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HIIT at home: try our follow-along 10-minute workout
We all know how important exercise is for our physical and mental wellbeing. But many of us have busy lives and finding time to get out to the gym can be hard. So why not try HIIT at home? Our high-intensity interval training (HIIT) workout is an easy way to fit exercise into your week. Read on to find out how.
What is HIIT?
HIIT is an increasingly popular method of exercising because it’s a time efficient way of improving your fitness and burning calories. HIIT refers to any type of exercise that you do for a short amount of time, at maximum or near maximum effort, with a rest period after. You usually repeat this a few times over the course of a HIIT workout.
How effective is 20 minutes of HIIT?
One of the best things about HIIT is that it offers many of the benefits of other forms of exercise, but in a shorter time. Studies have shown that regular, short HIIT sessions can help you to:
- decrease body weight
- improve strength
- increase aerobic endurance
- reduce your risk of heart disease
- lower your blood pressure
Is HIIT safe for everyone?
HIIT is safe for most people, providing that you warm up well, and cool down thoroughly. HIIT can be adapted for beginners so that its intensity is reduced, and longer rest periods are given. Remember that lots of exercises can be done in a HIIT format. For example, you can alternate periods of walking and running, or periods of slow cycling and speed cycling, to help build your fitness.
However, there are some situations when you should check with a doctor before starting a new HIIT program. These include if you are older in age, have previous heart issues, or are very unfit.
How can I do HIIT at home?
HIIT can be adapted to suit all ages and fitness levels and is generally very safe when done correctly. But if you have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or heart disease, it’s a good idea to have a check-up with your GP before starting any new exercise programme.
If you haven’t exercised in a while, start slowly and gradually build up the intensity and how long you do it for. This will help your body adjust over time and avoid injury.
There are many free online HIIT videos for you to follow. Why not follow along to our free HIIT from home workout below?
The HIIT routine
Please make sure you warm up for a couple of minutes before starting the workout. You can do this by performing some simple exercises, such as star jumps or running on the spot.
- Bodyweight squats – 30 seconds
- Rest – 30 seconds
- Burpees – 30 seconds
- Rest – 30 seconds
- Mountain climbers – 30 seconds
- Rest – 30 seconds
- High knees (running on the spot) – 30 seconds
- Rest – 30 seconds
- Push ups – 30 seconds
- Rest – 30 seconds
And repeat! Don’t forget to cool down for a couple of minutes after the workout, by gently running on the spot or doing some stretches. You can also follow along with our video below.
Hi, I'm Harrison and welcome to the Bupa HIIT workout we've got for you
today. What we're gonna be performing is five bodyweight exercises and they're going to
be utilising all of the major muscle groups. When we're performing the
exercises, we're going to be working for 30 seconds, we're going to be resting for 30
seconds and we're going to perform the exercises two times over. So it's going to
be a 10-minute workout. Now before we get started, it's imperative that we perform
a warm-up. I'm already warmed up, but I'm just going
to demonstrate a few small exercises that you can perform, just to make sure you're
ready for the exercise. You only have to do these for two to three minutes. So it could
just be something simple as running on the spot. Could just be some star jumps.
Could also do some very quick squats, which we'll actually be doing later on today, or
even just some simple lunges. So the first exercise we'll start off with is
the body squat. So with this one you can have your feet either hip-width apart or
slightly wider. You can even have your arms out in front of you or across your chest.
And what we want to do - I'll just do it from the side - but you want to make sure your
heels are flat on the ground throughout the movement. So rather than just go straight down into
that we want to pretend we're about to take a seat - so our hips are
immediately going to come out behind us. From there you want to ease yourself
down, as low as you're comfortable with, but ideally want to make sure that your
thighs are parallel to the floor. Keep your head up and just drive up through
the heels, squeeze the glutes together at the top as
well. Ease yourself down and then push up through the heels. So we're going to
start off with the squats. So it's going to be in three, two, one...
So arms out in front, ease yourself down, driving up through those heels okay, and
do this for 30 seconds.
From the side angle - again, hips out behind you. Try to get your thighs parallel to
the floor if you can. If you can't go as low as that that's
perfectly fine. Just remember to squeeze those glutes at the top. So not long
left - three, two, one... and rest. Okay so we've got thirty seconds rest now. Next one's going
to be the burpees. Just a reminder on the technique - arms down, legs back, legs
forward, and jump. If you want to make it more difficult immediately - hands down,
legs back, down into a push-up, and up. So ten seconds left.
Three, two, one... and go!
And again, for the more difficult one - down, up, and jump. Down, up and jump.
From the side angle...
Okay not long left... one second, and rest. Right so the next one
again is the mountain climbers. You're going to be on the floor for this one again.
It's always a good opportunity in these rest periods to take on a bit of water as
well. Okay so ten seconds left...
Right three, two, one... and start driving those knees. Keeping the
back nice and straight. We'll be working the abdominal region here.
Certainly gonna be working your upper body, having to hold your body weight up as
well. Again from the side angle - driving those knees. Okay that's it, keep
going. So this last few now... thirty seconds rest. The next exercise
is going to be running on the spot - so again, just to reiterate, nice upright
posture. Driving the knees up and using our arms to do that as well.
So you've got fifteen seconds left.
Doing really well guys! Ten seconds...
Alright not too long... four, three, two, one and go!
Really try and drive those knees up there. That's it! Really drive those
knees up. Pumping those arms! From the side angle - keep going, try and
keep those knees driving upwards! Okay keep going... ten seconds left...
keep going... last little bit... three, two, one and rest. So just a reminder for
the last exercise, the push ups. So you start on the floor, from the side angle,
again hands either side of your shoulders, off the toes, push yourself up, engage the
glutes and the muscles in your tummy area - and as I said, if it's too difficult, go off
the knees instead. Okay so that's our 10-second warning.
So just from this angle - okay three, two, one, and up!
Again, from the side angle. About 20 seconds left. Down, keep those glutes
squeezed together - the muscles in your bottom - try and get down
so your chest is almost on the ground. If it does get more difficult, go off the
knees. Right so three, two, one, and rest. Right well done guys! That's one circuit
done. So we've got another 25 seconds to go and then we repeat it again. As I said,
imperative you get the water on board. I don't know if like myself you fancy doing it in the
garden. Right, 10 seconds left...
Alright so back into the squats. Three, two, one and down.
Okay squeeze the glutes up, come up through the heels. If you do fancy
making it a spot more difficult, you can add a jump. So as you drive through the heels,
jump up, and down. Ten seconds left! Eight, seven, six, five... and rest. Next
one is burpees. 20 seconds. Keep with me guys. If you do feel like you need a little bit
longer, you can take a little bit longer than the 30 seconds rest. Certainly if you are doing it in the
heat, it is going to increase your core temperature a little bit quicker. Okay, so
three, two, one... hands down, legs back, down and jump.
That's the last round, we're really going to push it now, really try and get that heart rate
up. Again, from the side angle. 10 second warning... last one...
And another one, sneak it in! And rest. Three
exercises left guys, come on!
So back down into the mountain climbers.
Ten seconds left. So get back down into position now, holding that high
plank, and you really drive the knees for this one. And go! That's it, really drive
those knees up!
From the side angle.
That's it, keep going, 10 second warning... keep pushing, you're almost there!
Again 30 seconds rest. Last two exercises guys, come on! 15 seconds so
halfway through the rest period. Again high knees - give it our all on this one! And
three, two, one and go!
Keep driving those knees up! Upright posture.
Keep pushing, keep going! That was our ten second warning.
And stop. Right so last 30 second rest period. Down into the
push up position again. As I was saying, if you want to make it easier, go from the
knees. I might have to join you on that one! 10 seconds left.
Okay so get down into position now, we'll count you down - so three, two, one and go!
That's it! Try and maintain good technique if you can, certainly if you're doing it this way.
Again, side angle - keep the glutes engaged, good for
the bottom, and the core. That's our 10 second warning. On to my knees for this last bit.
Last few seconds. Well done guys, that's it, that's it completed! As we've been exercising at
such high intensity, we're gonna see that those waste products are going to start to build
up in our muscles. It's going to be imperative that we try and get the blood
flowing through the muscles again, to help to flush those out. And that can
just be done through some gentle running on the spot, okay. We'll try and couple
that with some static stretching as well. You can do that in your own
time, just going to stretch out the muscles that we've used. So bearing in mind
it's a full body workout, I recommend you try and hold each stretch for 30 seconds.
And do that for at least a few minutes. But whilst you're doing this, I'm
going to leave it there. Thank you very much for joining me again, hope you found it beneficial and I
hope you enjoy the rest of your day. Thank you!today. What we're gonna be performing is five bodyweight exercises and they're going to
be utilising all of the major muscle groups. When we're performing the
exercises, we're going to be working for 30 seconds, we're going to be resting for 30
seconds and we're going to perform the exercises two times over. So it's going to
be a 10-minute workout. Now before we get started, it's imperative that we perform
a warm-up. I'm already warmed up, but I'm just going
to demonstrate a few small exercises that you can perform, just to make sure you're
ready for the exercise. You only have to do these for two to three minutes. So it could
just be something simple as running on the spot. Could just be some star jumps.
Could also do some very quick squats, which we'll actually be doing later on today, or
even just some simple lunges. So the first exercise we'll start off with is
the body squat. So with this one you can have your feet either hip-width apart or
slightly wider. You can even have your arms out in front of you or across your chest.
And what we want to do - I'll just do it from the side - but you want to make sure your
heels are flat on the ground throughout the movement. So rather than just go straight down into
that we want to pretend we're about to take a seat - so our hips are
immediately going to come out behind us. From there you want to ease yourself
down, as low as you're comfortable with, but ideally want to make sure that your
thighs are parallel to the floor. Keep your head up and just drive up through
the heels, squeeze the glutes together at the top as
well. Ease yourself down and then push up through the heels. So we're going to
start off with the squats. So it's going to be in three, two, one...
So arms out in front, ease yourself down, driving up through those heels okay, and
do this for 30 seconds.
From the side angle - again, hips out behind you. Try to get your thighs parallel to
the floor if you can. If you can't go as low as that that's
perfectly fine. Just remember to squeeze those glutes at the top. So not long
left - three, two, one... and rest. Okay so we've got thirty seconds rest now. Next one's going
to be the burpees. Just a reminder on the technique - arms down, legs back, legs
forward, and jump. If you want to make it more difficult immediately - hands down,
legs back, down into a push-up, and up. So ten seconds left.
Three, two, one... and go!
And again, for the more difficult one - down, up, and jump. Down, up and jump.
From the side angle...
Okay not long left... one second, and rest. Right so the next one
again is the mountain climbers. You're going to be on the floor for this one again.
It's always a good opportunity in these rest periods to take on a bit of water as
well. Okay so ten seconds left...
Right three, two, one... and start driving those knees. Keeping the
back nice and straight. We'll be working the abdominal region here.
Certainly gonna be working your upper body, having to hold your body weight up as
well. Again from the side angle - driving those knees. Okay that's it, keep
going. So this last few now... thirty seconds rest. The next exercise
is going to be running on the spot - so again, just to reiterate, nice upright
posture. Driving the knees up and using our arms to do that as well.
So you've got fifteen seconds left.
Doing really well guys! Ten seconds...
Alright not too long... four, three, two, one and go!
Really try and drive those knees up there. That's it! Really drive those
knees up. Pumping those arms! From the side angle - keep going, try and
keep those knees driving upwards! Okay keep going... ten seconds left...
keep going... last little bit... three, two, one and rest. So just a reminder for
the last exercise, the push ups. So you start on the floor, from the side angle,
again hands either side of your shoulders, off the toes, push yourself up, engage the
glutes and the muscles in your tummy area - and as I said, if it's too difficult, go off
the knees instead. Okay so that's our 10-second warning.
So just from this angle - okay three, two, one, and up!
Again, from the side angle. About 20 seconds left. Down, keep those glutes
squeezed together - the muscles in your bottom - try and get down
so your chest is almost on the ground. If it does get more difficult, go off the
knees. Right so three, two, one, and rest. Right well done guys! That's one circuit
done. So we've got another 25 seconds to go and then we repeat it again. As I said,
imperative you get the water on board. I don't know if like myself you fancy doing it in the
garden. Right, 10 seconds left...
Alright so back into the squats. Three, two, one and down.
Okay squeeze the glutes up, come up through the heels. If you do fancy
making it a spot more difficult, you can add a jump. So as you drive through the heels,
jump up, and down. Ten seconds left! Eight, seven, six, five... and rest. Next
one is burpees. 20 seconds. Keep with me guys. If you do feel like you need a little bit
longer, you can take a little bit longer than the 30 seconds rest. Certainly if you are doing it in the
heat, it is going to increase your core temperature a little bit quicker. Okay, so
three, two, one... hands down, legs back, down and jump.
That's the last round, we're really going to push it now, really try and get that heart rate
up. Again, from the side angle. 10 second warning... last one...
And another one, sneak it in! And rest. Three
exercises left guys, come on!
So back down into the mountain climbers.
Ten seconds left. So get back down into position now, holding that high
plank, and you really drive the knees for this one. And go! That's it, really drive
those knees up!
From the side angle.
That's it, keep going, 10 second warning... keep pushing, you're almost there!
Again 30 seconds rest. Last two exercises guys, come on! 15 seconds so
halfway through the rest period. Again high knees - give it our all on this one! And
three, two, one and go!
Keep driving those knees up! Upright posture.
Keep pushing, keep going! That was our ten second warning.
And stop. Right so last 30 second rest period. Down into the
push up position again. As I was saying, if you want to make it easier, go from the
knees. I might have to join you on that one! 10 seconds left.
Okay so get down into position now, we'll count you down - so three, two, one and go!
That's it! Try and maintain good technique if you can, certainly if you're doing it this way.
Again, side angle - keep the glutes engaged, good for
the bottom, and the core. That's our 10 second warning. On to my knees for this last bit.
Last few seconds. Well done guys, that's it, that's it completed! As we've been exercising at
such high intensity, we're gonna see that those waste products are going to start to build
up in our muscles. It's going to be imperative that we try and get the blood
flowing through the muscles again, to help to flush those out. And that can
just be done through some gentle running on the spot, okay. We'll try and couple
that with some static stretching as well. You can do that in your own
time, just going to stretch out the muscles that we've used. So bearing in mind
it's a full body workout, I recommend you try and hold each stretch for 30 seconds.
And do that for at least a few minutes. But whilst you're doing this, I'm
going to leave it there. Thank you very much for joining me again, hope you found it beneficial and I
hope you enjoy the rest of your day. Thank you!
Are you interested in learning more about your health? Discover more about our range of health assessments.
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Sources Sources
- Atakan M, Li Y, Kosar S, et al. Evidence-Based Effects of High-Intensity Interval Training on Exercise Capacity and Health: A Review with Historical Perspective. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(13): 7201. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18137201
- Lindsay N, Ezer A, Gronemus S et al. Speed- and Circuit-Based High-Intensity Interval Training on Recovery Oxygen Consumption. Int J Exerc Sci. 2017; 10(7): 942–953
- Amuri A, Sanz J, Capatti E et al. Effectiveness of high-intensity interval training for weight loss in adults with obesity: a randomised controlled non-inferiority trial. BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med. 2021; 7(3): e001021. doi: 10.1136/bmjsem-2020-001021
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