5 BENEFITS OF HIIT TO REMEMBER HIGH INTENSITY CARDIO

For the next time burpees turn you into a puddle of tears

No equipment, no excuses. Get ready to do some serious HIIT!

High-intensity interval training workouts are everywhere these days, and you may be wondering “why, oh why?” as you wipe the sweat from your brow and vow to never leave your bed again. But the answer is simple: HIIT works!

1) You get more for your money

Instead of spending 90 minutes at the gym, cut it down to 30 to 45 minutes of high-intensity interval training. By working out at a higher intensity and resting less, you get more work done in less time.

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2) You burn calories long after your workout is over

By performing HIIT workouts, you create an oxygen debt in your body. So even after your workout is over and you’ve returned to your daily activities, your body is still working to restore the oxygen debt you created in order to return it to normal levels.

This process is called excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC) and can add 10-15% to your overall calorie expenditure for that workout.

3) It's more fun

Let's face it: Steady-state cardio is great for catching up on the latest episodes of Quantico or Supergirl.

But without the fun, constant cardio can be downright boring (and time-consuming!). So, to avoid boredom and maximize your calorie burn, fast-paced HIIT workouts are the way to go.

4) No equipment is needed

Seriously. You don’t even need to go to the gym to get in an awesome HIIT workout. Got an hour of lunch time? Close the office door, put on some music, and do a 20-minute HIIT session.

5) You will boost your metabolism

Since HIIT workouts are a combination of strength and cardio, you'll continue to build lean muscle as you get stronger and challenge yourself. The more lean muscle you have, the more calories you burn at rest.

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Are you ready? Try this 10-minute HIIT workout I put together just for you.

The 30-Day Burpee Challenge That Will Kick Your Ass
Burpees: We love to hate them, but if you take on this 30-day challenge, you'll feel stronger, tighter, and more toned by the end of the month.

Ah, the burpee. It's one of the most feared exercises in the entire world, and yet every workout seems to incorporate some version of it (hello, even yoga's sunrise salutation looks eerily similar).

Why? Because it works, no kidding. Do it right and you'll strengthen your shoulders, arms, core, glutes, your entire body, in one move.

To help you master your technique, we asked Kim to demonstrate a basic burpee. Then, we asked her to take it to the next level with seven burpee variations, including one you'll do each day of the week. The only catch: Each week of this challenge, you'll have to increase your reps by 10.

Ready? It’s time to earn your burpee bragging rights.

How to do the basic burpee

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, weight on your heels and arms at your sides.
Push your hips back, bend your knees and lower yourself into a squat position to place your hands directly in front of your feet and just inside.
Shift the weight to the hands and jump the feet back to land softly on the balls of the feet in a plank position, lowering the chest toward the floor.
Pushing up on your hands, lift your chest and jump your feet back to land just outside your hands.
Extend your arms above your head and jump into the air explosively.
Land and immediately lower back into a squat position. This is one rep.

Modification:

Instead of jumping your feet back, step back into a plank position, one foot at a time, and step forward in the same manner, still placing your feet outside your hands.

Monday: Burpee Kick-Outs

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, then squat down, place your hands on the floor, and jump your feet back into a high plank position.
Lift your left leg and cross it under your body, raising your right arm and bending it to tap your right shoulder. Keep your leg hanging at least an inch off the ground. Extend your left leg back and place your toes on the floor. Repeat on the other side.
Using your hands as a support, lift your chest and jump your feet back so they land just outside your hands.
Standing, extend your arms above your head and jump explosively into the air. This is one repetition.

Modification:

Tap/slam your hip into the ground for a moment as you kick your leg.

Tuesday: One-Leg Burpees

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Lift your right foot off the floor. Jump into a single-leg plank with your shoulders directly over your hands, glutes tight, abs engaged, and torso toward the floor.
Pressing your palms into the floor and still using one leg, jump your left foot towards your hands.
Standing, extend your arms above your head and jump explosively into the air. This is one repetition.

Modification:

Place your hands on an incline bench or sofa-height object and perform the movement.

Wednesday: Burpee Broad Jumps

A. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Squat down and place your hands on the floor, jumping your legs back and bringing your chest to the floor.
Using your hands as a support, lift your chest and jump your feet back so they land just outside your hands.
Return to a squat position, swing your arms back, then explosively jump forward, using your arms for momentum, as far as you can. That's one rep.

Modification:

It's all about being comfortable with the distance you jump. A jump of 1.5 meters is always acceptable!

Thursday: Burpee Rolls

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
Squat down and place your hands on the floor, jumping your legs back and bringing your chest toward the floor.
Leaning on your hands, lift your chest and jump your feet back so they land just outside your hands.
Standing, extend your arms above your head and jump explosively into the air.
Sit in a squat position and lower yourself until your buttocks touch the floor.
Continue rolling onto your shoulders, then use the momentum to push yourself back up to standing in one fluid motion.
Finish with another jump. This is one repetition.

Modification:

Place your hands on your shins or even the back of your thighs.
This allows for a little stronger connection with your lower half and the ability to gain a little more momentum.
Don't feel the need to roll all the way back at first if it's too much.
Have a mat or pillow behind you so you can feel it on your back and know your stopping point.

Fridays: Burpees with side jump

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. Squat down and place your hands on the floor, jumping your legs back and bringing your chest toward the floor.
Using your hands as a support, lift your chest and jump your feet back so they land just outside your hands.
Return to a squat position, swing your arms back, then explosively jump to the left.
Immediately perform another burpee and then jump to the right. This is one rep.

Modification:

Same as the Broad Jump Burpee; 3-inch jumps can turn into 2-meter jumps, which can turn into 1-meter jumps over time.

Saturday: Burpee Mountain Climbers

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, then squat down and place your hands on the floor, and jump your feet back into a high plank.
Bring the right knee to the right elbow then the left knee to the left elbow.
Pressing through your hands, lift your chest and jump your feet back so they land just outside your hands.
Standing, extend your arms above your head and jump into the air explosively. This is one repetition.

Modification:

Use an incline bench or something at couch height to take some pressure off your hands without disengaging your core.

Sunday: Spider Push-up Burpees

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, then squat down and place your hands on the floor and jump your feet back into a high plank.
Raise your right leg and extend your right knee to your right elbow, performing a push-up.
Extend your right leg back and place your toes on the floor. Repeat the exercise on the other side.
Using your hands as a support, lift your chest and jump your feet back so they land just outside your hands.
Standing, extend your arms above your head and jump explosively into the air. This is one repetition.

Modification:

When the right knee reaches the right elbow, place the left knee on the ground, then perform the push-up.
Remove it from the floor and return the right leg to the starting position. Repeat the exercise on the opposite side.

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How to complete the 30-day Burpee challenge?

The Best Exercises of All Time

Everyone is looking for the latest trendy exercise, the one that will blast fat like never before. But it turns out that the best exercises are timeless.

Squats

Your lower body—and we mean your entire lower body—loves squats.

“They work all the major muscles in the lower half of the body, making them incredibly effective for building muscle and burning calories,” Kim says.

Plus, since we all crouch down to pick something up off the floor, play with our nieces and nephews, or lower ourselves into a hover over a public toilet seat, they're incredibly functional.

How to do it:

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.
Push your hips back and bend your knees to lower your body as far toward the floor as possible, keeping your chest high, a slight curve in your lower back, and your knees behind your toes.
Pause, then slowly push back up through your heels to return to the starting point.

Burpees

Burpees are as much a cardio exercise as they are a strength-training exercise. "When you do a burpee, you go through a plank, a push-up, a squat, and a jump," Kim says.

"All of these exercises require a lot of strength, and if you move at a high speed, they will send your heart rate through the roof."

How to do it:

Stand up straight with your feet hip-width apart and place your hands on the floor in front of you, just in front and inside your feet.
Next, jump your feet back into a plank position, keeping your body in a straight line from head to ankles.
Immediately lower your torso into a push-up. When you return to the top of the push-up, jump your feet toward your hands, and jump as high as you can.

Deadlifts

“Deadlifts are great for working the back of your body, especially your glutes, hamstrings, and back,” says Kim. (Basically, everything people will see when you leave them in the dust during your next run.)

Additionally, because deadlifts work so many muscles at once, they save you a lot of time performing individual isolation movements.

How to do it:

Stand tall with your feet shoulder-width apart and step onto a loaded barbell so that your shins just touch the bar. (You can also use two dumbbells.)
Push your hips back, bend your knees slightly, and grasp the bar so that your hands are just outside your legs and your palms are facing your body.
Keeping your back straight and chest up, push through your feet to stand up with your weight, hips forward and shoulder blades back.

Skull crushing

Don't let the name scare you. Skull crushes are great for targeting the traps, which many women neglect, says Brennan. And in addition to balancing out your biceps and keeping your arms strong, fit traps look great in a strapless dress.

How to do it:

Lie on your back on a bench holding two dumbbells or a short weighted barbell in the air, your hands directly above your shoulders.
Keeping your upper arms perfectly stable, bend your elbows to lower the weights near your head.
Pause, then straighten your elbows, again keeping your upper arms still, to return to the starting point.

Pull-Ups

This is a move every woman should aspire to conquer. "Pull-ups are fantastic," says Kim. "They work so many muscles in your back, chest, and biceps, which makes them very effective and efficient."

Not to mention you'll feel like a rock star when you master your first exercise.

How to do it:

Grab a hanging pull-up bar, so your palms are facing away from your body, and let your body hang.
Next, contract your shoulders to pull your elbows down along your torso until your collarbones reach the bar.
If you're new to this move, you'll probably need to use an assisted pull-up machine to practice the full movement.
All you have to do is adjust the weight using a pin, then place your shins on a movable bench before attempting to pull yourself up.
The bench will help carry some of the weight until you can master the movement solo.

Boards

Planks work your deep core muscles, including your transverse abdominis, to stabilize your spine, add power to your workouts, and sculpt your core, Brennan says.

How to do it:

Get into a push-up position, then lower your upper body so that your weight is on your forearms and your elbows are on the floor directly below your shoulders.
Your body should form a straight line from head to ankles.
Tighten your core, as if you were about to be punched in the stomach, and hold on.

Reverse leg curls

After sitting in front of a computer all day, you need to make sure your back stays strong, Kim says. As if working your lats and mid-back weren't enough, this move also works your shoulders and biceps to sculpt your upper body.

How to do it:

Standing with a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing your torso, bend your knees slightly and bend at the waist so that your back is straight and almost parallel to the floor.
The dumbbells should hang directly in front of your body.
Next, contract your back muscles and lift the dumbbells towards your sides.
Take a break, then slowly lower yourself back to the start.
You can also use a bench and row one arm at a time.

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Bench presses

Aside from the aesthetic benefits of the bench press, this exercise will train your body in a functional movement pattern, which will help you improve your performance in other exercises in the gym as well as in everyday life.

How to do it:

Lie on your back on a bench press station and grasp a loaded dumbbell with your hands shoulder-width apart.
Straighten your arms and lift the weight so that it is just above your chest.
Bend your elbows to lower the weight until it almost touches your chest, then raise it back up to the starting point.

Walking Lunges

This functional exercise strengthens your quads, hamstrings, and glutes in one move, Kim says. With all those muscles working at once, expect to burn a lot of calories.

How to do it:

Stand with your feet hip-width apart.
Take a step forward with one foot, then bend both knees to lower your hips toward the floor.
Stop when your back knee almost touches the ground and your front knee is directly over your ankle. Press through your front heel to drive your back foot forward as if you were walking. Sink into another lunge.

Boards

Planks work your deep core muscles, including your transverse abdominis, to stabilize your spine, add power to your exercises, and sculpt your core, Kim says.

How to do it:

Get into a push-up position, then lower your upper body so that your weight is on your forearms and your elbows are on the floor directly below your shoulders.
Your body should form a straight line from head to ankles.
Tighten your core, as if you were about to be punched in the stomach, and hold on.

Reverse leg curls

How to do it:

Standing with a dumbbell in each hand, palms facing your torso, bend your knees slightly and bend at the waist so that your back is straight and almost parallel to the floor.
The dumbbells should hang directly in front of your body.
Next, contract your back muscles and lift the dumbbells towards your sides.
Take a break, then slowly lower yourself back to the start.
You can also use a bench and row one arm at a time.

sport-hiit-swing-kettlebell

Bench presses

How to do it:

Lie on your back on a bench press station and grasp a loaded dumbbell with your hands shoulder-width apart.
Straighten your arms and lift the weight so that it is just above your chest.
Bend your elbows to lower the weight until it almost touches your chest, then raise it back up to the starting point.

Walking Lunges

This functional exercise strengthens your quads, hamstrings, and glutes in one move, Kim says. With all those muscles working at once, expect to burn a lot of calories.

How to do it:

Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Step forward with one foot, then bend both knees to lower your hips toward the floor.
Stop when your back knee almost touches the ground and your front knee is directly above your ankle.
Press through your front heel to bring your back foot forward as if you were walking. Sink into another lunge.

If you liked this article and it helped you to know the benefits of HIIT. Leave me in the comments, if you were already aware of these concepts and what is your experience on the subject.

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