Fitness and Yum!: 10 HIIT Workouts to Get You Shredded for Summer

High intensity interval training (HIIT) has the fitness industry buzzing because of its potential to torch maximum calories in a minimum amount of time. The idea is that you do short periods of all-out work followed by short periods of active rest to make the body work harder than it does during steady-state cardio. Now that summer is here, there are absolutely no excuses for not whipping yourself back into beach-body shape.
To capitalize on the benefits of HIIT, we reached out to George “Hit” Richards, celebrity fitness trainer and calisthenics expert, and Pete Bommarito, C.S.C.S., U.S.A.W., a certified MAT Jumpstart Specialist and owner of Bommarito Performance Systems, for a variety of interval workouts designed to burn fat, build muscle, and enhance sports performance. Get in the best shape of your life (and look like it, too) with these 10 fat-blasting interval workouts.
The first five interval workouts are courtesy of Richards. The last five interval workouts are courtesy of Bommarito.

1. Burpee Interval Workout

Directions
Complete the following circuit four times, resting 1 minute after the burpees in each round.
1. Pullups
Reps: As many as possible in 30 seconds
2. Jumping Jacks
Reps: 60
3. Burpees
Reps: 20

2. Jump Rope Interval Workout

Directions
Complete the following circuit four times, resting 1 minute after jumping rope in each round.
1. Mountain Climbers
Reps: 45
2. Pushups
Reps: 20-30
3. Front Plank
Duration: 1 min.
4. Jump Rope
Duration: 1 min.

3. Resistance Band Finisher

Directions
Complete the following circuit four times, resting 1 minute after the curls in each round.
1. Jump Rope
Duration: 1 min.
2. Dips
Reps: 12-15
3. High Knees
Reps: 30 each knee
4. Curls with Resistance Bands
Reps: 20

4. Lower-Body Interval Workout

Directions
Complete the following circuit four times, resting 1 minute after the calf raises in each round.
1. Sprint
Duration: 30 sec.
2. Squat Jumps
Duration: 45 sec.
3. Lunges
Reps: 20 each leg
4. Calf Raises
Reps: 50

5. Abs Interval Workout

Directions
Complete the following circuit four times, resting 1 minute after the half-burpees in each round.
1. Crunches
Reps: 50
2. Bicycle Crunches
Duration: 1 min.
3. Situps
Reps: 15
4. Hanging Knee Raises
Reps: 15
5. Oblique Crunches
Reps: 20 (each side)
6. Half Burpees
Duration: 20 sec.

6. Stair Stepper Machine Interval Workout

Directions
This can be performed on any machine that has piston-leg action, like the Cybex Arc, Keiser Runner, Versa-Climber, or any other stair-climbing machine where the foot is constantly fixed to the pedal. Set the resistance level high enough so that it’s challenging for the entire 30 seconds of work. Gradually increase the “stride length” level of the machine with each bout. This is the advantage of machines like Cybex Arc, where the distance between the feet (the height of the knee on the top leg versus the drop of the foot on the bottom leg) can be adjusted.
The workout
Reps: 20-30 (30 seconds of work immediately followed by 30 seconds of active rest is considered one rep)
Total time: 20-30 min.

7. Battle Rope Interval Workout

Directions
Put the rope around a stable, immovable object like a pole, goal post, concrete pillar, heavy weight sled that wont move, etc. Each end of the rope will come off this immovable object with equal distance so that you can grab the ends of the rope (one with each hand) and have it be tense on both sides. Half of the total reps will be with a double arm motion; half will be with an alternating arm motion.
1. Double-Arm Motion
Grabbing both ends of the rope (one with each hand), whip the rope up and down continuously as fast as possible. Both arms will flex and extend at the same time. The height of the rope on the upswing will depend on how high you can raise your arms comfortably. Brace the trunk and spine region hard when going through this entire motion. The hips will “lead the arms” in these motions from the upswing of the rope to the downswing of the rope, and subsequently from the downswing of the rope to the upswing of the rope.
2. Alternating-Arm Motion
Grab rope initially in same manner as the double arm motion The arms will now alternate – as one arm goes up the other arm comes down. The hips will stay fixed on this one; get the motion from the arms. Still have the same “bracing” action of the trunk/spine.
The workout
10-20 reps (60 seconds of work immediately followed by 60 seconds of complete rest is considered one rep)
Total Time: 20-40 min.

8. Sled Training Interval Workout

How it works
There are two protocols: elite athlete and basic level athlete. For the elite athletes, do a 40-yard sled sprint. Then, increase the distance of each successive sprint by 10 yards until you’ve done a single 150-yard sprint (12th sprint). Now, pyramid down, decreasing the length of the sled sprints by 10 yards every sprint until you’ve ran a 40-yard sprint again. For the basic level athletes, the distance will increase by 10 yards every two sprints and the pyramid back down will start after the eighth sprint until you reach the final sprint (14th).
Directions
Attach a weight belt around your waist, and a rope from the belt to the sled. Step forward so there is no slack in the rope to begin. Step out with one foot far in front of your center of mass, so the heel will strike the ground first, and the foot will then come in contact with the ground. The torso should remain upright at all times throughout each step – don’t lean forward and let the body weight aid in moving the sled. You want to feel as if your front leg heel dig and hip pull is the only thing moving the sled. Rest 30-60 seconds between sprints for both experience levels.
The workout
Professional/Elite athlete level: 23 total sled sprints
Sprint 1: 40 yards
Sprint 2: 50 yards
Sprint 3: 60 yards
Sprint 4: 70 yards
Sprint 5: 80 yards
Sprint 6: 90 yards
Sprint 7: 100 yards
Sprint 8: 110 yards
Sprint 9: 120 yards
Sprint 10: 130 yards
Sprint 11: 140 yards
Sprint 12: 150 yards
Sprints 13-23: 140 down to 40 yards (decreasing 10 yards every sprint)
Basic level: 14 total sled sprints
Sprint 1: 20 yards
Sprint 2: 20 yards
Sprint 3: 30 yards
Sprint 4: 30 yards
Sprint 5: 40 yards
Sprint 6: 40 yards
Sprint 7: 50 yards
Sprint 8: 50 yards
Sprint 9: 40 yards
Sprint 10: 40 yards
Sprint 11: 30 yards
Sprint 12: 30 yards
Sprint 13: 20 yards
Sprint 14: 20 yards

9. Resistance Training Interval Workout

This will consist of strength and power exercises combined with other forms of conditioning work. Rest 20 seconds after each exercise. Run through the circuit 5-10 times. Time yourself to see if you can increase work capacity next session.
1. Dumbbell Squat and Punch
Holding two light dumbbells (10 pounds), bring arms up so elbows are bent, palms are facing down and forearms are parallel to the ground. Maintaining the arm position squat as low as possible, pause, stand and slowly punch the arms out until the elbows are straight then come back to start position (arms remain parallel to the ground during the entire punching action).
Reps: 20
2. Sprint and Change Direction to Sprint (10 total reps)
Sprint full speed 5 yards, immediately change direction and sprint back 5 yards.
Sprint 10 yards out, 10 yards back.
Sprint 15 yards out, 15 yards back
Sprint 10 yards out, 10 yards back.
Sprint 5 yards out, 5 yards back
3. Rotational Lunge With Resistance Band
Fix a light band to a high pole, pillar, or some immovable structure. Standing with feet shoulder-width apart, grab band with both hands and interlock fingers. Move away from the fixture point of the band so the band is tense. Face to the side of where band attaches and extend your arms straight out, parallel to the ground so the band will be perpendicular to the arms. Keeping arms straight, rotate to the left and drop down into a lunge; pause, come back to start position.
Reps: 10-20 each side
4. Single-Leg Dumbbell Stabilization and Punch
Hold a light dumbbell in each hand in front of the body using a neutral grip with elbows bent. Keeping the right knee bent, raise the right leg up high behind you, while keeping left leg straight. Extend the right leg behind the body and moving torso forward. While in this position, punch arms straight out, keeping arms parallel to the ground (many people call this yoga airplane pose). Return back to start position. That’s one rep.
Reps: 10-20 reps (each leg)

10. Sprint Interval Workout

High level (professional athlete level)
Sprint 89 yards in 10 seconds
Rest: 30-50 sec.
Repeat 10-20 times
Average level
Sprint 73 yards in 10 seconds
Rest: 30-50 sec.
Repeat 10-20 times

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10 HIIT Workouts to Get You Shredded for Summer