We have a lot of great HIIT workouts for you to try on Coach, but this is the first that can be done one of seven ways. The exercises in the workout are listed below, but before you even get to them you have to pick how you want to approach the session.
It’s been put together by personal trainer and sports dietitian Kerri Major and is taken from her new book The Dietitian Kitchen: Nutrition For A Healthy, Strong, & Happy You, which features recipes as well as workouts.
How To Do This Workout
Gather some equipment, namely a couple of dumbbells or kettlebells, a bench or box to lean on during the hip thrust, and a resistance band.
Now select the type of workout you want to do from Major’s list.
Tabata
Tabata involves doing one exercise at very high intensity for 20 seconds, followed by a ten-second rest, completing eight rounds in total – so four minutes of work.
To apply this training method, you can focus on one exercise at a time, doing each for four minutes, giving you 32 minutes of working time, although make sure you rest for at least two minutes between blocks. This is one to do when you have time and bags of energy.
AMRAP
An AMRAP involves completing as many rounds of a circuit or reps of an exercise in a certain time, taking as little rest as possible. The main aim is to focus on working at high intensity without compromising on your exercise form.
To apply this training method, set the timer for anything between ten and 30 minutes and perform ten reps of each exercise for one round, completing as many rounds as possible within the set time. It’s a good way to fit a workout into whatever time you have available.
For Time
Doing a workout for time means you do a certain number of reps of an exercise, or number of exercises, or rounds of a circuit until you have finished. The time when you completed all your reps or rounds is your score.
To apply this training method, do ten reps of each exercise, completing three to five rounds, depending on your fitness level and time available. This is a great format to do periodically, trying to beat your previous score to gauge how your fitness is improving.
EMOM (Every Minute On The Minute)
An EMOM workout involves doing a certain number of reps of an exercise, or number of exercises, every minute for a certain number of minutes. The quicker you complete the number of reps in each minute, the more rest you will have before the next minute starts.
To apply this training method, choose between one and three exercises, depending on your fitness level, and complete three reps of each exercise every minute for ten minutes. Your aim is to exercise for roughly 45 seconds in each minute so you have a short ten to 15-second rest before the next minute starts and you go again. This is a good way to fit a lot of work into a short space of time.
Ascending Ladder
Start by completing one rep of each of your chosen exercises, then increase this by one additional rep of each exercise, in the next round. This means the exercise gets harder each round as you add more reps. Work your way up the ladder to reach ten reps of each exercise.
Descending Ladder
In a descending ladder you start by completing a high number of reps of each exercise, then decrease the number for each exercise by one in the next round. This way the workout starts hard but gets easier with each round as you decrease the number of reps you are completing.
Start by doing ten reps of each exercise and work your way down the ladder until your final round is one rep per exercise.
Full Ladder
The full ladder incorporates both the ascending and descending ladders and is a good one to complete if you have a little extra time.
You begin with the ascending ladder, so you complete one rep of each exercise and increase the reps by one in each round, until you reach a target number of reps. Immediately after you have reached the target number, you begin the descending ladder and decrease the number of reps of each exercise in each round by one until you return to one rep of each exercise.
See related
- Full-Body HIIT Workout For Your Lunch Break
- 10-Minute Workouts That HIIT It Hard
- A Functional HIIT Circuit For Gym Regulars
Full-Body HIIT Workout
Now you’ve picked your format, here are the exercises to perform.
1 Goblet squat
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your toes pointing out slightly. Hold a kettlebell or dumbbell at your chest. Keep your chest up and engage your core. Slowly squat down, keeping you knees in line with your toes. Your weight should be back on your heels. Drive back up until fully extended, keeping your chest up, knees out and squeezing your glutes.
2 Kettlebell swing
Hold the kettlebell handle with both hands. Stand upright with your feet about shoulder-width apart. Pull the kettlebell between your legs, sending your hips back with as little bend in the knees as possible, keeping your chest upright and pinching your shoulder blades together.
Drive your hips back to standing to generate the force to drive the kettlebell up in front of you to eye level, keeping your arms straight. As the kettlebell swings back between your legs, send your hips back again and go smoothly into the next rep.
3 Lateral lunge
Stand tall with your feet positioned in a wide stance and your toes pointing forwards. Hold a kettlebell or dumbbell at your chest. Keeping your torso facing forwards and your weight back on your heels at all times, lower to one side until the knee of your leading leg is bent to around 90°. Keep your other leg straight. Always focus on bending and lowering from the hips, with your back straight and core engaged. Drive off the bent leg, pushing back up and returning to the starting position. Repeat, leading with the opposite leg
4 Hip thrust
Sit on the ground with a bench or box directly behind you. Position your shoulders and shoulder blades on top of the bench. Depending on the height of the bench, this may result in your hips coming off the floor slightly. Your feet should be hip-width apart and your knees should be bent at approximately 45° in front of you with the soles of your feet on the floor. Your torso should be straight, your body aligned and your spine neutral. Hold both ends of a dumbbell using both hands and place it at your hips.
Drive through your heels and squeeze your glutes to lift your hips and the dumbbell vertically as high as possible. Your weight should be supported by your shoulder blades and your feet. Tuck your chin towards your chest. Your tailbone should be tucked inwards and your ribs should be pulled down. At the top of the move, your shins should be vertical. Come down smoothly, with your core still engaged, to return to the starting position.
5 Floor press
Lie with your back on the floor, your knees bent and your feet flat on the floor. Hold a dumbbell in each hand, with your arms bent at 90°, upper arms in contact with the floor and lower arms pointing up. Drive the dumbbells towards the ceiling so your arms are fully extended, with your palms facing each other. Pause at the top and then gradually return to the starting position, with your upper arms resting on the floor.
6 Renegade row
Holding a dumbbell in each hand, assume the high plank position with straight arms. Your feet should be set slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Engage your core by pulling your belly button towards your spine. Pull one dumbbell off the floor towards your armpit, keeping your elbow close to your body. Lower the dumbbell back to the floor under control to assume the starting position. Repeat on the opposite side.
7 Pallof press
Loop a resistance band through itself on a rack at chest height. Stand side-on to the rack. Take the other end of the resistance band with both hands, one over the other and hold it at your chest. Take a step away from the rack so the resistance band is taut. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, your knees slightly bent and your core engaged. In an explosive movement, extend your arms and push the band away from you at chest height, until your arms reach full extension. Keep your feet planted, your core engaged and your hips square as you hold this position, resisting the sideways pull of the band, for one to two seconds, then slowly return to the starting position.
8 Mountain climbers
Start in a high plank position with your arms extended and hands underneath your shoulders. Bring one knee to your chest at time, keeping your core engaged, your hips square and your weight over your hands. Drive one knee to your chest at a time as fast as you can for 30-45 seconds of the time required by the workout format.
