Posted on November 07, 2018 by Emily Forbes

In need of an intense workout? Try this killer HIIT session.

High-intensity interval training involves work to rest intervals. To get an idea of how hard you should be working; during your work period you are aiming to reach 70-90% of your maximal heart rate. At rest, your heart rate should drop to 60-65% of maximal heart rate. Obviously, this can be hugely depended on your current fitness level. For an unfit individual, it may not take much to reach that and may also require longer rest periods. A good work to rest interval to get you started is 1:2 but as you get fitter, work periods can become longer and rest periods shorter.

Because of this high intensity, usually, a session wouldn’t be more than 30 minutes, often much shorter. When sessions are longer than this it is likely just an interval session. I took a circuit this week with a 45-second to 15-second work to rest interval. It was an all-male session and we had full reign of the gym and equipment. That meant plenty of testosterone and competition. They worked at a very high intensity for sure! It was like a CrossFit session.

The circuit was broken into strength, cardio and abs with 6 exercises in each set.  We managed to nearly get through twice. We had to lengthen some of the rest periods because of the ridiculous heavyweights that were being used.

HIIT 1: strength

  1. Squats
  2. Rows
  3. Lunges
  4. Overhead press
  5. Deadlift
  6. Press Ups

HIIT 2: cardio

  1. Shuttles
  2. Burpees
  3. Star jumps
  4. Mountain climbers
  5. Spotty dogs
  6. Ninjas (2 broad jumps forward, run back)

HIIT 3: abs

  1. Ab cycles
  2. Oblique heel taps
  3. Plank
  4. Leg Raises
  5. Side Plank R.
  6. Side Plank L.

HIIT is a great for improving the cardiovascular system and fat loss. Getting your buddies together will help you to reach that maximal effort for it to be high-intensity too. I’ve added some links below to other HIIT workouts we’ve previously posted. Have fun.

5 Minute Bodyweight  HIIT

Heavy Weight HIIT

 

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