In today’s busy modern world, you might feel like you never have enough time to accomplish your goals. While an hour-long workout is only 4% of your day, it can still be challenging to fit it in on top of everything else. If you’re looking for a workout that will maximize your impact while minimizing the amount of time it takes from your day, high intensity interval training (HIIT) is for you. Read on for the best HIIT workouts for beginners that are only 10 minutes or less.
What Are HIIT Workouts?
HIIT workouts involve short bursts of intense exercise that are alternated with rest periods. With this style of working out, you’ll reap a wide variety of benefits like normalized blood sugar, increased muscle mass and improved oxygen consumption.
And the best part? HIIT workouts can be as brief as four to 15 minutes long, which means they can fit into anyone’s schedule.
Can I Do HIIT Everyday?
National guidelines suggest that beginners should start with just one HIIT workout per week and work their way up to two or three HIIT workouts per week on non-consecutive days. One of the top exercise tips for a healthy heart is to alternate between HIIT workouts, low-intensity steady state (LISS) sessions — meaning a long walk — and moderate intensity cardiovascular exercise.
The Best HIIT Workouts for Beginners
Whether you opt for a lunch-time sweat or an early morning energizer, here are four HIIT workouts for beginners to add to your health and fitness routine:
1. HIIT Workouts and Timer by 7M
With this free app (which also happens to be the number one rated app for HIIT workouts!), you can workout anytime, anywhere and enjoy the benefits of exercising without the hassle of a gym membership. The app offers several interval-based workouts ranging from low to high intensity so you can tailor your experience based on your fitness level.
2. Pamela Reif’s 10-Minute HIIT Workout
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YouTube is chock-full of HIIT workouts for beginners you can do from anywhere with an internet connection. This quick sweat session from Pamela Reif requires no equipment and features some highly motivating tunes.
3. POPSUGAR’s Seven-Minute HIIT Workout
If you ever find yourself without an internet connection for some reason, have no fear — you can always jot down some moves to do for a hard core full-body workout when you have a few minutes to spare. This seven-minute HIIT workout for beginners from POPSUGAR Fitness is easy to follow without the help of an instructor, and you can blast your own music to personalize your experience.
Do each of these exercises as fast as you can for 30 seconds (with proper form, of course), and take short rests as needed:
- Jumping jacks
- Wall sit
- Push-ups
- Crunches
- Chair step-ups
- Squats
- Tricep dips
- Plank
- High knees
- Lunges
- Push up rotations
- Side plank
4. 10-Minute Jump Rope Workout
Another easy way to squeeze some HIIT in your day is by jumping rope. All you need is just five or 10 minutes of intense jumping (with short breaks in between) to get your heart rate pumping and your entire body working. Jumping rope is harder than it looks — it will have you breaking a sweat in no time. Get started with this 10-minute beginner jump rope workout. A smart jump rope like this one, which can be used both corded and cordless, makes it easy to jump rope anywhere, inside or out, and will even track your workout stats for you.
