Posted by Chloe Simkiss | Jan-07-2021
Team GPDs Workout Guide to Hiit
With gyms and swimming pools still closed and all group exercise and team sports cancelled, we’re all looking at new ways to stay fit and keep active within the confines of our own homes. HIIT training is becoming ever more popular, according to google data on online sports trends, reported by Les Mills, Millennials and Gen Z – who now account for 80% of all people paying for exercise and have been dubbed ‘Generation Active’ – make up the largest demographic, with 24% of this demographic participating in HIIT.
For more ideas on how to navigate another lockdown read our blog here
What is HIIT Training?
Whatever your exercise of choice may be, chances are pretty good you’ve heard of the term high intensity interval training, or HIIT. But what is HIIT really, and how can you use it to make the most out of your workouts?
HIIT involves short bursts of intense exercise alternated with low-intensity recovery periods. Typically, a HIIT workout will range from 10 to 30 minutes in duration, it is perhaps the most time-efficient way to exercise!
Despite how short the workout is, it can produce health benefits similar to twice as much moderate-intensity exercise. While exercising with this type of maximum effort is difficult, it does wonders for your health! The actual activity being performed can include sprinting, jumping, skipping and other body weight exercises.
What kit do you need?
Luckily, HIIT workouts can be done from pretty much anywhere, and they don’t require a ton of equipment either as most include a body weight option. If like us you have limited space, you’ll only want the bare minimum of equipment to maximise your workout. Here’s five items that are easy to get hold of and don’t require the entire floor space of your garage for storage!
Resistance Bands: These bands work as a great substitute for weights, allowing you to do the same arm, leg and core exercises you’re used to doing on machines at the gym. They create resistance, increasing the difficulty of common exercises like squats, leg lifts and arm workouts.
Kettlebells: There’s a surprising amount of stuff you can do with just one kettlebell; from squats and lunges to arm presses and core workouts, they can help you tone your entire body if you know how to use them!
Skipping Rope: The jump rope is an easy, affordable way to incorporate solid cardio into your home workout. It also helps with hand-eye coordination and improves your reflexes, keeping both your mind and body sharp.
Foam Roller: Foam rolling your muscles drastically improves your recovery time by eliminating the lactic acid you’ve built up during your at-home gym session, so you’re less likely to have aches and pains after a hard day’s work.
Does HIIT work?
HIIT can help you burn more calories:
While you're doing a HIIT workout, you're burning about the same amount of calories as you would during a typical workout like running. However, you burn more calories after a HIIT workout than you do during a steady-state cardio exercise like running, where your heart rate remains relatively stable.
HIIT can help you lose weight:
With HIIT, your heart rate stays up for the entire exercise, which is optimal for burning calories, making this an effective option for weight loss!
Click here for our guide to losing weight without dieting
HIIT builds many muscle groups :
Most HIIT workouts involve many different movements. This allows you to work out different groups of muscle during the same workout — for example, a HIIT workout might have you do squats, push-ups, and burpees — which all target different muscles.
Basic HIIT exercises for beginners
There is so much information on HIIT workouts online that you may find it overwhelming if you are a beginner. Below TeamGPD have created a simple 20 minute HIIT workout you can do at home to get you started.
3 rounds. 45 seconds work and 15 second rest.
- Pushups
- Squats
- Butt Kicks
- Tricep Dips
- Side Lunge
Push-ups: If you can’t complete a traditional push-up, place your hands on a stable chair instead of the floor. Or, try doing push-ups with your knees resting on the ground.
Squats: For extra assistance, use a chair for added support. Remember to keep your feet under your hips and your bodyweight in your heels.
Butt kicks: Jog or walk in place, kicking your right heel up to touch your bottom. Repeat with the left leg.
Tricep dips: Place your hands on a chair or a low table, with your back to the chair. Put your legs straight out while balancing on your palms. Bending from your elbows, lower as far as you can, then press up to the original position. Engage that core!
Side Lunges: With your bodyweight in your heels and your toes facing forwards, step to the left in a deep lateral lunge, keeping your knee above your toes. Alternate legs.
Cool down with an overhead stretch, a quad stretch and a forward fold.
.Want more?
How about adding these Killer Exercises to Mix Into Your HIIT Workout
By combining these killer moves into one routine, you get a homemade HIIT workout that burns calories and fires up your muscles. How it works: Perform each equipment-free exercise for a minute, followed by a minute of rest.
- Hand-Release Push-Ups. Start in a standard push-up position, and lower your body all the way down to the floor.
- Plyo Push-Ups
- Russian Twists
- Single-Leg Burpees
- Supermans with Lateral Raises
- Lateral Lunges with Hops
- Tuck-Ups.
- Mountain Climbers
- Plank jacks
- Squat thrusts
- Flutter kicks
What to do after your workout?
Try using ice after working out as it will help reduce any swelling from a grueling workout routine. When icing a joint, injury, or muscle, do so for 20 minutes at a time. Try our multipurpose which fits most body parts including back, knee and ankle! Check it out here.
There’s so much information out there to help guide you through your HIIT workouts. So what are the best HIIT workouts? We’ve selected some of our favourite apps to help you!
Here’s TeamGPD’s top 5 recommended HIIT apps
1. Nike Training Club
This app has over 185 free workouts, including HIT, invigorating yoga classes, bodyweight workouts you can do with minimum to no equipment for HIIT as well as cardio that gets your heart rate pounding! The workouts are designed by Nike Master Trainers, for athletes of all levels.
2. Seven-7 Minute Workout
If you find it hard to set aside time in your busy schedule seven minutes of a HIIT workout at home can help you get fit. This app has over 200 workouts that run on time-boxed intervals to get you to reap the benefits of a workout. No excuses now!
3. Interval Timer – HIIT Training
This app is great as it time tracks your workout & resting periods alike. It can be run foreground, background and with the device locked so it is perfect to ensure you keep making progress during your workouts!
4. HIIT Workouts
This app is popular for its beginner-friendly workouts and voice-over instructions given by trainers. It gives an alert when you are halfway which is great to stop you from giving up!
5. Freeletics
This app has more than 900 workout variations for everyone from beginners to advanced athletes. Length varies from 10 to 30 minutes, based on body weight only, with video tutorials to help you train properly.
HIIT workouts allow you to reap many health benefits without needing to go to the gym, or invest in equipment. HIIT training provides endless options for the types of movements that can help tone your body, as well as benefits like increased flexibility and endurance. So why not download one of these apps and get started! We’d love to hear how your training is going! 🙌
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