Fast & Fun Full-Body HIIT Routine

For those of us pressed for time, HIIT can be the ideal way to squeeze a quick workout into a busy week. Short for high-intensity interval training, this efficient way of exercising continues to increase in popularity.

Although this style of exercise can be used to target specific areas of your body, it’s also an effective full-body HIIT, which we love here at 8fit. Perfect for all ages, you can customize our full-body HIIT to suit you -- for example, try adding low-impact exercises if you want to go easy on your joints. HIIT may even be more efficient than extensive, long cardio training sessions. So, let’s dive into our full-body HIIT routine that you can try at home.

One of our favorite full-body HIIT routines

Ready to sweat it out? Do two rounds of the following combo sets as fast as you can -- but remember to go as fast as you can as long as you maintain correct form. Take a 60-second break between rounds. Note down how quickly you make it through, then next round you can try to beat your score. Have fun!  

Combo A

• 4 rounds of 1 push-up + 10 mountain climbers (count one every time you draw your knee to your chest)

• 8 jack knives

• 1 bear crawl in a box formation (4x forward, 4x to the right, 4x backward, 4x to the left)

Combo B

• Sidekick + curtsey lunge (8x on each side)

• Balancing warrior (4x on each side)

• 1 bear crawl in a box formation (4x forward, 4x to the right, 4x backward, 4x to the left)

Combo C

• 4 military push-ups + 8 plank hip-dips (count one every time you dip to a side)

• 10 jump lunges (count one repetition per lunge)

After completing combo A, B and C, take a 60-second break and do them one more time! Need a helping hand? Let our coaches guide you through the exercises and get an extra dollop of motivation while you're at it.

Full-body HIIT exercises

Push-ups

If you can’t perform a standard push-up, feel free to practice them elevated with your hands placed on a wall or desk.

Directions:

1. Place your hands flat on the ground, directly under your shoulders with your feet slightly wider than hip-width apart.

2. Step your legs out straight behind you with your feet together and toes curled under.

3. Tense every muscle to form a straight line from your head through to your heels.

4. Next, lower your chest to the ground, keeping your elbows tight to your body.

5. Extend your arms, then push your body away from the ground and back to the starting position.

Mountain climbers

When doing mountain climbers, make sure you maintain perfect plank form with your heels, hips and head in aligned and shoulders positioned over your wrists.

Directions:

1. Start in plank position, with your body in a straight line from your head through your heels.

2. Keep your left foot in place as you pull your right knee in towards your left elbow.

3. Place your right foot back to the starting position and repeat the motion on your left side, pulling your left knee to your right elbow.

Jackknives

Jackknives work the core and quadriceps at the same time. Be sure to engage your abdominals as you lift.

Directions:

1. Lie on your back with legs straight and feet together. Raise your heels a few inches off the floor.

2. Extend your arms straight above your head with your biceps by your ears.

3. Raise your torso and bend your knees at 90°, positioning your knees over your hips. Execute this movement while also reaching your hands to your toes.

4. Slowly reverse the movement back to the starting position.

Bear crawl

The bear crawl recruits almost every muscle in the body – core, shoulders, back, glutes, hip flexors, and quadriceps to name a handful.

Directions:

1. Begin on your hands and knees with hands directly under your shoulders and knees under your hips.

2. Curl your toes under your feet to lift your knees a few inches off the ground, keeping your back flat and parallel to the floor.

3. Step your right hand and left foot forward, keeping your left hand and right foot in place.

4. Next, step your left hand and right foot forward, keeping your right hand and the left foot in place.

5. Take as many “steps” forward as your space will allow (in this workout, it’s four steps), then continue to the side, back and side again to complete a box formation.  

Sidekick

Get your ninja on, with the sidekick! This dynamic exercise engages your glutes, calves, quadriceps, hamstrings, and abs.

Directions:

1. Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart.

2. Shift your weight to one leg and lift the opposite knee up to hip-height.

3. Lean your torso to the opposite side of the lifted leg and kick out sideways with your heel.

4. Return to your starting position.

Curtsey Lunge

After doing a sidekick, we go right into a curtsey lunge. This reengages your glutes, hamstrings, and quadriceps – muscles that were fired up in your sidekick.

Directions:

1. You'll start immediately from the sidekick (above).

2. Step backward with one leg, bending the knee of your front leg.

3. Lower your body backward diagonally (like you're performing a curtsey) until your back knee nearly touches the floor and your front knee is directly above your ankle.

4. Drive through the heel of your front foot and push off the rear foot to return to your starting position.

Military press

This is a toughy! The military press works the shoulder muscles, triceps, upper back and, like most exercises in this workout, the core.

Directions:

1. Begin with hands and feet on the floor slightly wider than shoulder/hip-width apart, folded forward at hips, so your body forms an inverted "V” shape.

2. Bend your elbows and lower the top of head to the floor.

3. Straighten your arms to press your body back up to the starting position.

Plank hip dips

We love jazzing up our planks with bonus movements! This one helps work the abdominal muscles to the side of the torso, also known as the obliques.

Directions:

1. Place your elbows on the floor directly underneath shoulders with your forearms parallel, legs straight behind, feet together and toes curled under.

2. Tense every muscle to keep your body in a straight line from your head to knees.

3. Slowly twist and dip your right hip to the ground

4. Come back to center and then repeat the same movement with your left hip.

More HIIT with 8fit

Liked our selection of HIIT exercises? Then check out 8fit Pro for a range of fun and fast exercises that’ll have you breaking a sweat and feeling energized for whatever lies ahead of you.