HIIT Exercises
1. Car Pushes
This is one of the best ways to improve cardio conditioning, leg power, some upper body pressing power and build a great physique.
Put the car in neutral, drop your head down, arms straight, get low and push with all you’ve got for 10-30 seconds.
The Routine:
• 10 minute slow paced jog for warm up
• 4 intervals of 10-30 seconds pushes with 3-4 minutes slow jog in between intervals
• 10 minute slow jog to cool down
Dragging a weighted sled by using a harness tied to your waist allows you to activate the core to work harder as well as your glutes and hams. The harness also forces you to keep a straight, stiff spine throughout the exercise, regardless of how tired you get. Rounding the back at anytime will immediately look and feel very awkward, giving instant feedback to straighten out or stop and rest.
The Routine:
• 10 minute brisk walk or slow paced jog for warm up
• 5 intervals of 10-30 seconds all out sled dragging and 2-3 minute brisk walk in between intervals
• 10 minutes brisk walk to cool down
3. Heavy Rope Training
Along with increasing your strength, power, and endurance, the constant motion of rope battling will give you a hell of a workout. Some common movements include waves, slams, throws, spirals, and whips.
The Routine:
• 5 minute moderate jump rope for warm up
• 3-5 sets of 10-30 second intervals (waves, slams, throws, spirals, whips) and 45-60 seconds of rest in between intervals
• 5 minutes of moderate jump rope to cool down
4. Kettlebell Swings
Kettlebell swings stimulate your glutes, strengthen your back muscles, engage your core muscles and help strengthen the hip and knees. So every time you are swinging that kettlebell you are firing muscle fibers and this could lead to overall muscle growth.
Make sure to be wise when you choose the weight, you aren’t going for a 1 rep max, pick a comfortable weight that you can swing and use good form to really activate all the muscles.
There is no evidence to show any differences in these two types of sugar and both will cause weight gain when consumed in excess.
The Routine:
• 5 minute moderate skipping rope for warm up or 10 minute jog
• 5 sets of 10-30 second intervals (all out swings) and 45-60 seconds of rest in between intervals
• 5 minutes of moderate skipping rope or 10 minute jog to cool down
5. Boxing
One recommendation is to not do a heavy upper body workout following this workout or the day after. Make sure to have an off day or lower body day. Your shoulders and arms will feel like you got in a bar fight with Mike Tyson after this workout.
The Routine:
• 10 minutes of skipping rope for a warm up
• 5 rounds of 10-30 second punching bag
• 2-4 minutes of skipping rope in between rounds
• 10 minute jog to cool down
6. Sprints
Metcalfe’s study shows that it’s a more efficient way to burn fat by doing 3x per week for 10 min with only 2 all out sprint intervals.
The Routine:
• 10 minute jog warm up
• 5 sets of 10-30 second intervals sprinting (all out, everything you’ve got) and 1-4 minutes of rest in between intervals
• 10 minute jog to cool down
7. Cycling
Similar to above but with cycling instead of sprinting.
The Routine:
• 10 minute slow cycle warm up
• 5 sets of 10-30 second intervals cycle as fast as possible and 1-4 minutes of rest in between intervals
• 10 minute slow cycle to cool down
Conclusion
HIIT can be used with a variety of different types of exercises and follows a general pattern; you can adjust and use the table below on a broad range of your favourite cardio exercises:
| Smarter Health and Fitness: HIIT Table | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Training Level | Segment Type | Segment Time | Exertion Level |
| Beginner | Work | 1 min. | Moderate |
| Recovery | 2 min. | Easy | |
| Total | 30 min. max | ||
| Intermediate | Work | 1 min. | Moderate to hard |
| Recovery | 1 1/2 min. | Easy to moderate | |
| Total | 25-30 min. max | ||
| Advanced | Work | 30, 45, 60 sec. | Hard |
| Recovery | 30, 45, 60 sec. | Moderate | |
| Total | 18 min. max |
In the advanced section above, if you choose 30, 45 or 60 seconds of work, choose the same time for the rest to start with. You can then build up to longer "work" times and shorter "rest" times.
The table should give you a rough idea on how to go about HIIT and be used as a template which you can adjust dependant on your level and needs.
They should be used as a tool and not be overused. Do not use more than 3-4 HIIT cardio workouts a week and it’s probably best not doing them after a high intensity leg workout day.
Experiment yourself and see what you like best and what works best for you. Start with 10 second intervals and see if you can eventually get to 30 seconds.
