You have heard about this trending fitness gimmick all over the internet. Saw some of your associates do it as well, and you can’t help but wonder what this HIIT for beginners is all about. Well, without any further ado, let me take you through a lifestyle changing process, aka High-Intensity Interval Training.
HIIT- The modern-day shortcut to your dream body if you are struggling to put in more than an hour a week for your fitness goals. We all want to treat our bodies like the Temple it is, but when you have a 9-5 routine or an explosive social life, beginner HIIT is your way out of the system. And you do not need any fitness equipment to get started!
What is HIIT for beginners?
To put it in simple terms, HIIT is you going all out-100% for 30-40 seconds each workout and then rest for another 20. Then you jump back into the beginner HIIT routine. The reason you do this is so that you can get the most bang for the least amount of time.
Now, don’t go overdoing it. HIIT is not meant to be a daily ritual. It’s just that intense. By going full power for a short period, you are pushing your heart significantly beyond its resting limit. The heart will stay elevated for hours after you stop once you have maintained the beats per minute for some time. Ask about hiit here.
15 HIIT workout for beginners
Sumo Squat to Standing Oblique Crunch
It’s a compound HIIT move with a wide range of motions that target your rectus abdominis, obliques, quads, inner thighs, glutes, hamstrings, and hip flexors. It will be the most dynamic exercise out of all the listed beginner HIIT moves here.
How to Do:
- Stand straight with your feet, pointing outward and shoulder-width apart.
- Hold the back of your head using your hands like a prison position.
- Squat down.
- Squat up and do an oblique crunch on the way up.
- Squat down and up into an oblique crunch, on the opposite side this time
- Do this for 30 seconds and then take 10 seconds to break.
- Move on to the next exercise.
Alternating Side Lunge
This one is a little less painful than the first exercise on the list. This one primarily focuses on your obliques, and inner and outer thigh muscles get toned as well because of the stretching motion of the thighs. Hip flexors, glutes, quadriceps, and hamstrings get a pump as well. Plus, it’s a great move to get that flexibility burnt in your muscle memory.
How to Do:
- Stand Tall and straight.
- Place one foot by your side.
- Bend the foot outside so that your lunging, just on the side.
- Push as far as your leg will go
- Pull back and switch to the other side.
- Do this for 30 seconds and 10 seconds off.
Lunge with Leg Raise
An elementary version of a modified lunge and it is relatively low impact. This is a beginner HIIT routine, and we don’t want you to get demotivated, hence simpler variations down the line. It focuses on your lower laterals(obliques) and most of your legs(thighs and glutes). It levels up your balancing as well.
How to Do:
- Stand straight
- Pull up one leg to your side.
- Keep the leg parallel to the floor below.
- Then fall into a side lunge.
- Get back up and repeat on the other side.
- The move should be 30 seconds long followed by 10 seconds break.
Jumping to Push up
This one is a self-constructed move to work on my upper body strength while shredding fat. This also comes with the benefits of most jump based motions like start jump. Since two different and varying body parts are engaging with each range of motion, you should not feel fatigued as fast.
Again, the purpose of designing this move is for you to keep up with the program.
How to Do
- Stretch your pectoral muscles, thighs, and your hamstrings.
- Get into a pushup position.
- Push yourself up to a stand.
- Without pausing on the stand, go for a jump as high as you can.
- Pull in the energy from the jump from below your knees and channel it up into a jump.
- Do this slowly but be consistent.
- Try doing this for at least 20 seconds.
Leg Lift Toe Touch
This one automatically imprints a standing motion in mind. But it’s not. It is an all-rounder midsection burner and one of the best moves to sculpt your abdominal muscles. There are three parts to this move to scorch your upper and lower abs completely.
How to Do:
- Lie down on a mat or the floor.
- Keep your legs straight and fix them together.
- Lift your legs(you should feel the weight of your legs on your lower abs)
- Now ab crunch your upper body up.
- Try to touch your toes as you lift your upper body.
- Fall back in the starting position. Repeat.
Spiderman Push Up
The move is called the Spiderman push up for a reason. The idea is to replicate the wall crawler’s signature wall climbing move. With enough practice and intensity, you can attain the upper body strength and the hot ripped physique of the web swinger.
How to Do
- Get in a pushup position.
- As you dive into the pushup, kick one leg up to your side.
- Make sure the leg on the side is bent.
- As you push yourself up from the ground, take back your leg to the starting position.
- Repeat with the other leg.
- Sync in every sidekick with the pushups.
- Dive in and kick. Pull back when you push up.
You will be doing the beginner HIIT workout in circuits. Without implementing this, HIIT workout for beginners lose its prime functionality and gets reduced to Pilates and basic strength training, depending on where the move originates.
Throughout the entire list, you will feel like giving up as your muscles start to burn, and your heart starts to pound vigorously. But don’t give up. Do this routine thrice a week. It’s a guarantee that you will start seeing results after the 1st week. If you feel your legs giving up on you, try doing half reps or half jumps. Try to keep the primary muscle groups engaged, and that should be enough.
Donkey Kick
This is like a reverse mountain climber, with a dash of butt kicks. The name is derived from the way the animal moves. Your glutes and your buttocks get toned and tightened while increasing the tensile strength of your shoulders and abdominal muscles. This will be your finishing move, so give it to you all.
How to Do:
- Get down on your limbs, like you do when you try to give a pony ride.
- Keep the balancing hands directly below your shoulders.
- Keep the sole of your feet pointed at the wall behind.
- Pick up your bent leg up and over your back.
- Repeat with the other leg.
- Do both for 30 seconds.
Benefits of HIIT
- Build lean muscle
- Get high levels of endurance.
- Gain explosive energy
- Have a lower BPM
- Better skin because of intensive sweating
- Boosting of mood
- Develop great strength
- Explosion of testosterone
