Written by Jonathan Henry | Flexible Workout
Running for long hours is not for everyone. But you can get just as much if not more cardio in by using HIIT exercises.
HIIT stands for High-intensity interval training. It involves an explosive burst of energy, followed by brief breaks.
HIIT exercises are not exclusive to men. In fact, one could argue that Women are in need of a Hiit workout more than men.
For that reason, we have taken the time to come up with the five best hit exercises for women.
A Few reasons Why HIIT is for women
- Able to target multiple muscle groups and burn annoying fat in areas like triceps/arms and that bothersome muffin-top
- Increase endurance for other cardio
- Less time to set aside for a workout due to the short burst of energy
1.High Knees
We’re going to start with our warm-up-like exercise.
Just as a warning, this is an intense workout. If you are at the beginner level, you will probably need to adjust time intervals accordingly.
Keep your back straight and chest high. Make sure your core is engaged and in a jumping motion, bring one foot up to a waist-high position.
If it helps, keep your hands together and put them waist-high in order to make sure you are going far enough.
Keep this up for 2 minutes (1 min if it is getting to be too difficult for you)
(30-sec Rest)
Resting during HIIT exercises is crucial in order to give your muscles, just enough of a break to perform at high intensity again.
2. Uppercut jumping jacks
This is a great full-body burst.
Keep your core engaged.
Set up in the jumping jack position but with your arms ready like a boxer
Perform a jumping jack motion with your legs and as you go out, perform a close-range uppercut with your right arm
Bring your legs back in (keeping your arms out in the boxing position) and then perform another jumping jack motion switching to the left arm.
Remember to keep your core tight and your arms flexed. You want to pretend you are upper-cutting someone/something during this workout to build the intensity.
Keep this going for 1 minute (30 sec if it is too difficult)
(30-sec Rest)
3.Squats Jumps
Set up in the squat position with your hands toward the sky/ceiling. Have a strong base of support with your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
Keep your core tight and drop your butt low. Pretend you’re sitting back into a chair when you do this.
Then, in one movement, jump up with your whole body and
When you come back down to land, bend at the knees back into the squat position
Jump back up with the same motion as before and repeat for 1 minute (30 seconds if it is too difficult for you)
You may find it challenging to keep your hands straight up in the air the whole time, but do your best.
(30-sec Rest)
4. Run to table-top
This is an excellent exercise for developing posture and stability under high intensity.
You want to focus on the control when you are in table-top position and speed when you are running in place
To begin, set up as if you are going to go for a sprint.
In one explosive movement begin running in place- keeping your chest just high enough and your core tight (as with all of these exercises)
Go at your own pace but keep the intensity as high as possible.
Now after 10 seconds, Set up into a tabletop position.
This involves one slightly-bent leg as a strong base of support and a lean forward at the waist to form a “table” with the rest of your extremities.
Keep your arms in a y position and your leg that is not supporting you as straight as possible.
Lead forward until you are almost perpendicular to your leg that is being used as a base of support.
Find that center of balance and squeeze those core muscles.
Hold your body in this position for a good 5 sec then jump back into your run for another 10 sec
Repeat for 2 minutes (1 min if it is too challenging)
(30-sec Rest)
5. Burpees
I know, I know. The most challenging for last, but it’s okay. You can handle it. This hit exercise is excellent for building a toned body.
Set up in the plank position.
Keep your core tight with your body and floor.
In one burst of movement get into the frog position with your knees tucked in and your arms providing support.
Lift pushing with your feet and bending at your knees. Bring your arms up to the sides of your ears and jump up.
Now reverse the motion, bringing your arms down and bending your legs back down into the frog position. Remember to keep your core tight.
Now jump back to the plank position and repeat.
This exercise is especially difficult, so try to do 1 minute and 30-sec worth, if you can. If you find it too difficult, do 45 seconds.
The motions and follow-through will begin to feel natural over time.
(30-sec Rest)
If you are feeling brave or really want to burn some calories, try repeating this 2 or 3 times.
Conclusion:
HIIT workouts will give you just what you are looking for without the repetitive cardio such as biking. And even more than that, you are targeting different muscle groups that will leave your body looking more toned.
You can even mix and match HIIT workouts with regular cardio and see the difference.
Keep in mind that you improve over time, and your heart will adapt to the new form of intensity.
Consult a medical professional before starting any HIIT workout, especially if you have suffered from an injury.
Keep up the good work, and we hope you reach all of your fitness goals.
This is a Guest post submitted by Jonathan Henry from the Flexible workout Blog . It was edited by Tara Matthews at turnfitter.com.