Ready To Hit The Gym or Start HIIT?

If there’s one thing that has become intensely popular during the lockdown, it’s HIIT, the High-Intensity Interval Training. And now that things are getting back to normal, more and more people are getting excited to incorporate the HIIT workouts into their regular fitness regime.

What is HIIT?

It is a training which is meant to raise your heart rate quickly through intense or fast exercises. It could be either running on a treadmill, riding a bike on full speed or running but all these movements are supposed to be for short intervals, with rest in between. With an increased heart rate, HIIT also makes you sweat quite hard. And since we all have so much energy collected in our bodies while staying home, it’s time now to utilize HIIT to burn it.

How To Start?

Fortunately, there are many fitness trainers who offer training sessions live on YouTube or Instagram, most are even absolutely free. But here’s the thing, not every workout is suitable for everyone. A lot should go into consideration before starting a routine. First of all, people with cardiovascular diseases should always consult their doctors, also, your current body weight matters, if you are borderline overweight or obese, you may not go with a tough or high-intensity workout right away. People with joint issues must also take caution as HIIT can put pressure on your bones and worsen the pain.

However, many popular fitness trainers suggest a 20-minute HIIT that is equally beneficial for all levels. It’s 20 seconds on, 10 seconds rest training, so you can go for it.

Warm-Up

High Knees

Stand straight and then start lifting your knees as up as possible one after another. Slowly break into a pace that makes you slightly out of breath. You can do high knees from somewhere between 40 seconds to 2 minutes. If you have the option, you can also run for two minutes on your treadmill.

Running In Place

If you went for high knees in the warm-up round, start with running in place. Start off gradually and then run as fast as you can for 20 seconds straight.

Wide Hands Push-Up:

Put your hands on the floor, a little more than shoulders width apart. Extend your legs, put your toes on the floor, and then by keeping your neck and shoulders straight, start pushing up and down. Remember, 20 seconds on the clock and take a 10 seconds break before moving on to the next move.

Jump Squat

It’s like a normal squat except when you get up, you won’t stand, instead you’d jump and get into the next squat slowly. To keep your knees safe, don’t jump quickly. Also, land back on your knees with a gentle push.

Jumping Lunges

Again, this one is very similar to the normal lunge, you have to step forward with one leg, extending it to a point where both knees are at a low level with the floor and then start jumping while landing on the opposite foot forward, remember, keep your core engaged during all exercises and don’t lose your form.

Spiderman Push-Ups

Get into a high plank position and then start lifting one knee towards the shoulder, repeat the same on the other side and keep doing that for 20 seconds.

Lateral Lunges

Stand with your feet wide apart, and from there start lowering into a lunge, one side at a time. It’s important to push down the hips and keeping the knee above the toes.

Cool Down

With such a high-intensity workout, it is essential to stretch the muscles. You can choose a full-body yoga stretch as a good option.