Before we go any further, this isn’t going to be some typical, Best HIIT Workouts For Women post that gives you another lame workout video to follow along with while you and your gym buddies laugh, smile and giggle at each other.
No, ma’am
There will be work…
…There will be sweat
…And there will be heavy lifting involved
But there will also be RESULTS
So if you’re not prepared to throw all your pre-existing ideas about what HIIT training really is then this is not the place you want to be.
I recommend you go check out the latest woman’s weekly magazine for your latest dose of HIIT.
But if you’re committed, willing, and you’ve got a spare few minutes to read this blog post IN FULL then it might just change the way you think about exercise and fitness.
So with that said, let’s get down to business…
Related: Metabolic Physique Finishers For Women
Best HIIT Workouts For Women – The Science
It would seem like women are at a disadvantage over men when it comes to HIIT training.
Let’s look at the facts…
- Men are usually bigger than women. Giving them a higher BMR which helps them burn through more calories than women. Even at rest.
- Men carry more muscle which increases their metabolism. Making it far easier to burn off excess fat than women.
- Men have the ability to build lean muscle twice as fast as women. Again giving them the advantage when it comes to burning fat
- Due to hormones women naturally store more fat than men.
- Estrogen reduces a woman’s ability to burn energy after eating which contributes to fat gain.
So looking at the results it would seem all hope is lost.
You might as well give up now, pick up the phone, and order that delicious cheesy pizza you’ve been craving for the past 3 months.
But wait!
There might just be a chance for you yet.
A 2013 study by Bowling Green State University completed a series of tests comparing the results of HIIT training between men and women.
In the study, they pitted a group of male and female subjects between the ages of 19-30 in a self-paced high-intensity interval workout.
The test concluded that although the men carried out their intervals at a faster pace. Both the V02 oxygen consumption and maximum heart rate of the women far exceeded that of the men.
So what does this mean for women?
Well, your ability to work at a higher maximum heart rate during a HIIT workout not only gives you the ability to burn more calories during the workout.
But due to the increased oxygen consumption and workload, your bodies natural ability to burn fat at rest significantly increases for the next 24-48 hours.
This is due to EPOC (excess post-exercise oxygen consumption), and it’s the main reason HIIT workouts are so effective for women.
So as long as you remain consistent with HIIT training, performing no more than 2-3 sessions a week. Your body will ultimately become a 24/7 fat burning furnace with a vengeance.
Related: Metabolic Physique Finishers For Women
Awesome right?
But one problem still remains.
You see, 99% of women still get the formula wrong when they perform HIIT workouts.
They spend each and every workout they do following along with the typical move fast and sweat hard approach. Which is still great by the way.
But it simply isn’t optimal for achieving that sleek sexy physique that most women desire.
Let’s look at the facts
- Women find it easier to naturally increase their heart rate during intense HIIT sessions.
- But women find it twice as hard to build lean muscle compared to men.
And when I say lean muscle, I don’t mean biceps the size of bowling balls with legs that could crush an elephant skull…
…No, I mean the type of lean muscle that you see on a strong athletic female athlete.
So since HIIT training already turns you into a fat burning machine, wouldn’t it make sense to add in some strength based HIIT workouts that will not only keep your heart pumping harder than techno music in a nightclub.
But will slowly and consistently build that firm, toned look that many women crave.
So below I’m going to be taking you through my top 6 exercises for building, functional, fat burning strength, while at the same time getting you fitter than you ever thought you could be.
Best HIIT Workouts For Women – Movement Patterns
Now, to get the most bang for your buck when training it’s important to focus on compound movements.
If you don’t know what a compound movement is, it’s essentially an exercise that involves multiple muscle groups working together at the same time.
These can include…
Squats…
…Deadlifts
…Pull-ups
the list goes on…
By performing compound movements opposed to isolation exercises, where only one muscle is worked, you’re going to be able to get a great deal more work done in far less time.
And by combining multiple compound movements into an all-powerful well designed HIIT workout. You’re not only going to experience the insane fat loss benefits the HIIT provides. But also the strength and lean muscle that goes with it.
Exercise 1: Deadlifts
This move is to exercise what Ben & Jerrys is to ice cream. You simply can’t get a better exercise that’s going to challenge your entire body better than deadlift.
Yet I still find it hard to believe that so many women (and men) fail to incorporate the deadlift regularly into their workout routine.
I’ll be the first to put it out there and say that if you don’t have a deadlift in your routine…
…Then you don’t have a routine. It’s that simple
Anyway, here’s an instructional video of how to perform deadlifts…
Exercise 2: Squats
Second, on our list of killer exercises, we have squats.
And I’m not talking about the kind of half rep bodyweight squats that you see so many people doing these days.
No, I’m talking about full barbell, ass to grass squats. The kind of squats that give you the power to throw a fully human man over your shoulder and carry them up a mountain.
Squats, when done correctly have so many benefits.
As well as the obvious benefits of leg strength, they also massively utilize your inner core muscle which helps a great deal with many other strength related workouts.
Here’s how to use proper squat form…
Exercise 3: Bench Press/ Pushups
Bench presses, Push-up, or any other horizontal pushing movement that works the chest and shoulder muscles.
The important thing here is not the tool or equipment we use, but how we build it into a routine that gives us the overall benefit.
Exercise 4: Overhead Press/ Parallel Bar Dips
These are 2 other great examples of essential pushing movements. Only this time it’s a vertical push completing the last piece of the puzzle for pushing exercises.
Personally, I prefer Dips to the overhead press as I feel it ties in as a great additional chest and tricep exercises. Having said that nothing compares to the shoulder development you get from performing overhead presses.
So I recommend both form overall development…
Exercise 5: Pull-Ups/Chin-Ups
Now depending on how strong you are at the moment, you may or may not be able to hit double digits with pull-ups just yet.
If this is you then you have 3 options.
- You can check out this awesome Pull-up program that will help you progress into the ultimate pull-up queen
- You can substitute pull-ups for an easier exercise such as inverted rows until you build the necessary strength to perform proper pull-ups
- You can try performing band assisted pull-ups or another assisted variation to build your pull-up strength.
Exercise 6: Rows
Now you’ve got plenty of options with this one such as…
- Barbell Rows
- Dumbbell Rows
- Inverted Rows
Adding a rowing variation completes to the above exercises gives you the opportunity to work your body from every single angle.
And to be honest these 6 moves are the only exercises you need to get yourself in very impressive shape.
The 6 Main Movement Patterns
So we’ve got…
- The Deadlift – A full body and posterior chain exercise
- Squats – A complete lower body strength exercise
- Horizontal Push – Including bench press, pushups etc…
- Vertical Push – Overhead pressing, Parallel Bar Dips…
- Horizontal Pull – Pull-ups, Chin-ups etc…
- Vertical Pull – Any form of rowing such as Barbell Rows, Dumbbell Rows, Inverted Rows etc…
Covering just these 6 movement patterns will cover absolutely every single angle of attack leaving no stone unturned when it comes to building the body you want.
So now we’ve got the moves, let’s put them together…
Related: Metabolic Physique Finishers For Women
Best HIIT Workouts For Women – The Workouts
Below I’ve compiled a great list of some of my all-time favorite strength based HIIT workouts to keep you on your toes.
Many of them contain the movement patterns we have previously talked about. But I’ve also thrown in a few other workouts for your enjoyment.
Workout 1: The Annihilator
This is only a 2 move workout but it’s going to test almost every muscle group in your body.
You’re going to be using the same weight for each exercise so only 1 barbell is needed.
Here it is…
- 30 Seconds: Deadlifts
- 30 Seconds: Barbell Thrusters
- 60 Seconds: Rest
- Repeat x5
Total Workout Time: 10 Minutes
I recommend using a weight that you can comfortably complete 12-15 barbell thrusters with as they will become much more difficult by the time you hit the last 2 rounds.
And because you’re only using one barbell for this HIIT workout the deadlifts will obviously be fairly light to accommodate for the barbell thrusters.
If however, you would like to challenge yourself even further you could always substitute the barbell thrusters for dumbbell thrusters giving you the opportunity to add more weight to your deadlifts
Either way, you’re gonna find it tough.
Here’s how to perform barbell thrusters…
Workout 2: Upper Body Blast
This is a pure upper body HIIT workout that’s going to target each and every muscle group in your upper body from every angle.
Using the approach we outline above your going to be performing…
- 20 Seconds: Pull-ups
- 10 Seconds: Rest
- 20 Seconds: Parallel Bar Dips
- 10 Seconds: Rest
- 20 Seconds: Inverted Row
- 10 Seconds: Rest
- 20 Seconds: Push-ups
- 60 Seconds: Rest
Repeat 4 more times for a total of 5 rounds.
Ideally, you’ll need access to a pull-up and dip station to be able to perform this workout effectively as well as a bar to perform inverted rows.
If this is a problem then you can always substitute the inverted row for barbell rows so you can transitions easily between the movements.
Workout 3: Dumbbell HIIT
Next up on our list of HIIT workouts we’ve got a dumbbell HIIT workout that’s going to kick your ass.
It’s another 2 move workout that’s going to target plenty of muscle groups.
Take a look at this…
- 30 Seconds: Renegade Row with Push-ups
- 30 Seconds: Rest
- 30 Seconds: Dumbell Thrusters
- 30 Seconds: Rest
Repeat between 5-10 rounds depending on your fitness level.
Total Workout Time: 10-20 Minutes
The reason this workout works so well is that both of the moves combine 2 separate compound movements, allowing you to complete even more work in less time.
Ideally, you want to pick a weight that you can complete the workout with but is very difficult during the last 1-2 sets.
As your strength improves remember to keep increasing the weight to keep challenging yourself.
Here’s how to perform renegade rows with a push-up…
Workout 4: 10 Minute Tabata Split
This next workout combines 2 separate Tabata workout and although it’s not a weighted workout, it’s going to get your muscles burning with intensity with each and every rep.
Here’s how to do this HIIT starting with an upper Tabata…
- 20 Seconds: Wide Grip Push-ups
- 10 Seconds: Rest
- 20 Seconds: Close Grip Push-ups
- 10 Seconds: Rest
Repeat 3 more times for a total time of 4 minutes.
Rest for 2 minutes
Then jump straight into this lower body Tabata…
- 20 Seconds: Squat Jumps
- 10 Seconds: Rest
- 20 Seconds: Alternating Jumping Lunges
- 10 Seconds: Rest
Repeat 3 more times for a total time of 4 minutes.
Workout 5: Tabata Burpees
And last on our list of best HIIT workouts for women I’ve got a brutally hard Tabata workout that’s going to challenge your full body strength, conditioning, and overall work capacity.
It’s only 4 minutes but I promise, it’s gonna be the longest 4 minutes of your life…
- 20 Seconds: Burpees
- 10 Seconds: Rest
Repeat 7 more times for a total of 8 rounds
If you’ve never attempted burpees before, here’s a video demonstration to show you how it’s done…
Wrapping Things Up
The workouts above may or may not be what you’re used to, but I promise that if you adopt the methods outlined in this post then you’re going to see your fitness, strength, and physique transform before your very eyes.
Do you have anything to add to the list of best HIIT workouts for women? Let me know in the comments below…
