High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) for Women

Health is a big part of every human being. It helps you to remain well-abled throughout your life. But the busy lifestyle has often become a barrier to good health. People cannot seem to be in the right shape or form that is desired. It isn’t just related to weight. Just everything in a disproportioned way is taking a toll on our lives. Health practitioners are seeing huge cases of stress and depression.

People have also become lazy and dependent on medicines and drugs. It is high time that we move away from these unhealthy practices and rework our health clock. Women often feel the problems in their bodies at an early age. This can come in form of back problems or irregular problems.

Diseases like Thyroid problems and PCOD has become common among women. This article is a way to help women out to have a better life.

How to have a healthier life?

The main question of this age is about the right way of being healthy. They generally get the advice to do cardio or eat healthily. But none of them is an option.

To lead a healthy life, you need to have a mix of everything and they should be in the right proportions. Starting out with a healthy life is a little tough in the beginning because of the unfamiliar circumstances. Some properties of a balanced healthy life:

An adult needs to have at least 8 hours of sleep on a daily basis. This helps them to fight against fatigue, stress and diseases.
You will need to have a balanced diet that has all the important components. This includes healthy things like fruits, vegetables, proteins, healthy fats etc. It is best to limit the sugar intake as it is unhealthy for our body. We are often depended on junk and processed foods.
Drinking water is very important. You need to drink an adequate amount of water. It is recommended to drink 8 glasses of water or more a day. Cut down on the sugary drinks and juices as they are very unhealthy.
Exercise is a demon for many people. But exercise or adequate physical activities play a crucial part in retaining the health of our body. It helps in burning the extra calories that may turn into fat. It also keeps our bones and muscles healthy. So, as a woman, you do need to have a specific workout routine.
Regular doctor check-ups are another thing that we will focus on. Women are prone to several diseases and it is always a healthy choice to see the doctor. They can guide you into a healthier person. This is even more crucial for ladies who have a hectic lifestyle. Breast cancer and ovarian cancer are a big thing for women after they reach their 30’s. Studies have shown that an erratic lifestyle can also lead to such problems.

Reasons to Exercise:

As we said above exercise is an important thing that all people should perform. Doctors say that an adult should indulge in at least have 60 minutes of exercise in a day. But the sedentary lifestyle of office and college goers makes it a hard dream. But there is a tonne of reasons to exercise and here are some of them:

To have a Better Immune System:

Our immune system helps us in fighting the bad things in our body. Improper lifestyle can often wreck the immune system. But you can reset it by starting to exercise. It helps to keep the stress at bay and helps you to dodge seasonal flu.

It Maintains Weight:

Obesity is rising in the world. In such a circumstance many women do face physical and mental issues from the weight. They can definitely try a healthy regime of diet and exercise to maintain the weight. Women especially need to take care of their weight because of health-related reasons.

It helps in Keeping Diseases at bay:

The disease toll of people is rising day by day. Chronical illnesses like type 2 diabetes are rampant. You do not want to acquire it as it is deadly for the body. Another thing that bothers people is their irregular blood pressure. Daily exercise can definitely help to reduce the chances of getting these problems.

You get Good Bone from it:

Women often have a bone-related problem from their late 20’s. Many have to rely on calcium tablets to keep their bones healthy. But adequate strength training can be a boon for the bones. Exercise also adds flexibility to the body which helps in dealing with back related problems.

You grow Healthy muscles:

We need a proper amount of muscles in our body. They help us function as a human being. We do know that proper protein intake helps in muscle growth. But along with that a nice strength training regime also helps in keeping them safe and secure. This is a crucial point if you are losing weight. Many people forget that the weight loss can affect their muscle mass as well.

Opens up your airways:

Once you start exercising you will notice that you grow an ability to accommodate much more air in your lungs. You will beat the need to stop after a minute of running or going up a flight of stairs. You will enjoy exercise much more because of this.

Helps you to sleep well:

Many people these days suffer from insomnia or a general lack of sleep. Their medicine can be as simple as a 30 minutes’ walk down the road. It is much more effective than taking those prescription pills.

Aid anxiety and stress issues:

If you have an important exam or a meeting then try running before it. You will instantly feel fresh. Exercise is one of the best ways through which people can bust their anxiety or stress. The regularity also adds more confidence to them. Women have suffered from these issues for a long time.

HIIT or High-Intensity Interval Training

There are numerous forms of exercise regimes that you get to see in the fitness world. You can even opt for something fun like Zumba if it is your style. Trainers take proper training in dealing with different kinds of exercises. The HIIT or High-Intensity Interval Training has received a quite bit of praise in the recent years. Interval training has already been a favourite of athletes and fits people.

HIIT is an exercise regime where you have to perform an intense amount of exercise in a short duration of time with some intervals. The workout can last anywhere from 15-45 minutes. It is quite challenging for our body and so many people find it a fast way to activate their workout mood.

People generally use HIIT exercises to improve fat loss and metabolism of one’s body. The impact stays with for a long time even after they have stopped the exercise.

The intensity of the exercise will depend on the level of the person. It is best to start out with a low impact regime and then slowly move up towards the goal of challenging your body.

We will recommend you, women, to see a doctor before starting out with any form of HIIT routine. It is also good to hire a HIIT professional so that they are able to teach you the right ways of doing the exercise.

Things to keep in mind while performing HIIT:

A warm-up is crucial for all exercises including HIIT. So, stretch your body and warm up before starting such an intense exercise.
Do not go for the highest intensity if you are still a beginner. Start with the low impact routine and slowly build it up. Monitoring the intensity and time is key in such a routine. If it has a higher impact, then increase your rest time before you do the next set.
Do not continue with a position that gives you pain. If you feel sick from doing the routine, then do not continue with it.
It is best to perform 2 days of HIIT in a week. Do not go for more than that as it can take a toll on your bones and muscles.
Always remember to perform cool down stretches once you have finished with the workout.

HIIT is a preference for people as it takes little to no tools to perform the exercise. You can literally do it right at your home in a nice pair of shoes. People can also include it in their running or swimming routines if they feel challenging.

It breaks you into a sweat and gives you the confidence to keep up with it. The interval ratio is generally 2:1 where the break is half of the exercise time. You need to do it fast as HIIT is meant to be a fast exercise plan.

We will provide some examples of HIIT exercises you can perform to become healthy. It is best to go to a professional trainer for best results.

Benefits of a HIIT Workout:

HIIT exercises have been studied for a long time. It has been proved that they are one of the most efficient workout plans out there. Athletes use it to increase their strength. It helps in burning a lot of calories in a short duration of time. It opens up your airway so that you can take in a lot more oxygen into your system.
HIIT regimes are one of the best ways to lose weight. Along with burning extra calories it also uplifts the metabolic rate of your body. It remains in the fat burning mode for a long time. The metabolism rate growth is really nice for our body. The effect of HIIT can remain in the body for 24 hours after performing the exercise routine.
HIIT is an amazing way to increase the endurance of your body. You are challenging your body and though this it increases its ability. You can actually perform other exercises better once you start including HIIT into your regime.
HIIT doesn’t waste your time like many other short duration exercises. Many people spend hours doing machine-based cardio. But they can perform HIIT exercises in just about 15-20 minutes and get their heart pumping.
You do not need many equipment to perform HIIT exercises. Bodyweight HIIT exercises work quite well. To add strength training some weight does the job. So, you do not get bored in this regime as you might get in your usual cardio sessions.
HIIT is an amazing way to maintain one’s heart health. It increases the heartbeat and helps it in pumping our blood. The more oxygen retention also gives you an overall good health which is often missing in boring exercises.
HIIT is a challenging and adjustable regime. You can change up the exercises, the time duration and also the rest spots. It is perfect for people who want to enjoy their exercise sessions.

HIIT is a great workout and has a alot of benefits. Other than HIIT there are others workouts like Crossfit, zumba. You can read more about them here.

Examples of Great HIIT exercises

The Tabatha Workout:

This is a short and intense HIIT regime that has a low impact on your body. It was devised from an exercise regime by Izumi Tabatha for Olympic Speed skaters. It works both your aerobic system and anaerobic system present in your body.

The exercise period is 20 seconds followed by 10 seconds of rest and then you do it again. You repeat it for a total of 8 times making it 4 minutes. Using a timer app makes this a lot easier.

In this regime, you will alternate exercises in each 20-second interval. You will feel the intensity as you reach the end of it. Accommodate a longer break during the initial days. Also, when you are in rest, try to move around the place. It is important to warm up before attempting the routine and to cool down after it has ended.

Tabatha Workout Routine:

5 minutes- Warm Up

Tabatha 1

Front Kick with Right Side Lunge (20 seconds) Followed by 10 seconds of rest.
Prisoner Squat Jumps (20 seconds) Followed by 10 seconds of rest.
Repeat these 6 more times by alternating each other.
Rest for 1 minute

Tabatha 2

Burpees (20 seconds) Followed by 10 seconds of rest.
Band Jumping Jacks (20 seconds) Followed by 10 seconds of rest
Repeat these 6 more times by alternating each other.
Rest for 1 minute.

Tabatha 3

Right Side Lunge Jumps (20 seconds) Followed by 10 seconds of rest.
High Knee Jogs (20 seconds) Followed by 10 seconds of rest.
Repeat these 6 more times by alternating each other
5 minutes- Cool Down and Stretch

Total Time for the Workout is 25 minutes.

Easy Home HIIT + Strength Workout:

This HIIT workout is perfect for ladies who have to stay at home. You need the least amount of things and it is easy as well. Just take the help of a timer to keep track of your exercises. The only tools you will require is two 15 lb dumbbell and a nice pair of exercise shoes. Make sure to watch the videos of the different exercises to get the posture correct.

In total, you will perform 3 sets in this exercise routine. You will follow them like this:

In the first set, each exercise will be of 45 seconds followed by 15 seconds of rest.

In the second set, each exercise will be of 40 seconds followed by 20 seconds of rest.

In the last set, each exercise will be of 35 seconds followed by 15 seconds of rest.

Easy Home HIIT + Strength workout routine:

Warm up to ease your body.
Single Arm Snatch with Overhead Reverse Lunge
Split Jumps
Sumo Squat with Curl
Push Up
Plyo Squat Jack
Total Body Roll Up
Triceps Kick with Glute Bridge
Chest to Floor Burpees
Cool down with stretches

Total workout time will be 24 minutes.

High-Intensity Circuit Training Workout:

The above exercises are good if you are a beginner. But if you want a little more challenge then you can try this one. Just make sure that you are actually ready for it. The main idea behind this exercise is to get the routine done in the shortest amount of time with little to no rest. Your heart will be beating quite fast when you do this exercise. This also requires some dumbbells, a kettlebell and a medicine ball.

If you feel restless between the exercises, then do not shy away from resting a little. You need to continue each move at least for 30-60 seconds. Just like we said before, make sure you do proper warm up and cool down. This routine mixes cardio and strength training to give you a juiced up regime.

High-Intensity Circuit Training workout routine:

5 Minutes: Warm up with cardio
1 Minute: Squat press
1 Minute: Lunge Rows
1 Minute: Wide Squat with the help of a medicine ball
1 Minute: Wide Squat Curl
1 Minute: Goblet Squat along with the rotation
1 Minute: Iron Cross Squat
1 Minute: Front Kicks with Triceps Extension
1 Minute: Deadlift followed by Overhead press with a lunge
1 Minute: Squat Curl Press (30 seconds on each foot)
1 Minute: Overhead Squat (30 seconds for each side)
5 Minutes: Cooldown along with stretches

You will need 20 minutes to perform the whole routine.

HIIT Bodyweight Workout:

We often want to use the minimum amount of things for our workout. And in this intense workout routine, you will be stunned to see the results. You can perform it right at your home any time of the day. It uses your body weight to help lose an excess amount of weight. This is perfect for ladies as it is a mix of both medium intensity and high-intensity workouts.

The interval ratio of this workout plan is 2:1. You will perform the moderate intensity exercises for 2 minutes as follow them up by 1 minute of high-intensity exercises. You will have to take a minimal amount of rest in between the exercises. You have to repeat the set for 2 to 3 times to get the optimal result.

HIIT Bodyweight Workout Routine:

Warm Up
1,2,3 Squat + Rear Lunge: Moderate
Squat + Plank + Push-up: Moderate
Squat Jumps in and Out: High
Side to Side Lunge Chops: Moderate
Deadlift Balance: Moderate
Side to Side Shuffle Jump: High
Tabletop Dip: Moderate
V Sit Ups: Moderate
Plank Pike Jumps: High
Cool Down with a Hip Stretch

It takes about 7 minutes to perform a set without rests. You should take some rest in between if you are a beginner. It will take about 20 minutes for 2 sets and about 27 minutes for 3 sets.

Frequency between HIIT workouts:

Almost every other fitness talks about the miracles of HIIT exercise. But they never talk about the frequency of such exercises. People may think that they can perform it every day. But that notion is very bad. HIIT is an amazing exercise routine but that doesn’t mean it cannot become harmful.

Too much HIIT can lead to injuries in your body. It is recommended to take a 24-hour gap between two HIIT workouts. But we will suggest you have 2 HIIT sessions a week for the purpose of weight loss. 1 HIIT session a week for muscle building and 3 HIIT sessions a week if you are going for the athletic qualities or endurance training.

Make sure to change up the intensity of your HIIT sessions after 2-3 months. This will help to challenge your body into the phase.

Conclusion:

So, here is everything regarding HIIT or High-Intensity Interval Training. We hope that you have found it interesting enough. If you are confused, then definitely visit a professional who can help to sort out your queries.

As our article is about women we will totally recommend you to visit your doctor before starting any regime. We are sure that a nice HIIT workout will help you in losing the weight or to just remain healthy in your everyday life.