If you want to stay active no matter what, shorter workouts can be key to staying consistent. Not everyone has the time (or energy!) to do long workouts every day, but even a 10 minute workout can be enough to get the benefits of exercise and work towards your weekly exercise requirements.
HIIT (high intensity interval training) is a workout format that is particularly effective when you only have a short amount of time to train – in fact, it’s recommended to keep HIIT workouts under 30 minutes. With that in mind, we’ve asked PureGym Leicester Walnut Street based Personal Trainer Sunny Deo to share some of his favourite 30 minute HIIT workouts.
We’ve talked more about the benefits of HIIT here, and shared plenty of HIIT workouts to try here.
Jump straight to the workouts:
ARE 30 MINUTE WORKOUTS EFFECTIVE?
Many people believe that a workout has to be at least an hour to be effective, but this isn’t true. Any exercise can have physical and psychological benefits, and 30 minutes is more than enough time to get the health benefits of exercise.
This is especially true with HIIT workouts. Pairing periods of high intensity exercise with periods of rest or low intensity recovery exercise, HIIT workouts have been shown to have similar improvements to fitness as longer workouts. It’s also very effective at burning calories.
CAN I DO 30 MINUTE HIIT WORKOUTS EVERY DAY?
Although HIIT workouts are an effective way to work out, it’s not recommended to do HIIT every day. HIIT is a high stress form of exercise and continually placing this stress on the body without rest can take its toll on hormones, mental health, and even joints.
We’d recommend doing HIIT on the days you are short on time, but pairing this with longer more steady state forms of cardio (like jogging) as well as strength training and stretching for a well rounded routine. Try to include at least one est day each week too – you can read about the importance of rest days here.
HOW MANY CALORIES BURNT IN 30 MINUTE HIIT WORKOUT?
The number of calories burnt in a 30 minute HIIT workout varies depending on multiple factors including weight, how much time is spent resting, what exercises are being done, and what intensity they are being done at. However, it’s estimated a 30 minute HIIT workout can burn 200-500 calories.
30 MINUTE HIIT WORKOUTS TO TRY
Ready to incorporate some HIIT workouts into your weekly routine? Give one (or all) of the below a try. Make sure to start with a short warm up – 5 minutes on the treadmill if you’re at the gym, or some dynamic exercises like jumping jacks, bodyweight lunges, and skipping if you’re at home, will do. End with a short cool down and some stretches.
30 MINUTE HIIT WORKOUT WITH WEIGHTS
This is a full body 30 minute dumbbell HIIT workout that can be done at the gym or at home. While HIIT isn’t as effective at building muscle as traditional weight training, strength based HIIT workouts can be a great way to work strength, power and endurance when you’re low on time.
Perform one set of each exercise immediately after another, then take a 1 minute rest. Repeat this circuit three times.
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Dumbbell shoulder press – 10 reps
- Stand tall with feet shoulder width apart, core engaged, with a dumbbell in front of each shoulder.
- Push the dumbbells up towards the ceiling until your arms are fully extended.
- Pause before slowly lowering the dumbbells back to your shoulders.
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Dumbbell squats – 15 reps
- Stand with feet hip width apart, feet slightly turned out, holding one or two dumbbells in front of your chest.
- Brace your core and sink your hips down while simultaneously bending the knees, until your thighs are parallel with the floor.
- Pause here before pushing through your heels and straightening your legs to get back to standing.
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Bent over row – 12 reps
- Holding a dumbbell in each hand, hinge forward at the hips and allow your arms to hang down.
- Brace your core and row both dumbbells towards your sides by pulling your elbows back towards the ceiling, stopping when your triceps are parallel with the floor.
- Slowly return the dumbbells to the starting position.
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Floor press – 10 reps
- Lie on your back with feet flat on the floor and knees bent, holding a dumbbell in each hand by your chest.
- Extend your arms and push the dumbbells towards the ceiling until they are above your chest.
- Slowly bend your elbows to bring the dumbbells back, stopping when your triceps touch the floor.
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Reverse lunges – 8 reps each side
- Start with feet hip width apart, holding a dumbbell in front of your chest.
- Brace your core and take a step back with one leg.
- Bend both legs simultaneously, stopping when each knee is at a 90 degree angle.
- Pause then push through your foot to straighten the front leg. At the same time, step the back foot forward until you are in the starting position.
- Repeat on the other side.
30 MINUTE HIIT BODYWEIGHT WORKOUT
This 30 minute cardio HIIT workout can be done at home with no equipment and will improve your cardio fitness and burn calories.
Perform all three rounds of each exercise, then move onto the next exercise. Take a 30 second rest between each exercise.
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Burpees – 30 seconds work, 30 seconds rest
- Stand tall, feet hip width apart.
- Squat down to place your hands on the floor in front of your feet, then jump both feet back into a plank.
- Lower your chest to the floor by bending your elbows, then push back up to a plank position.
- Jump both feet forward to your hands.
- Straighten both legs and swing both arms to jump up off the floor and land standing.
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High knees – 45 seconds work, 30 seconds rest
- Start with feet hip width apart, hands by your side.
- Bring one knee up towards your chest as high as you can.
- As you place the foot back down, repeat on the other side so there’s a moment where both feet are in the air.
- Continue to alternate at high speed.
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Star jumps – 45 seconds work, 15 seconds rest
- Start with feet together and arms by your side.
- Jump both feet out to the side while lifting both arms up so that your hands meet above your head.
- Jump both feet together and bring both arms down.
- Continue to repeat at speed.
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Mountain climbers – 30 seconds work, 30 seconds rest
- Begin in a high plank position, hands stacked under shoulders and body in a straight line from head to heels.
- Quickly pull one knee towards your chest.
- As you return your foot to the floor, repeat on the other side so that both feet are temporarily off the floor at the same time.
- Continue to alternate.
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Jump rope – 45 seconds work, 15 seconds rest
- Stand tall with feet together, holding one end of a skipping rope in each hand with the bottom of the rope behind your heels.
- Keeping your elbows close to your body, flick your wrists to spin the rope in front of your body.
- As the rope moves in front of you, jump off both feet to allow it to pass underneath.
- If you don’t have a rope, you can perform this movement without.
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Plank jacks – 30 seconds work, 30 seconds rest
- Start in a high plank position, wrists stacked in line with elbows and shoulders and body making a straight line from your head to your feet.
- Push through your hands to take more weight and jump both feet out into a V shape, then jump both feet back together.
- Continue to alternate.
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Squat jumps – 30 seconds work, 30 seconds rest
- Start with feet shoulder width apart, hands by your sides.
- Push your hips back and bend at the knees to squat down. At the same time, swing both arms behind you.
- Once your thighs are parallel with the floor, swing both arms forward and push off both feet while extending the legs to jump into the air.
- As you land, bend your knees to end up in a squat.
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Side step toe touch – 30 seconds work, 15 seconds rest
- Stand tall with feet hip width apart, core engaged.
- Step one foot out to the side and bend the knee.
- Hinge forward at the hips and touch the toe of your bent leg with the opposite hand.
- Push through both legs up to standing and repeat on the other side.
30 MINUTE CARDIO HIIT WORKOUT FOR THE GYM
This gym based cardio workout combines some steady state cardio with HIIT for a challenging full body workout.
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Steady jog on treadmill (6/10 effort) – 10 minutes
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HIIT circuit – 3 rounds of each exercise
- Cycling – 90 seconds steady cycling, 30 seconds as fast as possible
- Sled push – 30 seconds rest, 15 seconds pushing as fast as possible
- Sprints – 30 seconds rest, 15 seconds as fast as possible
- Rowing machine – 30 seconds steady, 45 seconds as fast as possible
- Box jumps – 30 seconds box jumps, 30 seconds rest
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Stairmaster (8/10 effort) – 10 minutes
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Cross trainer HIIT – 3 rounds
- 90 seconds steady, 45 seconds as fast as possible
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