Fat-Crushing HIIT Cardio Workout

This High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) workout will challenge all fitness levels! If you want to decrease bodyweight and abdominal fat while maintaining muscle mass, perform this workout 1-3 times each week. This high intensity cardio will increase your cardiorespiratory fitness, boost your metabolism, burn calories (even after you are done working out), and require less time than traditional endurance workouts! The plyometric portion of the workout will help you build muscle as well as increase your speed and power.

It is important to mix up your workouts in order to keep your body challenged and to prevent boredom. This workout can be broken up into two separate days, or can be completed all at once for a mega fat-burning session. If you don’t have a treadmill, grab a stopwatch and head outside. If you are not able to run, increase the incline on the treadmill to ramp up your heart rate. As with any exercise, always work hard while maintaining good form. If you are a beginner, be sure to take adequate rest periods between exercises.

WARM-UP
■ Do foam rolling and walking stretches for 5 minutes.
■ Hop on the treadmill and walk for one minute, jog for one minute, walk one minute, then jog one minute, for a total of 15 minutes.

PLYO CIRCUIT
■ Complete 10-20 reps per exercise
■ REST for 10 seconds between exercises and 1-2 minutes after each circuit
■ Repeat 1-3 times

  

Burpees
1. Begin with feet hip-width apart, squat down and place your hands on the floor in front of you, to the outside of your feet.
2. Jump your feet back so that you are in the plank position.
3. Jump your feet back to starting position and explode into a jump, reaching your arms straight overhead.
4. Land softly on the balls of your feet and repeat.

Box or Bench Jumps 
1. Begin facing the box, with feet hip-width apart, about 1-2 feet away from the box.
2. Squat down, keeping knees in line with second toes.
3. Explode up extending hips forward, swinging arms forward, and pushing off feet in order to jump onto the box.
4. Land softly on the balls of your feet on top of the box.
5. Step or jump down lightly and repeat.

Jump Lunges/Jump Squat Combo
1. Begin by standing with your right foot forward and your left foot back.
2. Bend your knees making sure that the thigh of your front leg and the shin of your back leg are parallel to the floor.
3. Jump explosively, making sure to lift both feet off of the ground, and switch legs in mid air so that you land with your right foot behind you.
4. Land softly and repeat on the other leg.
5. Next, jump both feet out to a squat position keeping feet just outside of your hips.
6. Bend your knees and jump explosively.
7. Land softly and return to a jump lunge with left foot forward initially.

Plie Jump Squats
1. Stand with your feet outside of your hips, toes turned outward.
2. Bend your knees and lower your hips until thighs are parallel to the floor. Make sure to keep back straight as if sliding down a wall.
3. Press into your heels, squeeze your glutes, and explode into a jump.
4. Land softly on the balls of your feet and repeat.

Speed Skaters
1. Begin in a small squat.
2. Push off right foot, jumping sideways to the left, landing on your left foot and bringing your right leg behind to your left ankle.
3. Push off left foot, jumping sideways to the right, landing on your right foot and bringing your left leg behind to your right ankle, repeat.

By Joy Kushner, AAS, NASM-CPT, FNS, WLS