HIIT the gym for the right reasons

This is a great workout that literally keeps you on your toes for its specified duration. It ensures that every part of your body gets moving, and results are instantaneous.

High intensity interval training, popularly known as HIIT is a technique where you give 100 per cent towards quick and short burst of exercise movements followed by little and sometimes active rest periods. Exercising in this pattern for a few rounds burns a good amount of calories during the workout, and also keeps your metabolism high for the rest of the day. This method not only improves endurance but also builds lean muscle mass and improves your performance at functional tasks. HIIT-based workouts can be done within 12 to 18 minutes, and still reap all the benefits you are looking at from a fitness routine — all this without any dependency on equipment.

Blast Off Push Ups
Get into a raised plank with your arms in line with the shoulders, and the head to toe in one straight line. Start this movement by bending your elbows to get your chest closer to the ground and getting your hamstrings closer to the calves right after that, keep alternating between these two positions for strong arms, chest and back. Make sure you keep your elbows tucked in.

Lunge Runner
Get into a split stance with both legs at 90 degrees and place your arms into a running ready stance, feel the burn in your quadriceps, and start moving your arms as fast as possible just like you would in a sprint. Throughout this movement maintains the split stance. It will strengthen your quadriceps, help you lose fat and improve stability.

Low Rotational Chop
Get into a partial squat, extend your arms forward in front of your chest and interlock your hands. Move your arms to the extreme right followed by extreme left, maintain the squat while you do that and keep twisting your knees along with the arms. It’s going to work your obliques, get your heart rate a bit higher and build stronger legs.

Skater jump
Stand with your feet a bit wider than your shoulders, and start by jumping to your right, placing the right leg on the ground and pushing the left leg behind followed by a similar jump to the left. Keep alternating between the right and left throughout the movement. Your heart rate will shoot up increasing your metabolism. The skater jump also improves your ability to balance the body in a tough situation.

Drop Squat
Stand with your feet comfortably apart with the full extension of your hips and knees. Jump into a squat stance, placing your feet shoulder-width apart and start moving your hips back and down at the same time, lower your hips until they reach lower than the knee and jump back into a normal stance placing your feet close to each other. Keep your back straight throughout the movement, and keep it very explosive. Make sure you don’t rest during the workout time, and you will definitely lose a good amount of calories.

— The writer is a Bengaluru-based HIIT trainer