What Is The Best HIIT Workout?

Published: December 29, 2018

Finding the best HIIT workout might not be what you’re expecting. As we all know, nothing is impossible with the Dubai Personal Trainers by your side. However, different body types respond differently to the same exercises and this should affect your search for the best HIIT cardio exercise there is. When you read this article, try to focus more on planning your HIIT routine, rather than looking for specific workouts to improve your game.

What are HIIT exercises and how do they work?

HIIT stands for “High-Intensity Interval training” and it is exactly that. This is a recently popularized type of cardio which improves your stamina and endurance by putting an incredible strain on your body over short periods of time.

How do they work

They force you to give maximum effort in intervals of time. So, this forces your body to work at its fullest capacity even when you’re tired and sore. This, in turn, uses up all of your hidden power supplies. This is why HIIT workouts are popular with martial arts and fighting sports such as boxing or MMA. If you like sports like these, you can ask our boxing personal trainers in Dubai to introduce HIIT exercises to your training regime.

The flip side

Unfortunately, even in the year 2019, we’re not close to finding the perfect exercise – the one that will help you gain muscles, lose weight and is perfectly safe! So, there is a bad side to HIIT. Unsurprisingly, working out like this is very demanding of your body. So, if you have bad joints, sensitive blood vessels or a history of heart conditions you should avoid HIIT workouts. The High-Intensity part is real and it can cause serious problems for those not used to it, so you can try to reduce the intensity of the workouts in the routine. Finally, if you’re an elderly person or you’re looking to stay safe during exercising, you’ll want to avoid HIIT cardio altogether.

The best exercises

When doing a HIIT cardio program, the exercises themselves aren’t as important as your workout plan. So, the individual exercises can vary to your preferences, but you’ll need to stick with a high-intensity routine. What does this mean?

• exercise swap -changing workouts is basically the trademark of HIIT cardio. So, make sure you cycle through as many exercises as you’re able.
• short rests – don’t rest a long time between sets. This will allow your body to cool down, and you don’t want that when you’re doing HIIT!
• maximum effort! – you know what they say “no pain, no gain”. If you don’t give it your maximum, HIIT workouts won’t give good results. Unlike most workouts where you need to preserve your strength and distribute it carefully, a HIIT workout will require 100% from you, all the time!

Exercise suggestions

Even though we suggest that you make your HIIT workouts as diverse as possible, there are some exercises which are just too good to avoid notice! They target the most important parts of your body as well as raising your heart rate, which makes them perfect for any HIIT workout!

• burpees – the mighty burpee is one of the best exercises to use in any workout. Popularized by the US Marines Corp, this exercise not only improves your endurance but also your muscles.
• squats – jumping squats, half squats, wall squats – take your pick! Getting your legs involved is a great idea as they carry the entire weight of your body. This means they get to work twice as hard.
• plank – planking is good for obtaining balance and coordination. However, with HIIT exercises, you should make your plank as active as possible. Do plank jacks, plank rows or any other plank movement you know. It’s important to keep your body constantly in motion when you’re doing HIIT.

How to plan your HIIT workout

Since HIIT workout is mainly a cardio workout, you can combine it with any training program. However, HIIT cardio is the most common in sports that require a lot of endurance in tough situations. That’s why many people implement it in Cross-fit workouts, preparations for fighting sports and martial arts as well as basketball. So, when you’re planning your HIIT workout, you’ll need to know why you’ll need it. If you’re looking only to lose weight, there are much easier ways to achieve it.

HIIT cardio provides a combination of explosiveness and endurance you’ll need in specific situations. So, plan your workout accordingly. If you’re not certain, don’t try to make a HIIT program by yourself. Instead, look for a personal trainer in Dubai to help you make the perfect plan suited to your fitness level and your body type. Remember to plan your exercises by time, not by the number of repetitions. This is crucial cause it will force you to do as many repetitions as possible in the limited time you have.

How often should you do it?

Because of the nature of the HIIT workout, you shouldn’t overdo it unless you’re preparing for a competition or you’re really confident in your fitness. However, even in these cases, you should be careful! The workout has “High-Intensity” right there in the name, so don’t take it lightly. Additionally, you can ask our ZUMBA trainers in Dubai to make a few combinations of your regular workouts and HIIT. Remember, it’s important to do all of the HIIT circuits, so pace yourself and don’t take it lightly. Jumping in place for 30 seconds is super easy when you do it for the first time, but it’s unbelievably tiring when you have to do it for the third time after completing two full circuits. Keep your safety in mind first, but don’t give up!