Today we are going to show you our favorite HIIT workouts for beginners who are pretty new to the world of high-intensity interval training and just want to get started and reap the rewards HIIT has to offer.
We love HIIT, short for High-Intensity Interval Training, HIIT is all about working as hard as you can in the shortest amount of time possible.
Some people love it, and others hate it.
As a beginner, you may have heard whispers of this new way of training, but it isn’t that new. If you have ever done a circuit training class, it’s very similar but should be a little bit more challenging.
We love HIIT because you can do it in a short space of time and you get fast results.
Benefit of HIIT
High-intensity interval training is great. Here are just a few of the benefits HIIT has to offer.
You can burn a lot of calories in a short amount of time – HIIT can e as short as a four-minute Tabata with typical HIIT sessions lasting up to 30 minutes making it a great time-saving workout whilst burning a lot of calories due to its high-intensity nature.
HIIT increased your Resting Metabolic rate – because HIIT forces you to work hard and throws your body out of equilibrium which leads to EPOC or The Afterburn, your body will be burning calories long after you have finished your 20-minute HIIT workout.
It is great for fat loss – our clients that have used HIIT have shredded belly fat and transformed their bodies. It’s also been proven in scientific studies that HIIT is effective at burning fat.
Fast results – you just have to do a 20- minute HIIT workout to understand that HIIT gets you fast results. Because HIIT is intense, it causes your body to work harder than most forms of exercise and in turn, it forces your body to adapt and change. That’s what’s so good about HIIT. It forces a change where other types of exercise don’t or don’t as rapidly.
Increases all aspects of fitness – just like all forms of exercise, over time you will get fitter. Where HIIT stands out is that you will gain fitness in most areas, you’ll increase your VO2 max, you’ll get stronger, more flexible and have better stamina.
Is HIIT good for beginners?
HIIT is great for beginners. Exercise isn’t always fun, sometimes it’s super boring. HIIT however is fun, it’s energetic and the best part, it’s quick. You can do a 10-minute HIIT workout and get great results.
One thing we would say is that it isn’t for everyone, for most it’s fine but you do need to have some basic level of fitness to do HIIT. You don’t have to be fit per se but you need to be in relatively good health and mobile as the exercise and the way that HIIT is performed will cause your heart rate to rise, you’ll be squatting, jumping, running.
You should always check with your health professional if you are unsure whether or not to start an exercise plan such as HIIT.
How do you do HIIT for beginners?
As a beginner starting with HIIT you should start with longer rests and shorter work intervals and then as you get fitter and stronger you will be able to make your rest intervals shorter and your work intervals a little longer.
We usually start off with a work to rest ratio of 1:1 typically we would do 30 seconds of work followed by 30 seconds of rest.
This Is a great starting point for beginners as it allows you time to get used to the exercises that aren’t too long or too short.
As you get fitter you can chip off 5 seconds from your rest intervals day by day, session by session. One of the first things you’ll notice when starting HIIT workouts is that your recovery gets better between exercises.
To do HIIT for beginners, start with a simple beginner HIIT workout with the basic exercises used in HIIT.
You could start with 6 exercises, doing 30 seconds of each with a 30-second break in between. Rest at the end of the 6 exercises for a minute or two and then repeat for 3 rounds.
What are some good HIIT exercises to start with?
Here are a few basic no equipment exercises that you could start with.
- Squats
- Push-ups
- Luges
- Mountain climbers
- Burpees (modify them if needed)
- Plank
These six HIIT exercises are super important for beginners starting off with HIIT as they form the basis of many other HIIT exercises used during HIIT workouts for beginners.
It’s simple it will take you only about 20 minutes and you’ll feel great after. Maybe a little sore the next day, but as you get fitter the muscles pains get lesser and lesser.
HIIT workouts for beginners
We want you to enjoy HIIT and gain everything that HIIT has to offer so here are 5 HIIT workouts for beginners that you can get stuck into right away. All of the following five HIIT workouts require no equipment.
HIIT Workouts For Beginners
Here are some of the best HIIT workouts for beginners at HIIT Weekly. We have ordered them from easiest to hardest but all are great beginner HIIT workouts.
We have to start here with this 20-minute beginner's cardio HIIT. Not only is it fun but it's the perfect HIIT workout for a beginner. It's 4 very simple exercises with a simple modification if you wanted to make it harder.
This beginner's HIIT workout is not timed, it's actually done with repetitions and focuses on the core beginner exercises used in HIIT whilst being able to get you hot and sweaty to burn a lot of calories.
This 4-week beginner HIIT workout routine is quite gentle at the beginning and gets progressively harder as the weeks go on.
It's very very basic, it will only take your around 5-10 minutes a day.
You do not need any equipment so can get started right away.
This quick circuit for women is a great HIIT that can be done anywhere with no equipment.
It's a 20-minute HIIT workout but you can always do fewer rounds to make it a 10 or 15-minute workout.
This is one of the best HIIT workouts for beginners as you work your entire body getting nice and sweaty in the process. you'll do 30 seconds on and 30 seconds off.
There are some jumping exercises but you can always miss out on the jump part and still get an amazing workout.
Start by working through these HIIT workouts for beginners from top to bottom and see how you get on.
If you are still struggling to get to grips with HIIT then take a look at our Intro To HIIT workout plan.
It takes you step by step through each exercise and takes you through a four-week beginner’s training plan that gets you ready for doing HIIT workouts. Find out more below.
Get The Intro To HIIT Workout Plan
Hey there, I’m Luke, and I’ve been immersed in the fitness world since 2007. From gym floors to running my own personal training business, I’ve seen it all. My journey led me to study Sports Science at university, where I deepened my understanding of the science behind exercise.
One thing that truly lights my fire? High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). It’s not just a workout; it’s a game-changer. I’ve used HIIT to help countless men and women shed weight and transform their lives for the better.
Through my personal training business, I’ve witnessed the incredible impact of HIIT on both physical and mental well-being. It’s not just about getting fitter; it’s about feeling stronger, more confident, and more resilient.
Join me on this journey to a healthier, happier you. Let’s crush those goals together!
