HIIT workouts at home build strength, burn calories, and boost your cardio. You don’t need any fancy equipment to practice them. Just enough space is all that you need. And, of course, dedication.
Try these 10 HIIT workouts to lose excess fat when you’re short on time.
HIIT Workouts at Home
1. Push Ups
Image: Source
Push-Ups are one of the most fundamental body weight exercises and are very popular. The movement is simple, and can be done anywhere. It’s very effective because you are using a lot of muscles at the same time. The problem is that a lot of people concentrate on quantity instead of quality when doing push-ups. To avoid this, you can focus on these four points to make your push-ups perfect.
How To Do
• The Body Position
A push-up is not only a triceps, chest and shoulders movement. Most people neglect attention in the abdominal muscles, the hips and the legs. Often they form an arched back and have a lack in body tension. To avoid this, tilt your pelvis backward and keep your butt squeezed tight. The movement gets a lot harder with this. But it’s also more effective.
• Arm Position
The arm position doesn’t really matter in terms of the perfect execution. A perfect push-ups can be done with a wide or a narrow grip. But it’s important to place your wrist in a nearly vertical line under your shoulder when you do the standard push-up.
There are still exceptions for that rule. For example, when you’re doing pseudo planche push-ups which puts the focus more on your shoulder, or when you doing sphinx push-ups which are a triceps dominant movement. If you’re working with standard push-ups and choose a wider grip, it involves the chest more than a close grip. And a close grips sets the focus more on your triceps.
The only things you should avoid completely are out flared elbows because this puts a lot of stress on your shoulder which can lead to injuries. The closer you place your arms to the body, the more your elbows point backwards. The wider you place your arms, the more your elbows going away from your body. But they still point more backwards than to the side.
• Range Of Motion
This is quite simple. Just don’t cheat. Go all the way up and all the way down and let your body straight. Don’t decrease the range of motion by bringing your head forward or your hips down.
* If you consider all those points and try it on your own, you will notice that it’s much harder to do. Maybe your maximum repetitions will drop. But that doesn’t matter. Always focus on quality over quantity, and you will be rewarded with progress and a healthy body.
Benefits
• Help Train Your Entire Body
Push-ups bring you a fitter body by working on a wide variety of muscles. They help train your arms, abs and lower body simultaneously which makes these muscles cooperate more smoothly and become stronger.
• Enhance Balance and Stability
In the book push-ups are for everyone. Perfect push-ups workout for muscle growth, strength and endurance. Push-ups boost the reaction time of the body by training your proprioceptive muscle fibers which are microscopic nerves that help maintain balance. When you do push-ups regularly, these nerves are trained to react faster to stimulation that improves your balance and speed.
• Improve Muscle Density
Aging makes you lose muscle mass that changes the way your body burns consumed energy. These push-ups will do its function well. Of course, you can’t expect a result after a few push-ups. It will take time and you need to be patience. The ideal number of push-ups you need to do to build muscle mass in different parts of your body. Chest, shoulders and triceps four sets of 12-15 reps; back and biceps 4 sets of 12-15 reps; legs and abs 4 sets of 12-15 reps
• Tone Your Upper Body
Push-ups are sometimes considered among the most appropriate and rational upper body training sessions. During push-ups process your core muscles will force your back straight and somehow helps for your belly button towards your spine. Not only your arms but your chest, back and shoulders are sculpted.
• Strengthen Your Core
If you are looking for some exercise sessions, which helped build six-pack abs into solid middle. Push-ups can be the perfect start your abdominal section waist side of the waist and everything right down to the pelvis are also workout. Stronger core muscles allow you to do physical exercise at ease. Say goodbye to back problems and maintain better posture.
2. Burpees
Image: Source
Burpees are not the easiest exercise. In fact they’re one of the hardest calisthenics cardio exercises, especially when you get into the advanced variations with jump squats and push-ups. But the truth is there’s beginner variations that you can use to ease your way into burpees. A burpee is when you go into a squat you kick out into a plank and then you return to a squat, that is a burpee. Everything you see with like jump squats and push-ups and explosive push-ups at the bottom, those are advanced variations.
How To Do
Start standing tall. Then drop your hands down towards the ground while bending your knees as your palms touch the ground. Jump your feet backward quickly lower down into the bottom of a push-up position. Push back while jumping your feet forward between your hands. Now immediately jump straight off the ground land softly and repeat.
Also Read
10 Burpee Workouts at Home to Lose Weight Fast
Benefits
• Burn Calories
Burpees are probably one of the most powerful fat-burning exercises. Every time you perform, it’s like turning your body into a fat-burning machine. The reason is simple-burpees are an intense full-body exercise. What’s more, research has revealed that burpees and other high-intensity exercises burn upto 50% more fat instead of moderate exercises. On top of that, it speeds up your metabolism, which boosts the number of calories you burn all day long.
• Increase Energy
By performing burpees for a month is considered extreme exertion, which then releases endorphins. Consequently, it gives us the boost we need to get through our day. As a matter of fact, endorphins that stay in our system leaves us feeling good even hours post-workout. Don’t worry, they will get easier in time.
• Consider Your Body
Burpees are outstanding for nurturing endurance and conditioning. Furthermore, they get your heart rate up and fast and target every muscle in your body.
3. Jumping Jacks
Image: Source
Jumping jacks are an efficient total body workout that you can almost do everywhere and this exercise is a part of what’s called polymetrics or jump training. Polymetrics is a combination of aerobic exercise and resistance work. This type of exercise simultaneously works your heart, lungs and muscles.
How To Do
Begin the exercise by standing with your legs straight and your arms to your sides. Then jump off and spread your feet beyond hip wide apart while bringing your arms above your head. Nearly touching jump again by lowering your arms and bringing your legs together. Return to your starting position.
Benefits
• Keep Your Heart Healthy
Jumping jack is an aerobic exercise. It means you use oxygen to meet energy needs and stimulate the heart muscles. The heart has to work extra hard to pump enough oxygenated blood and bring back the blood by loading carbon dioxide from the cells. It helps to exercise other organs such as the heart muscles and lungs instead. So this slow exercise keeps your heart healthy by giving it a good workout.
• Aid Weight Loss
This cardio exercise is known as a weight loss aid. It helps to burn extra calories which creates a balance of negative energy in the body. It means that you have expended more energy than you have consumed. This is the main reason for weight loss.
• Improve Flexibility
Jumping Jacks help improve your flexibility. If you don’t lead an active life and sit for long periods of time during the day you are less likely to be flexible as you were as a child. If you start working out again it can be difficult for you to do 10 minutes of Jumping jacks at once. If you prepare, you will find it is easier to do this exercise with proper positioning of the arms and legs.
• Improve Stamina And Stability
Jumping up and landing softly with perfect time and poise will improve your balance and stability. Moreover, if you represent more numbers per set and increase the number of your sets you will improve your stamina. Try to perform the exercise for 10 minutes every day and you will see the result.
4. Plank Jack
Image: Source
Plank jack is a combination of two exercises – planks and jumping jacks. Plank Jack works for the entire body. When you jump the feet out and in, this exercise forces you to stabilize at the trunk. It is a good cardio and core exercises.
How To Do
Start in the straight arm plank position with your hands under shoulder and feet together. Hop your feet apart, then hop back. Breathe regularly. Keep your body in a straight line. Keep your upper body stable.
Benefits
• Helps in improving strength and stability to your body.
• By doing plank jacks, you can also improve your cardio component.
5. Mountain Climber
Image: Source
It is a classic ab exercise. It will strengthen your core as you simultaneously work on your cardio and muscular endurance. This move is a great addition to any ab workout, specially if you have already mastered the basics like crunches and planks.
How To Do
• Start in a traditional plank with your shoulders directly over your hands and wrists.
• Be sure to keep your back flat and your butt down, maintaining a neutral spine. Engage your core and lift up your right knee, bringing it towards your elbow. Return the right knee back to the starting position as you simultaneously drive your left knee up toward your left elbow. Return to the starting position.
Continue switching legs and begin to pick up the pace until it feels like you are running in place in a plank position.
Do this for 30 seconds total of 4 rounds.
Benefits
• Great For Strengthening The Core
One of the best reasons to perform mountain climbers is the fact that they’re sold great for strengthening your core.
• Enhanced Mobility
Mountain climbers not only improve your balance, but they have also been found to be very effective when it comes to improving your mobility as well.
• Burn Fat
Another one of the fantastic benefits is the fact that they work so incredibly well for people looking to burn fat.
• Improve Flexibility
If you could stand to become more flexible, you can probably guess which exercise we’re about to recommend to you.
6. Russian Twist
Image: Source
The Russian Twist itself is an exercise for the abdominal muscles. It works several times in the abdomen. It is believed that the exercise will help relax the abdomen before any kind of sport.
How To Do
• Sit on the floor with your feet out in front of you and A 90-degree bend in your knees. Your heels should be lightly planted on the floor.
• Lean your torso back, bending at your waist, so you create another 90-degree angle between your Quads and torso.
• Make sure your chin is up, and your torso is straight and strong.
• Breathe in, then as you breathe out, slowly twist your torso to one side, keeping your arms in line with your torso at all times ( make sure you don’t just move your arms side-to-side ).
• Breathe in as you move back to the center, then breathe out as you rotate around to the other side.
• Repeat this for 10-15 reps.
Benefits
• Improve Metabolism
Regular exercise leads the body to improve the metabolic system. This will convert the food into the energy that is needed to perform the exercise. Thus, it will help in strengthening the metabolic rate.
• Strength Muscle
Frequent practice of Russian twisting also help in muscle strength. This will optimize the coordination between all the muscles in the body. Therefore, it is better to increase muscle strength and help with more flexibility.
• Fat Burn
As the metabolic system increases, the body will need more food to burn energy. When the meal is over, the body fat starts to burn. Therefore, this exercise is also good to burn fat.
• Avoid Cardiovascular Problem
This exercise also balance cholesterol levels inside the body. It is important to manage a good cardiovascular system and avoid any blood clotting. Thus, it will ensure better blood circulation.
• Manage Blood Pressure
By doing the twist it will help to manage blood pressure better. Thus it can help avoid high blood pressure. It also reduce stress with symptoms of high blood pressure and better manage the symptoms of the condition.
7. Jumping Lunge
Image: Source
It is a plyometric exercise which helps to lower body muscle, improve cardio and strengthen your core. It also helps in contracting and stretching your muscles. This exercise increase the pumping of your heart rate.
How To Do
• Stand upright with feet hip-width apart.
• Jump into lunge position bending both sides by 90°.
• Jump again switching the feet positions and land into lunge position again.
• Keep torso.
8. High Knees
This exercise combines knee lifts with the typical running motion. It’s one of the most effective moves for improving your running form as well as your speed, flexibility, and balance. The high knees run also increases your heart rate and burn calories, making it ideal for those looking to shed fat.
It’s the perfect exercise for a challenging cardio workout that will get your heart rate going. The main muscles involved are the quads, calves and glutes. This move engages your abs too, and can help you get rid of love handles.
How To Do
• Starting Position
Stand up straight with your arms at your sides.
•Muscle Contraction
Run in place, raising one knee at a time at chest level. Swing your arms forward and back as quickly as you can.
Do this exercise for at least 30 seconds.
Benefits
• lmprove Your Cardiovascular Fitness
Any exercise that speeds up your heart and leaves you out of breath will help to improve your physical fitness level, and finally exercise will do just that.
• Improves Power and Flexibility
Many people who do high knee exercise regularly notice that they have more strength in the lower body. Aise strengthen the hip flexors, they also help improve your overall flexibility.
• Strengthens and Tones Your Core Abs Muscles
You may not necessarily think that this particular exercise tightens you core just as much, but if you focus on swinging your right arm on your left knee, and vice versa when you are raising your right knee, and try to rotate your core a little as you do so, you can work those abs muscles.
• It Promotes Weight Loss
It’s a high-intensity exercise that burns a decent amount of calories and therefore hates you lose a small number of pounds if you are doing high knee for 20 to 30 minutes.
• Tighten Up Your Legs
The up and down movement of the legs will also help you tighten up and strengthen your quads, hamstrings, and calves.
9. Skater
Image: Source
Skater jumps are a great cardio exercise involving jumping in a pattern that shifts your body weight from side to side to create a skating stride. While it mainly increases leg power, it’s considered a full-body, dynamic workout as it also targets your gluteus, medius, and adductor of the hip joints.
How To Do
• Start in an athletic stance, knees slightly bent and chest up, looking straight ahead.
• Standing on one foot, cross your opposite foot behind you and then laterally hop. Keep the landing foot straight ahead as you land.
• The leg you just jumped with will naturally cross behind the opposite leg. Keep your balance as you use your arms to drive off the standing leg to hop sideways back and forth.
• Keep your chest up throughout the entire exercise.
Benefits
• Better balance
It helps to improve balance through the positive and fun exercise.
• Builds Leg Muscles
It offers great exercise for the leg muscles to build and tone them on over time.
• Good Workout For Cardio
Your body will burn a huge amount of calories which will also help you in matching muscles as well as reduce body weight.
• Improves Joint Flexibility
Your leg joints will get a great workout and more flexible with its stress on fast foot movement and strong knees.
10. Jump Squat
Image: Source
Jumping squat is a dynamic strength training exercise that need several apparel over body muscles to perform together at the same time. Many of these muscles help in daily activities like walking, climbing stairs, bending, and carrying heavy stuff. They can also help you with athletic activities. Squats can help you improve your exercise performance, reduce your injury risk, and keep you moving more effortlessly throughout the day.
How To Do
• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
• Start by doing a regular squat, engage your core, and jump up explosively.
• When you land, lower your body back into the squad position to complete one rep.
• Make sure you land with your entire foot on the ground.
• Be sure to land as quick as possible, which requires control.
* Do two to three sets of 10 rep.
Benefits
• They aid in the development and toning of the calves, glutes, hamstrings, core and quadriceps muscles.
• They also have other benefits like burn calories, and fat, maintain mobility and balance, improve health, boost sports performance, and also help improve bone health.
10 Burpee Workouts at Home to Lose Weight Fast
.
How Many Calories Do SitUps Burn?
