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2 HIIT Workouts For Beginners

Check out our latest blog post for 2 HIIT workouts for beginners. Read now to learn more!

Published: 10/1/20

2 HIIT Workouts For Beginners

 

We are smitten with HIIT training (High-Intensity Interval Training) because of its many physical and time-saving benefits. Today, we want to equip you with two intervals to do apart—or together—to give you a full HIIT workout for beginners. 

 

HIIT Workout Number One:

 

Do this workout three times and then move onto HIIT Workout Number Two, or use it as its own workout! It’s gonna be fun because this HIIT classes for beginners works your whole body.

 

1 | Reverse Lunges

 

Lunges are a great leg and glute workout, and they make for a fantastic HIIT interval. To do your lunges, make sure that you are standing straight up with your core engaged. Take a big step backward with your left foot and then lower yourself until your right thigh and left shin are parallel with the floor, step forward to the starting position and switch sides. Remember to keep your core engaged throughout the movement and maintain a good posture. Proper posture will ensure that you hit all of the right muscle groups. 

 

2 | Side Shuffle 

 

Side shuffles are perfect for working your inner thighs and moving your body on a different plane than usual. If you think about it, almost everything we do is via moving forward and backward. Rounding out your fitness routine with some focus on side-to-side movements will help target underused muscles, and make you stronger overall. To do a side shuffle, find your starting position. Start with your feet hip-distance apart, your waste hinged at the hips, core engaged, and knees slightly bent. Next, take two steps to one side, maintaining your starting posture, then shuffle two steps back. Continue for 30 seconds. 

 

3 | Inch Worm

 

Now, we will move onto a core, shoulder, and arm workout—the inchworm. Standing with your feet about hip-distance apart, hinge at your hips and begin to walk your hands forward on your mat or floor until you reach plank position (or as far as you can). Then, reverse the move and walk yourself back to start position. Repeat for 30-seconds. 

 

4 | High-Knees

 

Your core might be burning from inchworms, and that’s a good time to push through on another core-building, lower-body move—the high-knees. To perform high-knees, start standing with your feet about hip-distance apart. Hold your hands over your toes at about where your belly button is. (Or a little higher. You can do it!) Now, lift your right knee to your right hand, and then your left. Try and get faster, working your way into a max pace. Your knees should be making contact with your hands every time (not the other way around). So, be sure to keep your hands steady and let your legs and core do all of the lifting.  

 

5 | 30-Second Rest

 

You deserve a break! Take a rest for 30-seconds to one minute. Hydrate, lay on the floor, pat yourself on the back, upload a sweaty (it’s like a selfie but with sweat) to IG—whatever you gotta do! Then repeat at a higher intensity than before. Do this a total of three times. Then, move onto the next set to complete your workout! You got this.

 

HIIT Workout Number Two:

 

Like workout number one, you can use this on its own, or combine it with the top workout for a total body conditioning high-intensity interval training workout. 

 

1 | Football Drill to Power Jump

 

Get ready to feel the burn, this drill by our incredible instructor Mariah is challenging, but you can do it! For this HIIT cardio for beginners workout, we are giving you a two-step drill. First, start with the football drill. You will begin in the same stance as the side shuffle above—hips hinged, knees slightly bent, and your hands bent in front of you like you are pushing on a wall in front of your chest. Then, quickly lift your feet up and down, running in place. Count to three seconds and then jump, hitting your knees to your hands when you are in the air. Here’s a screenshot of what that power jump looks like. When you land, shuffle again for three seconds and do it all over again.

Coach Mariah showing a power jump on iChuze Fitness

 

2 | Hit-The-Floor

 

Next is hit-the-floor. If you’ve done these, you know that they work! It’s a full-body movement that can be explosive, with a jump; or low-impact, with steps from side-to-side. To start a hit-the-floor, step your foot to the right, engage your core, and twist down until your left hand touches somewhere near your right toe. Be sure to keep a flat back and engaged core throughout the movement. Then, head back to the start and repeat on the left. You should start to feel a hop happening as you switch sides. This is where you can take the exercise to the next fitness level. Add a hop to your routine as you move to switch sides and feel your calories torch away. 

 

3 | Ski Jump

 

For this fun, intense exercise, it helps to envision yourself on a ski slope. Not only does this visualization allow you to understand the movement, but it is nice to leave your mind in the middle of a sweat-induced workout and feel the wind on your face. To do this workout, get into the ‘skiers’ stance. Have your feet close together, knees bent, hips hinged, and your chest up, keeping your back straight at the hinge. Jump from both feet at once to one side, and then jump to the other. This is not a move where one foot leaves the ground before the other, but they will both come off of the ground at the same time while you use your muscles to move your body from side to side. 

 

4 | Forward-Backward Hops

 

Similar to the ski jump, now we go into forward-backward hops. Ski jumps are done on a lateral plane (meaning side-to-side). To complete the forward-backward hops, you will want to move forward and backward instead. Use a similar stance with your feet together, knees slightly bent, but keep your posture straight. We bend the knees to keep softness and avoid injury. Now, hop forward and backward. Repeat for 30 seconds. 

 

5 | 30-Second Rest

 

Lay down, grab water, towel off, and get ready to do it all over again for three full rounds, heightening your intensity each time. 

 

Always remember to cool down after your workout by doing a few stretches, drinking some water, and even taking some time to walk around. A warm-up and cool-down are essential to keeping your training safe and fun. 

You can check out HIIT Workout Number Two, and enjoy even more on our virtual wellness platform iChuze Fitness. You can also give this workout a try at any of our locations where we have tons of space to try any exercise you can dream up.

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