Hey ladies!!I have been up since 7:30 am this morning with the baby! After taking some time off to concentrate on my diet (ketogenetic) and workouts (half and marathon training) since November, I have been all about returning to some serious cardio and strength sessions this past month. My training plan has dedicated days for cross training but doesn’t specify which activities. So, I have been using activities like yard work, heavy housework, hiking, and yoga as my cross-training workouts.
But, I kind of miss those intense sculpting workouts. It is so soul inspiring to get in a really good, sweaty workout. If you regularly workout, you know what I am talking about. But, if you are still aiming to jump on the workout bandwagon, let me inspire you to give it a try. It will be challenging at first while your body adjusts to the activities, but I believe you’ll end up finding enjoyment in the workout and start to feel so much better about yourself and life overall. Believe me when I say, you will NEVER regret a workout.
Lately, my first and true workout love is long distance hiking and walking, but because it is important to work other muscles besides just my trail legs, I also try to change things up a bit. Since I do spend a good deal of time training, I need my cross-training workouts to be fast and effective like this 40-minute HIIT Full Body Workout.
HIIT, or high-intensity interval training, blends higher intensity cardio with strength training. You will perform several repetitions of a high-intensity cardio or strength activity followed by a short period of rest. So, in this workout you do 90 seconds of full on, as hard as you can and then rest for 30 seconds. If you are a beginner, you can sit and rest during that 30 seconds. If you’re more seasoned exerciser, you can keep moving during the rest periods with walking or jogging in place to keep your heart rate up. The entire workout is under 40 minutes total, and you BURN some serious calories.
Equipment Needed
To do this workout you will need a few pieces of equipment. First, you need a good set of hand weights. Cans of vegetables will work too if you don’t have weights. I find these hand weights to be the most comfortable and affordable.
Next, you need a step aerobics step or a curb. I received THIS ONE as a gift and love it because I can change the height and it really does take a beating.
Finally, you’ll want a HIIT timer or a kitchen timer. I found this amazing timer app called Seconds (Available for iOS and Android) and have been using it for my HIIT. Besides HIIT timers, it also has a circuit timer, Tabata timer, round timer, compound timer, and a custom timer. I just use the free version and set the number of sets to 20 and set the High Intensity (green) for 1:30 and the Low Intensity (Red) for :30. Be sure to click on Low Intensity and turn “exclude from count” ON so your rest breaks aren’t counted as part of the work.
The Workout
To do the workout, make sure you have a good deal of room all around you. I made the mistake of not giving myself enough space when doing this workout once and ended up kicking the wall. That doesn’t feel good, let me tell you.
In this workout, there are 20 exercises. Some of these exercises are completed twice so until you get the hang of this routine, keep the list of exercises close by.
- Front Kick. Step up onto the bench with your right foot. Bring your left foot up and kick your leg straight out in front of you. Step back onto the floor with your left foot and then your right. Alternate legs for stepping and kicking. Repeat until timer sounds.
- Squats. Hold weights in each hand at your side. Slowly squat down by bending your hips back while allowing your knees to bend forward. Keep your back straight and knees pointed same direction as your feet. Lower yourself until your thighs are just past parallel to the floor. Stand up and extend your knees and hips until your legs are straight. Return and repeat until timer sounds. (Example HERE)
- Back Kick. Step up onto the bench with your right foot. Bring your left foot up and kick your leg straight out behind you. Step back onto the floor with your left foot and then your right. Alternate legs for stepping and kicking. Repeat until timer sounds.
- Straight Leg Dead Lift. Hold weights in each hand at your side. With your knees straight, slowly lower your weights toward the tops of your feet by bending at your hips until you feel a slight stretch in your hamstrings. With your knees still straight, slowly lift your weights by standing upright. Repeat until timer sounds. (Example HERE)
- Left Side Kick. Turn to the side of the bench and step with your right foot. Lift your left leg straight out to your side and back bench. Step back onto the floor with your right foot. Repeat until timer sounds.
- Lunges. With or without weights, slowly lunge forward with the right leg. Land on your heel, then your forefoot. Lower your body by bending your right knee and hip until your left knee is almost touching the floor. Return to original standing position by extending your right hip and knee. Repeat by alternating lunge with left leg. Repeat until timer sounds. (Example HERE)
- Right Side Kick. Turn to the side of the bench and step with your left foot. Lift your right leg straight out to your side and back to bench. Step back onto the floor with your right foot. Repeat until timer sounds.
- Chest Press. Lie on the bench with your weights to the sides of your chest. Slowly press your weights up with your elbows to sides until your arms are extended. Lower your weights back to the sides of your chest until you feel a slight stretch in your chest or shoulder. Repeat until timer sounds. (Example HERE)
- High Knee Twist. Step up onto bench with your right foot. Bring left leg up but don’t step on the bench. Lift left knee and twist your body, touching your right elbow to your left knee. Step back with left foot, followed by the right. Step up onto bench with your left foot. Bring right leg up but don’t step on the bench. Lift right knee and twist your body, touching your left elbow to your right knee. Step back with right foot, followed by the left. Alternate stepping foot and lifting leg. Repeat until timer sounds.
- Overhead Press. Place your weights to each side of your shoulders with your elbows below wrists. Slowly press your weights upward until your arms are extended overhead. Lower weights back to the sides of your shoulders and repeat until timer sounds. (Example HERE)
- Front Kick. See above
- Lateral Raises. Hold your weights in front of your thighs with your elbows slightly bent. Bend over slightly with your hips and knees slightly bent. Raise your upper arms to your sides until your elbows are at shoulder height. Keep your elbows’ height above to your wrists. Slowly lower the weights and repeat until timer sounds. (Example HERE).
- Back Kick. See above
- Bicep Curl. Position two weights to your sides with your palms facing in and your arms straight. With your elbows to your sides, raise one weight and rotate your forearm until your forearm is vertical and your palm faces your shoulder. Lower to start position and repeat with your opposite arm. Continue to alternate between sides until timer sounds. (Example HERE)
- Left Side Kick. See above
- Triceps Extension. Lie on your bench and position your weights directly overhead with your arms extended. Slowly lower your weights by bending your elbows until they are at the sides of your head. Extend your arm. Repeat until timer sounds. (Example HERE)
- Right Side Kick. See above
- Pectoral Fly. Lie on your back on your bench. Hold your weights above your chest with your arms fixed in a slightly bent position. Rotate your shoulders so your elbows point out to your sides. Slowly lower your weights to your sides until your chest muscles are slightly stretched with your elbows slightly bent position. Bring your weights together in wide hugging motion until weights touch. Repeat until timer sounds. (Example HERE)
- High Knee Twist. See above
- Crunches. Lie on the floor with your lower legs on the seat of a chair or in the air. Place both hands behind your head. Keep your lower back on the floor and raise your torso up as high as possible. Lower yourself back to the floor until the back of your shoulders touch the floor. Repeat until timer sounds. (Example HERE).
