If you have searched for home workouts before, I’m sure you have run across HIIT workouts. HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training. This is a way of varying your workout’s intensity over a relatively short amount of time to increase heart rate, breathing, and workload, all key to a good workout.
My favorite type of HIIT workout is called Tabata. Tabata is simply a structure of interval training where you work out hard for 20 seconds and rest for 10 seconds for 8 rounds. This means that you only need 4 minutes to complete this workout! I do want to point out that all healthy adults aged 18–65 yr should participate in moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity for a minimum of 30 min on five days per week or vigorous-intensity aerobic activity for a minimum of 20 min on three days per week. So, if you can find five times in a day to work in a Tabata workout, that adds up to 20 minutes and can be considered a moderate-vigorous activity.
Personally, in one workout I like to rotate through four different exercises. That means I do every exercise two times per workout. Two of these exercises will be cardio-based while the other two focus on building muscle. You can get creative and add in your own exercises. Maybe you want to do all 8 rounds of just push-ups, go for it! To keep time, you can download a Tabata timer free on any app store or search for one online. You can always use a stopwatch to keep time manually. Below I have included some of my favorite Tabata sequences. Have fun moving!
Workout 1
- High Knees
- Push ups
- Jumping jacks
- Squats
Workout 2
- Mountain Climbers
- Plank
- Jump rope (you can pretend that you have a rope)
- Sit ups
Workout 3
- Skaters (pretend like you’re speed skating! Google this move if you’re unsure).
- Tricep dips (on a chair or you can try the floor)
- Squat jumps
- Arm circles
Workout 4
(If you have weights or resistance bands)
- Squats/squat jumps
- Bicep curls
- Lunges
- Rows
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