Burn That Fat – 3 Great HIIT Workouts for Women

Do you remember your physical education classes back in school? Most people don’t, and if they do, they don’t remember much about them. Back then, you probably just went because you had to. Most kids are fairly physically active (although that trend is changing), and playing was all you had to do. Now, years later, you may notice you are becoming stiff and inflexible. It is possible to have added weight (especially if you are a mom), and things are quickly headed in the wrong direction. Now it starts to make sense why those classes were necessary.

What is HIIT?

In high-intensity interval training, you work out for a few seconds to get your heart rate up and then use some form of active rest to recover. HIIT workouts are anaerobic – meaning they don’t use oxygen as their primary source of energy. Rather, they use creatine phosphate to provide power for explosive, rapid-fire activity, making them so similar to weight training. Because of their intense nature, you cannot perform them for long periods. The workout intervals are usually less than 60 seconds, and the whole workout can last 20 minutes or less.

How Do Ladies Benefit from HIIT?

• HIIT workouts burn more calories per minute than aerobic training, making it a better cardio option when you’re short on time. This is according American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM).
• HIIT workouts increase excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC). Due to the vigorous nature of HIIT workouts, EPOC is modestly greater, adding about 6 to 15% more calories to the overall workout energy expenditure. HIIT burns more calories when you’re recovering from a workout.
• HIIT workouts have the potential to boost muscle growth because they have the muscles working hard. Power athletes such as sprinters have ripped bodies to show for it.

How Often Should You Do HIIT?

HIIT is stressful for the body and requires more recovery time. Thus, most people shouldn’t do it every day. It is recommended you do two or three HIIT sessions per week. You can choose either on the same day you lift weights or on days in between. Although HIIT has many advantages over steady-state cardio, it is good to fit some long-duration training into your week if possible. Steady-state cardio builds aerobic energy that your body can use to fuel all other activities. This is good for your heart and burning those extra calories.

HIIT workouts that burn calories:

Skipping Rope

Although skipping rope sounds so basic, it is one of the best HIIT workouts for women to lose weight. Skipping the ropes daily can help burn many calories in a short time frame. For example, 20 minutes of rope skipping can burn up to 241 calories for a 91-kg person. Apart from weight loss, skipping rope can help build stronger bones and muscles and also improve your balance and coordination. To skip rope, keep the knees bent and legs together as you jump. For a more advanced workout, you look for weighted ropes as your fitness improves. This is the easiest weight loss exercise to start.

Squats

Squatting burns fat and helps build muscle. Heavy squats increase your lean muscle mass, which increases your ability to burn calories at rest over the day. Although squatting is a difficult exercise, it consumes a great deal of effort and burns calories in the process. You can try several types of squats that involve the use of weights, such as the dumbbell squat. And others that don’t involve the use of weights, such as pile squats, squat pulses, and the jump squat.

To do the basic squat at home:

• Stand with your feet shoulder-width distance apart, arms at your sides.
• Bend your knees while pressing your hips backward. Bring your hands together out in front of your chest. Do not lower yourself once your hips are lower than your knees.
• Breathe out as you press your heels into the floor to return to your standing position, arms at your side.

Mountain Climbers and Shoulder Taps

Mountain climbers combine resistance and cardio training in one movement. They use multiple muscle groups to strengthen arms, shoulders, core, and legs. The multiple muscle groups increase your heart rate, helping you burn more calories. Adding shoulder taps increases the strengthening elements, leading to muscle development and fat burning.

Here’s how you do it:

• Start in a plank position and ensure your shoulders are over your wrists with the core engaged. Pull your knees into your chest towards your elbows one at a time, using your abs to pull your legs in.
• After ten mountain climbers, hold still in the plank position keeping your core quads and glutes engaged, then use one hand to tap the opposite shoulder.

Jumping Jacks

Jumping jacks involves all the major muscles in the lower body, strengthening the glutes, quads, hips, and shins. The higher and faster you jump, the more strength you will develop. Building your leg strength through jumping jacks can translate into other exercises, improving your squat, running speed, and ability to climb stairs. Since jumping jacks involve nearly every muscle, they are metabolically demanding, burning some calories. Regular jumping jacks support fat loss.

• Start with your feet together and arms by your sides, then jump up with your feet apart and your hands overhead.
• Return to the start position and do the next rep.

In conclusion, these are some high-intensity interval training exercises to help burn fat in women. The exercises can be performed anywhere, including your home. However, for the best results, it is advised you work with a personal trainer. We are ready to hold your hand in this fitness journey here at Next Level Fitness. We take pride in being Nashville’s largest personal training studio. We are a team of professional trainers highly dedicated to the success of each of our clients. If you are looking for an online personal trainer, feel free to contact us.