When it comes to getting in shape, burning calories and building a leaner more muscular body, nothing beats High-intensity interval training (so-called HIIT workouts).

High intensity interval workouts done either with bodyweight or extra resistance in circuits will leave you with a training system that is the best for burning the maximal amount of calories in a minimal amount of time, while improving your cardio like nothing else.

What Is High-Intensity Interval Training?

High-intensity interval training - or HIIT - is a training method where you combine short circuits of work with brief recovery segments. This sort of methodology can be applied to either various forms of conditioning or to joining together traditional exercises into groups to comprise a circuit.

There is a lot of research now that when it comes to cardiac health, HIIT training is superior to traditional moderate intensity continuous training - the sort of "steady state" cardio that most people still do in the gym - hours upon hours on treadmills, stairmasters and the like. (See: high-intensity interval training (HIIT) appears to be more effective than moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT) in improving cardiorespiratory fitness: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29416382)

But we are not just talking about cardio here, we are talking about getting in both a full-body resistance workout and also your cardio, or energy systems training, all in one HIIT Workout.

How is that for efficiency? A big part of why this type of training is becoming so popular, besides the research, is that these workouts can be done in as little as 30 minutes, three times a week.

Why is HIIT Training So Efficient?

The beauty of this training is that by combining compound movements that work major muscle groups into circuits, with very little rest in between, you come close to working your so-called "VO2 max".

What VO2 max comes down to basically is a metric of the maximum amount of oxygen your body is capable of using under stress - and this is the main determinant in your endurance fitness levels. (See: The impact of high-intensity interval training versus moderate-intensity continuous training on vascular function: a systematic review and meta-analysis: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25771785 )

In a typical HIIT hybrid workout we could see something like circuits of 3 to 6 different exercises clumped together for either a set number of reps (typically higher reps) or each exercise done for a fixed period of time. Again, this can also be applied to things like running sprints.

A team of researchers found that running 4 to 6 30-second sprints burns more fat than 60 minutes of incline treadmill walking!

HIIT interval training is also a superior metabolic booster! The American College of Sports and Medicine found that with HIIT you use up more oxygen than a standard workout training routine. This extra oxygen expenditure boosts your metabolic rate, post-workout, from about 90 minutes to 144 minutes after an HIIT training session (vs a traditional workout). So, the end result is that you will burn more calories at a faster rate.

The Benefits of HIIT Training:

• Efficiency. Get the most done in the least amount of time.
• Build muscle while burning calories like mad.
• Work every muscle in the body with resistance training while improving your cardio.
• Builds endurance, both cardiovascular and "strength endurance".
• Boosts your metabolism
• Practical - you can do these workouts anywhere. Great for those who don't have access to the gym or need a change of training environment.
• Effective and challenging workouts, which allow for a lot of flexibility based on your needs and goals.

30 Minute Full Body HIIT Workout

This is a brutally effective, efficient HIIT Workout that covers both strength and conditioning in just 30 minutes! Do this 3 times a week, and I'll bet you will be surprised at the results.

The workout consists of three circuits of four exercises. Each exercise is performed for a duration of a full 60 seconds, with just 15 seconds rest between each exercise until all of the four exercises are done.

Then you rest for 60 seconds and repeat the circuit in this fashion until the entire circuit is done three times. (Doing all four exercises is one circuit completed, and we are going to do each circuit like this three times before moving on to the second circuit)

Then move on to the next circuit and do that just like the first one until it has been completed three times.

Cluster One:

(60 seconds of each with 15 seconds rest in between; 5 mins per cluster-total 10 mins. Repeat three times!)

Dumbbell Squat To Press

Alternating Dumbbell Single-Leg Deadlift

Spiderman Pushups

Mountain Climbers

Cluster Two:

(60 seconds of each with 15 seconds rest in between; 5 mins per cluster-total 10 mins. Repeat three times!)

Squat to Front Dumbbell Raise

Dumbbell Renegade Row (aka "Plank Row")

Dumbbell Reverse Lunge to Bicep Curl

Pushups AMRAP ("AMRAP", or as many reps as possible)

The Exercises

Below are some videos to show you the proper form and exercise descriptions. All of these movements done in one full-body HIIT interval workout like this will leave your whole body spent!

Dumbbell Squat To Press

A great full-body compound, the dumbbell squat to press has also been called a "thruster". Great for building full-body strength and conditioning and one of those exercises you can do anywhere with minimal equipment.

Alternating Dumbbell Single-Leg Deadlift

Every workout should include a hip hinge. The one type of hip hinge that we don't however see enough people doing is a single-leg deadlift, aka "single-leg Romanian deadlift" or "SSDL". It is a safer option for the vast majority of the population and will teach you how to properly hip hinge and not lift with your back.

Spiderman Pushups

I absolutely love Spiderman pushups! A pushup can be thought of as a sort of dynamic plank, combining the best of a plank and upper body push. With Spiderman pushups, you get that plus the hip mobility benefits of a crawl as well.

Mountain Climbers

A great conditioning exercise, mountain climbers work many major muscles in the body at once: deltoids, biceps, triceps, chest, abdominals, hip flexors and abductors and hamstrings.

Squat to Front Dumbbell Raise

Some squat variations are difficult for some people because of the balance needed near the bottom of the movement.

The Squat to Front Dumbbell Raise variation makes you pause at the bottom and do a front raise, which makes you hangout in the bottom of the position, which will help with that. You will find that this also is a very effective builder for the anterior deltoid!

Dumbbell Renegade Row

If you have never done this before and are used to doing one-arm dumbbell rows with heavy dumbbells, it is easy to dismiss this exercise as not being as good as what you are doing. Nothing could be further from the truth however.

I really believe this is one of the best movements, likely maybe one of the top three core exercises and can scorch your whole body. (read more about this must-add movement at T Nation: https://www.t-nation.com/training/the-ultimate-guide-to-the-renegade-row)

Dumbbell Reverse Lunge to Bicep Curl

This sort of movement is perfect for our purposes in our HIIT Workout, as it is really two exercises in one. This makes it more difficult, burns more calories and works more muscles. It is a fun variation to perform too.

The Perfect Pushup

I can recall the days when I was in basic training in the military when I was younger. They made us to tons of pushups, more than any other exercise. We literally did them thoughout the day, daily. And I saw the effect that they had in all of our physiques in a mere 10 weeks of boot camp.

The push-up is a total full-body movement that is incomparable for increasing strength and engaging the core and lower body more than any bench press. Recent research shows there is a negligible difference between bench press and push-ups: Bench Press and Push-up at Comparable Levels of Muscle Activity Results in Similar Strength Gains

30 Minute Full Body HIIT Interval Workout