When you want a quick workout that will challenge you, high-intensity interval training (HIIT) is a great option. This type of workout involves short bursts of intense exercise with short periods of rest. While HIIT workouts can be very intense, they’re also very beginner-friendly since you can modify them to meet your current fitness level and goals. As you decide if you should try a HIIT workout, take a moment to find out what HIIT is and how to build your own routine as a beginner!
What Is HIIT?
HIIT workouts tend to last between 10 to 30 minutes, with these workouts alternating between high-intensity periods of exercise and low-intensity recovery periods. Typically, a HIIT workout will involve a “circuit” of multiple exercises that you repeat two to four times.
What Are the Benefits of HIIT?
Though the workouts are short, they’ve been proven to be highly beneficial. HIIT has been found to help people:
- Burn more calories in a short amount of time, with HIIT burning 25% to 30% more calories than other types of exercise
- Boost metabolic rate hours after exercise (meaning, people lose more calories even when they’re not exercising!)
- Improve their ability to consume oxygen
- Reduce blood sugar
- Lose waist circumference and fat
- Improve anaerobic and aerobic performance
- Reduce blood pressure and heart rate (particularly for those who are overweight)
- Gain muscle (typically in the legs or trunk)
Is HIIT A Sustainable Fitness Solution?
Besides the health benefits of HIIT, it’s a very sustainable workout for those who are just getting started exercising. The relatively short 10-30 minute circuits take less time out of your day, and without any equipment, you can still find a variety of bodyweight HIIT workouts at home that will get your heart rate up and push you. They’re also fairly versatile and customizable, making it easier for beginners to create HIIT routines that match their current and evolving fitness goals.
How to Build Beginner-Friendly HIIT Routines
While you can find lots of HIIT circuits online, it can be harder to find one that matches your exercise goals and fitness level. Fortunately, designing your own HIIT circuit is easy when you know the basics. Review the five main steps to build your own HIIT routine below:
1. Choose Your Fitness Goal
The best beginner HIIT workouts will be tailored to your specific fitness goals. Some of the most common fitness goals for HIIT workouts include:
- General Fitness: A balanced HIIT workout incorporating bodyweight exercises like squats, pushups, and burpees can improve overall fitness by enhancing cardiovascular health and muscular endurance.
- Weight Loss: High-intensity intervals of cardio moves like sprinting or cycling, combined with short rest periods, are effective for burning calories and promoting fat loss.
- Endurance: Longer intervals of moderate to high-intensity exercises, such as running or rowing, combined with shorter rest periods, help build cardiovascular endurance and stamina.
- Strength: A HIIT workout focused on heavy resistance exercises, like kettlebell swings or dumbbell thrusters, performed in short bursts with brief recovery periods, builds muscle strength while keeping the heart rate elevated.
2. Select Your Work and Rest Ratios
After you decide on your fitness goals, you’ll need to decide on your work-to-rest ratio since you’ll be alternating between a high-intensity exercise and a rest period. Below, you can review some suggested work-to-rest ratios based on your fitness level:
- Beginner: 20 seconds of high-intensity exercise, 40 seconds of rest.
- Intermediate: 30 seconds of high-intensity exercises, 30 seconds of rest.
- Advanced: 40 seconds of high-intensity exercises, 20 seconds of rest.
3. Pick The Type of Exercises You’ll Be Performing
Once you know your ratios, you’ll need to decide on the types of exercises you’ll use during your circuit. Review the following types of exercises you might consider incorporating into a partial or full-body HIIT workout depending on your goals:
- Bodyweight (no equipment): If you want a beginner HIIT workout with no equipment, bodyweight HIIT workouts are a great choice. They’re also perfect for people who want to improve their general fitness or who don’t have time to get to the gym. Some popular HIIT bodyweight exercises include squats, pushups, jumping jacks, and mountain climbers.
- With Equipment: Those who want to build their strength or lose weight will want to use equipment in their HIIT workout. For instance, including kettlebell swings, battle ropes, and resistance bands in your workout can build strength and help you lose fat.
- Low-Impact: If you’re looking to build your cardiovascular endurance or want to improve your general fitness, low-impact HIIT options are often best. For example, HIIT walking workouts, HIIT elliptical workouts, and HIIT cycling workouts are all great low-impact HIIT circuits that can improve general and cardiovascular fitness. A low-impact cycling circuit can also be good for weight loss.
4. Create Your Circuit
When you’re done picking out the type of HIIT exercises you’ll be performing, it’s time to create your HIIT circuit. Usually, the best beginner HIIT workouts include four to six exercises that you repeat over three rounds. For example, a sample at-home beginner HIIT workout designed to improve your general fitness might look like:
- Jumping jacks: 20 seconds work, 40 seconds rest.
- Bodyweight squats: 20 seconds work, 40 seconds rest.
- Pushups: 20 seconds work, 40 seconds rest.
- Sit-ups: 20 seconds work, 40 seconds rest.
- Mountain climbers: 20 seconds work, 40 seconds rest
- Repetition: Repeat for three rounds.
If you find that your circuit is too difficult or easy, feel free to adjust it as you get more used to performing a circuit. Just avoid trying to push yourself beyond your limit, as that’s a recipe for injury.
5. Warm-Up and Cool-Down
Before you start to actually do your HIIT workout, remember that you should still warm up and cool down like you would with other exercises. While your warm-ups may change based on the exercise you’ll perform, an all-around HIIT warm-up might look like the following:
- 20 Arm Circles
- 15 Front Kicks
- 15 Butt Kicks
- 10 Leg Swings
- 20 Walking Knee Tucks
- 10 Lunge and Twists
- 40 Jumping Jacks
Doing the above warm-up will loosen your body up, reducing your risk of injury and improving your performance. Once the HIIT workout is over, you can cool down by taking a short walk before performing static stretches.
Sample 4-Week Beginner HIIT Plan
Once you’ve created your HIIT circuit, you’ll want to get into a routine. Beginner-friendly HIIT routines often follow a similar formula:
- Week 1:
- 2 sessions, 20 seconds work/40 seconds rest.
- Week 2:
- 2-3 sessions, 30 seconds work/30 seconds rest.
- Week 3:
- 3 sessions, 30 seconds work/20 seconds rest.
- Week 4:
- 3 sessions, 40 seconds work/20 seconds rest.
By working up to more sessions a week and gradually increasing your period of high-intensity exercise, you’ll make your HIIT routine more sustainable. Additionally, getting used to the exercises and making sure you’re using proper form can help prevent injuries.
Quick HIIT Tips for Beginners
If you’re looking for more tips about HIIT for beginners, keep the following best practices in mind:
- Track Your Progress: Use a fitness app or journal to monitor improvement and adjust intensity.
- Stay Consistent: Build a routine you can stick to, even if it’s just twice a week to start.
- Listen to Your Body: Recognize the difference between discomfort and pain, and don’t push your body past what you can handle.
- Fuel Your Workouts: Balance your nutrition to maintain energy and support recovery.
- Attend a Beginner HIIT Class: Group HIIT classes can be a great way to get into a routine, meet other beginners, and receive advice on proper form.
Debunking Common HIIT Myths
There are a few common HIIT myths floating around that can discourage people from trying it. Some of these HIIT myths include:
- Myth: “You need to sprint to do HIIT.”
- Truth: You can adapt HIIT to any activity, from walking and lifting kettlebells to cycling and pushups.
- Myth: “HIIT isn’t effective for beginners.”
- Truth: With proper structure and rest intervals, HIIT is ideal for building fitness gradually.
- Myth: “You have to do HIIT every day to see results.”
- Truth: HIIT is intense and works best when done 2–3 times a week, with recovery days in between.
- Myth: “HIIT only works for weight loss.”
- Truth: HIIT builds endurance, improves cardiovascular health, and strengthens muscles.
Start Your HIIT Journey at Physiq Fitness Today
If you’re looking for HIIT classes in Salem, Oregon, or Gilbert, Arizona, Physiq Fitness has you covered. Since we know how beneficial HIIT workouts can be for people of all fitness levels, we offer QFIT Team Training. These HIIT-style classes are led by our knowledgeable coaches and take place in a small group environment, ensuring you receive the encouragement and attention you need to achieve your goals. When group fitness isn’t your style, our gyms have all the equipment needed to perform your preferred HIIT circuit.