but it can help provide some cushion during the workout. Optional, but maybe not a bad idea.
30 Minute HIIT Workout Body Training Zones
Our 30 minute HIIT workout will include exercises utilizing these three main areas of the body: Upper body, Core and Lower body. Each set will include at least one exercise from each area.
Most of these exercises will be familiar to you. There are a few that are unique, so we’ve included a short video for those.
Upper Body HIIT Exercises
Push ups
Close grip push ups
Burpee
Core Exercises
Mountain climber
Crunch
Left Side Crunch
Right Side Crunch
Forearm plank hold
Side forearm plank to forearm plank
Lower Body Exercises
Butt Kickers
Reverse Lunges
Side Lunge
Jump squat
High knees
30 Minute HIIT Workout Routine
This workout consists of 4 sets of exercises, all with various interval times, followed by a short rest period. The rest period in between sets will be 1 minute.
Remember, this is high intensity. Your heart rate should stay up and the workout is meant to be challenging.
The first set will be repeated 3 times, the second set will be repeated twice and the third and fourth sets will be done one time each.
Set 1
Pushups x 30 seconds
20 second rest
Mountain Climber x 40 seconds
20 second rest
Reverse Lunge x 45 seconds
15 second rest
Butt Kickers x 30 seconds
Rest 1 minute
Repeat Set x 3
Total Set Time: 13:00
Set 2
Close Grip Pushups x 30 seconds
20 second rest
Crunch x 30 seconds
15 second rest
High Knees x 45 seconds
20 second rest
Forearm Plank Hold x 30 seconds
1-minute rest
Repeat Set x 2
Total Set Time: 8:20
Set 3
Burpee x 30 seconds
20 second rest
Left side crunch x 20 seconds
Right side crunch x 20 seconds
20 second rest
Jump Squat x 30 seconds
20 second rest
Side Lunge x 45 seconds
15 second rest
Side Forearm Plank to Forearm Plank x 60 seconds
Rest 1 minute
Total Set Time: 5:40
Set 4
Burpee x 30 seconds
15 second rest
High Knees x 15 seconds
15 second rest
Pushups x 30 seconds
15 second rest
Mountain Climbers x 30 seconds
15 second rest
Butt Kickers x 15 seconds
Total Set Time: 3:00
End Workout—Total workout time: 30 Minutes
Bottom Line
30 minute HIIT workouts are a very effective way to squeeze in a workout into any busy schedule. The benefits are many. Improved strength, endurance, lung capacity, fat burning. Moreover, if you’re looking for a good at home workout, this 30 minute HIIT workout is even better.
Adding any of the recommended equipment to the HIIT workout will increase the effectiveness and intensity even more. No gym required!
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