Many individuals want to indicate as much as the gym, exercise simply enough to realize their results, and get out ASAP to return to “the actual world.” Sure, there are some who use the gym as a meditative space and nearly reach a Zen state after a number of dozen sets of moving iron, but that’s not the bulk.

Fast and efficient training is crucial for getting results with relatively short workouts, and HIIT workouts are one effective approach to get there. High intensity interval training, or HIIT, is a training technique that repeats alternating periods of difficult exercise with periods of recovery throughout a training session.

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HIIT might be applied to any variety of workout methods, from barbell training to treadmill workouts. To crank up the efficiency to the utmost, here is an in depth routine to coach your entire body with a single HIIT workout.

Full-Body HIIT Workout

The Total Body Dumbbell HIIT Workout

This total-body workout requires a pair of dumbbells at an appropriate weight and a few clear floor space. That’s it. With this minimal setup, you’ll be able to perform the workout at home, outdoors, in a crowded industrial gym, at probably the most barebones hotel gym when traveling, or anywhere you would like a fast and effective workout.

Since you’re training your entire body, perform the workout one to thrice per week depending in your overall training plan. You may program the workout as a cardiovascular conditioning session or, when you pair it with a well-designed nutrition plan, it may possibly fit right right into a fat loss routine.

HIIT workouts are typically defined by intense training phases interspersed with periods of rest. This workout satisfies that approach by working your upper and lower body with supersets (the extreme phase) and capping off the paired exercises with a loaded carry (the “recovery”). Repeat the primary three-exercise series for 3 to 4 total sets before moving to the second three-exercise series.

If needed, rest up to 3 minutes between each series, but aim to finish the total workout without significant rest.

Dumbbell Deadlift

The deadlift is a high-impact, bang to your buck exercise. Switching from a barbell to dumbbells trades maximum weight for barely more muscle recruitment and longer range of motion, which may yield higher overall results from a conditioning and muscle-building perspective.

The weights will likely not challenge your grip strength significantly, so deal with strict form throughout the set. Don’t allow the circuit format to trick you into rushing through a partial range of motion.

• The right way to Do it: Stand upright holding a pair of dumbbells at your side. Take a hip-width stance and barely bend your legs. Maintain a neutral spine and shift your hips back. Lower the weights toward your toes by bending your legs and driving your hips and glutes toward the wall behind you. Once you feel a maximum stretch in your hamstrings, push your hips forward until you come back upright.
• Sets and Reps: 3-4 x 10-12
• Rest Time: No rest before moving to the subsequent exercise

Advantages of the Dumbbell Deadlift

• The dumbbell deadlift primarily works your glutes and hamstrings with assistance out of your upper and lower back.
• The exercise allows a comparatively longer range of motion in comparison with a barbell deadlift, which may increase overall muscle activation.

Hammer Curl and Press

It is a dumbbell variation of a clean and press, which works the vast majority of muscles in your upper body. The usual clean and press uses explosive lower body movement to initiate the exercise, however the hammer curl and press maintains deal with your upper body — specifically your shoulders, upper back, and arms.

The thumbs-up, hammer curl position puts your arms in a mechanically strong pulling position (in comparison with a conventional palm-up curl) while also recruiting your brachialis for increased overall arm size.

• The right way to Do it: Rise up holding a pair of dumbbells at your sides. Keep your core tight and don’t use your torso to swing the weights up. Perform a strong hammer curl, keeping your elbows pinned to your sides while driving your thumbs toward your shoulders. Because the weights approach the highest position, easily transition into an overhead press. After locking the weights overhead, reverse your complete process to bring the weights all the way down to your sides.
• Sets and Reps: 3-4 x 10-12
• Rest Time: No rest before moving to the subsequent exercise

Advantages of the Hammer Curl and Press

• The hammer curl and press efficiently trains your biceps, shoulders, triceps, upper back, and core in a single movement.
• The movement might be performed with strict form for optimum upper body muscle activation. Lower body involvement (“leg drive”) might be added as a deliberate technique to extend training volume after fatigue begins to set in, much like performing forced reps.

Rack Walk

The rack walk is a farmer’s carry variation that supports the load together with your arms bent and the load at shoulder-level. This shifts your center of gravity, making the exercise far more demanding in your core than your grip.

Unlike a conventional farmer’s walk together with your arms by your side, your grip strength is almost a non-issue with the exercise because your hands and forearms aren’t supporting the load. Your upper back, shoulders, abdominals, and lower back are the first stabilizers.

• The right way to Do it: After the ultimate repetition of the hammer curl and press, lower the load to shoulder-height but don’t “curl” the load all the way down to your sides. Keep your palms facing in toward one another and let the thumb-side of the dumbbell rest on the front of your shoulder — not the highest of your shoulder near your neck. Keep your elbows aimed forward or barely up and walk with cautious, deliberate steps. Keep your core tight and your shoulder blades pinched together. When the set is accomplished, rigorously bring the dumbbells to the ground and rest.
• Sets and Reps: 3-4 x 100 total steps or roughly one minute
• Rest Time: Rest 60 seconds before repeating the primary exercise.

Advantages of the Rack Walk

• This loaded carry variation emphasizes core strength and stability, while many other loaded carries might be limited by your grip strength.
• The rack walk, and other loaded carries, allows lifters to perform high-intensity cardiovascular exercise while moving at a comparatively lower speed (without running). This could profit those with pre-existing knee or ankle problems and people with general mobility issues.

Reverse Lunge

The reverse lunge is a unilateral (single-leg) exercise which helps to deal with the sorts of strength and muscular discrepancies that naturally occur in most individuals. Many lifters overfocus on bilateral (two-leg) movements, but the easy addition of a lunge can significantly improve overall results.

By stepping backward, your front leg — the one doing the vast majority of the work — is kept in a comparatively stable position. This helps to diminish knee strain, making the exercise a perfect selection for anyone with lower body aches and pains.

• The right way to Do it: Rise up straight with the dumbbells down at your sides. Take a longer-than-usual step backward together with your right leg, landing on the ball of your foot. Keep your torso mostly vertical as you step. Bend your left leg to descend, keeping the vast majority of your body weight distributed in your left foot. Once you reach a cushty depth, possibly together with your right knee grazing the ground, drive through your left foot and produce your right leg forward to the starting position. Repeat with the other leg. One step with each leg is taken into account “one rep.”
• Sets and Reps: 3-4 x 10-12 reps per leg
• Rest Time: No rest before moving to the subsequent exercise

Advantages of the Reverse Lunge

• Unilateral leg exercises just like the reverse lunge may carryover to improved strength, stability, and athleticism. (1)
• The reverse lunge may also help to deal with potential strength discrepancies, which can help to cut back the danger of injury.

Renegade Row

The renegade row just could be some of the efficient ways to construct high-level strength in your entire upper body. It combines the dynamic core-stability advantages of a plank with the back and shoulder muscle-building advantages of a dumbbell row, using no equipment beyond some easy dumbbells.

This exercise may even be performed with none weights. You’ll lose almost the entire back and shoulder-building advantages, but you’ll still have an intense plank variation to work your abs, obliques, lower back, and hips. A more advanced variation adds a push-up after each dumbbell row.

• The right way to Do it: Assume a push-up position on the ground holding a dumbbell in each hand together with your palms facing one another. Drive through your arms to press the weights into the bottom for added stability. Support yourself in your toes together with your legs straight. Maintain a neutral spine, not allowing your hips to dip toward the bottom or pitch as much as the ceiling. Drive your left elbow up, pulling the load toward the surface of your ribs. Pause briefly before lowering the load. Re-stabilize your body before repeating with the other side.
• Sets and Reps: 3-4 x 10-12 reps per arm
• Rest Time: No rest before moving to the subsequent exercise

Advantages of the Renegade Row

• The renegade row builds core strength and stability, much like a complicated plank.
• The exercise builds “functional” total-body strength by actively pulling with one side of the body while coordinating stability with the opposing side.

Suitcase Carry

The suitcase carry is basically a one-arm farmer’s walk. It yields the head-to-toe strength and conditioning advantages of the classic farmer’s walk while overloading your core stabilizers by offsetting the load to at least one side of your body.

When performing the suitcase carry, aim to walk with a comparatively smooth stride. Try to not let the load lurch you off-course with each step. Control the load and maintain your posture for optimum profit.

• The right way to Do it: Stand with a dumbbell in a single hand, at your side. Keep your arm straight and your shoulders pulled back. Maintain a vertical torso — don’t allow the load to drag you to at least one side and don’t overcompensate by leaning excessively away from the load. Walk with regular, deliberate steps. After you’ve reached the predetermined distance, switch hands and repeat. The set isn’t considered complete until you’ve walked with the load on each side.
• Sets and Reps: 3-4 x 50 steps (or roughly 30 seconds) per arm
• Rest Time: Rest 60 seconds before repeating the primary exercise.

Advantages of the Suitcase Carry

• Holding a dumbbell in just one hand creates an offset load which increases recruitment of core stabilizers, specifically your oblique muscles and lower back.
• The suitcase carry will construct grip strength as a secondary profit to core stability and cardiovascular conditioning.

Muscles Trained During a Full-Body HIIT Workout

While that is technically a full-body HIIT workout, and your entire body is being stimulated throughout the session, some body parts are more directly recruited than others.

Back

The muscles across your entire back — including your lower back, upper back, and lats — shall be recruited in the course of the majority of exercises within the workout. Your back muscles will either be involved actively (for instance, in the course of the hammer curl and press and the renegade row) or as stabilizers (in the course of the dumbbell deadlift and loaded carries)

Shoulders

Your shoulder muscles are heavily involved to stabilize the load during any loaded carry. Also they are directly recruited in the course of the hammer curl and press and renegade row. Because of their relative size and strength, your shoulders may fatigue before other body parts in the course of the workout.

Adjust the load (and, if essential, the sets and reps) to accommodate the weakest link. As your body progressively adapts to the strain, your shoulder strength should significantly improve.

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Legs

Your hips, glutes, quadriceps, hamstrings, and calves will receive ample stimulation from the vast majority of exercises within the workout. The dumbbell deadlift emphasizes your glutes and hamstrings, while the reverse lunge is a really effective quadriceps exercise.

Each the rack walk and suitcase carry will work your hips and calves, as those muscle groups are highly energetic during unweighted walking. Performing any loaded carry increases the recruitment of those critical muscles even moreso. The suitcase carry, interestingly, might also increase recruitment of the glutes to supply stability while walking. (2)

Core

Your core, generally considered to incorporate your abdominals and lower back, gets a serious workout during any loaded carry. Since the renegade row could possibly be considered a dynamic variation of the plank (which is a fundamental core-training exercise), it also directly works your core.

A dedicated ab exercise isn’t included on this full-body HIIT workout since it could potentially cause excessive fatigue and interrupt performance of the first exercises. A separate ab workout could possibly be performed on a day if you’re not also performing this HIIT workout.

The right way to Warm-up for a Full-Body HIIT Workout

An intensive, if temporary, warm-up can improve performance in a weight training session. (3) These advantages are essential even when the session is conditioning-focused, fairly than a training plan designed for strength or muscle-building. Here’s an efficient approach to prepare yourself for this full-body HIIT workout without high levels of fatigue.

Run through the next series as a circuit, performing the exercises in sequence, before resting briefly. Repeat for a complete of three circuits. This efficient warm-up is completed using only your body weight.

• Squat: Take a rather wider than shoulder-width stance. Squat as deep as mobility allows — as you progress through the warm-up, your depth will likely increase. Concentrate on keeping your feet flat on the ground and your torso vertical. Perform 10 to fifteen repetitions.
• Single-Leg Toe Touch: Take a staggered stance with one foot barely in front, and to the side of, the opposite. Hinge at your hips and reach toward your front foot while keeping a neutral spine. In case your balance allows, let your rear leg barely elevate into the air. Once you feel tension at the back of your front leg, return to a standing position. Perform 5 repetitions per leg.
• Push-up: Drop right into a classic push-up position, supporting your body in your hands and toes while keeping a straight line through your trunk and legs. Set your hands barely wider than shoulder-width apart. Bend your arms to lower yourself as near the bottom as comfortable. Pause briefly before returning to the highest position. Perform 5 repetitions.
• Shoulder-Tap Plank: After your final push-up, hold the highest position. Spread your feet well-beyond shoulder-width. Brace your right arm securely by driving your right hand into the bottom. Quickly “tap” your right shoulder using your left hand before returning to the total push-up position. Repeat with the other side. Proceed alternating taps for five repetitions per side.

Head-to-Toe HIIT

HIIT workouts don’t need to incorporate high-repetition body weight exercises or high-athleticism explosive plyometrics. A HIIT session only needs you to push yourself hard before recovering enough to go just as hard in the subsequent set. This mix of full-body supersets and loaded carries matches the bill. If and if you discover an appreciation for HIIT, don’t be surprised if these efficient sessions make recurring appearances in your regular programming.

References

1. Speirs, Derrick E.1,2; Bennett, Mark A.3; Finn, Charlotte V.4; Turner, Anthony P.2. Unilateral vs. Bilateral Squat Training for Strength, Sprints, and Agility in Academy Rugby Players. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 30(2):p 386-392, February 2016. | DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000001096
2. Holmstrup, M. E., Kelley, M. A., Calhoun, K. R., & Kiess, C. L. (2018). Fat-Free Mass and the Balance Error Scoring System Predict an Appropriate Maximal Load within the Unilateral Farmer’s Walk. Sports (Basel, Switzerland), 6(4), 166. https://doi.org/10.3390/sports6040166
3. Fradkin, Andrea J1; Zazryn, Tsharni R2; Smoliga, James M3. Effects of Warming-up on Physical Performance: A Systematic Review With Meta-analysis. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 24(1):p 140-148, January 2010. | DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181c643a0

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