22 Best HIIT Workouts for Women That’ll Get Results

If you’re a busy woman looking for an efficient and effective workout, HIIT is the perfect option. You don’t need to spend hours at the gym to feel great.

High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) has gained immense popularity in the fitness world, and for good reason. HIIT workouts are known for their efficiency in burning calories, improving cardiovascular health, and promoting fat loss.

HIIT exercises are a versatile and convenient workout format that can be done in the gym or at home, with or without equipment. The essence of HIIT lies in its structure, pairing short bursts of intense exercise with periods of rest or active recovery. In this article, we’ll explain some of the best HIIT workouts for women; whether you’re on a treadmill or lifting weights, you can customize your own HIIT workouts to fit your liking.

Why HIIT Workouts Are So Effective

This type of workout challenges your body in a way that traditional cardio or strength training cannot, making it a highly effective method for burning fat and building muscle. The high-intensity intervals push your body to its limits, followed by short rest periods to allow for recovery.

This intense effort and recovery cycle helps boost your metabolism, leading to increased calorie burn during and after the workout. It has also been shown to help with weight loss, bone health, lowering blood pressure, and improving sugar sensitivity to reduce the risk of diabetes.

Ultimately, HIIT offers many of the traditional benefits of exercise without the time commitment, making it perfect for busy women.

1. Warm-up: Dynamic Stretching 

Before starting the high-intensity portion of your HIIT workout, it’s crucial to warm up your muscles and increase your range of motion for up to five minutes. This helps improve blood flow, increase flexibility, and activate your muscles during the workout. Perform each dynamic stretch for about 30 seconds.

Choose up to 5 of the following stretches:

• Mini squats
• Arm swings
• Hip swings
• Jumping jacks
• Side-to-side lunges
• Marching or running in place
• Butt kicks
• Alternating runner’s lunge
• Full body reach
• Etc… (anything to get the body warm)

Note: Always talk to your doctor before starting a new exercise routine. Talk to a physical therapist or a certified personal trainer about proper form.

2. Classic Full-Body HIIT Circuit

This full-body HIIT workout for women targets major muscle groups, promotes calorie burn, and boosts metabolism. Perform each HIIT exercise for the specified duration, followed by a brief rest.

Circuit: 45 seconds work, 15 seconds rest.

• Jump Squats
• Push-Ups
• Mountain Climbers
• Dumbbell Lunges
• Burpees
• Plank with Alternating Leg Lifts

This engages your full body. Repeat the entire circuit 3-4 times, gradually increasing the intensity as you become more comfortable with the routine. Cool down with static stretches for the major muscle groups, focusing on flexibility and recovery.

3. Jumping Cardio Blast

A jumping HIIT workout is a high-intensity workout involving various jumping exercises to elevate your heart rate and burn calories. Jumping exercises are effective for cardiovascular fitness and help improve coordination, agility, and lower body strength. Here’s a sample Jumping Cardio Blast routine:

• Jumping Jacks
• High Knees
• Box Jumps
• Jump Rope
• Burpees
• Tuck Jumps

Do each exercise for 40 seconds, followed by 20 seconds rest; repeat the circuit 1 to 3 times.

4. Simple Lower Body Burn

As the name suggests, this lower-body HIIT workout for women targets your legs and glutes:

• Lunges
• Squat (sumo wide-leg)
• Donkey kicks (on hands and knees)

This exercise aims to tone and strengthen your lower body. Feel the burn as you power through this intense workout, which consists of 45 seconds of all-out work and 15 seconds of rest for three rounds.

Remember to maintain proper form and take breaks if needed. As you progress, add dumbbells or resistance bands to increase the intensity.

5. Full-Body Boot Camp

This full-body boot camp maximizes your time and intensity, allowing you to sculpt and strengthen your entire body in 15 to 30 minutes. Remember to maintain proper form for optimal results.

• Triceps Dip
• Bicycle Abs
• Dynamic Plank
• Mountain Climber
• High Knee
• Lateral Stepup
• Reverse Lunge

Complete each exercise for 40 seconds, followed by a 20-second rest. Perform 2-4 rounds, resting for one to two minutes between rounds.

6. Short But Sweet Tabata Torch

Even with a busy schedule, a quick HIIT workout ranging from 3-20 minutes can provide benefits, helping you release stress and rev up your metabolism.

This Tabata protocol is a great home workout consisting of short, intense bursts of exercise followed by even shorter rest periods. Exercises for this workout include:

• Jump Squats
• Mountain Climbers
• Push-Ups
• High Knees
• Burpees

Perform the exercise as intensely as possible for 20 seconds. Take a 10-second rest period. Repeat each exercise 2 times. While the Tabata workout is just 5 minutes long and highly effective, its intensity and short resting periods might not suit everyone. Repeat 1 to 3 times for maximal outcomes.

7. On the Floor Core Crusher 

These rigorous, core-focused, high-intensity exercises elevate core strength and muscle definition. Core muscles, comprising the abdomen, lower back, hips, and pelvis, are pivotal in enhancing overall stability, balance, and posture.

In this empowering Core Crusher routine, the following exercises take center stage:

• Bicycle Crunches: Engage your abdominal muscles by alternately bringing your knees and elbows towards each other in a cycling motion.
• Russian Twists: Target your obliques as you sit on the floor, leaning back slightly, and rotate your torso to touch the ground on either side.
• Plank with Shoulder Taps: In a plank position, strengthen your core and shoulders by tapping one shoulder at a time with the opposite hand.
• Flutter Kicks: Lie on your back and flutter your legs up and down above the ground, engaging your lower abdominal muscles.
• Leg Raises (single or double): Lie on your back and lift your legs upward at a time or together to target your lower abdominal muscles.

Complete 25 repetitions for each exercise for an optimal challenge. Consistent repetition intensifies the workout and builds endurance.

8. Fun Agility and Speed Drills

Improve your agility and speed with a ladder (you can use tape on the floor), cones, and fast footwork. These exercises are designed to improve an individual’s quickness, reaction time, and overall athletic performance.

Maintaining good form throughout each exercise is crucial to reducing the injury risk. 

• Ladder double-leg jumps
• Side cuts (around cones)
• Heissman running
• Single-leg ladder hops
• Forward and backward cone springs

Try these for 60 seconds each, with 30 seconds in between. Repeat 1 to 3 times in total.

9. HIIT Upper Body Sculpt

These exercises will tone and define your arms, chest, and back. Completing them fast with little rest will also get your heart racing.

Shoot for 45 seconds of work and 15 seconds of rest for 2 to 3 sets each. When you feel ready, you can incorporate weights with this HIIT workout.

• Push-ups
• Tricep dips
• Shoulder presses
• Bicep curls
• Arm raises
• Planks
• Bent over rows

Remember, consistency is key when sculpting any part of the body. Aim to incorporate a mix of these exercises into your workout routine 2-3 times a week, allowing your muscle mass to recover in between sessions.

10. HIIT Yoga Flow 

HIIT yoga combines High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) with yoga, ensuring the cardiovascular benefits of HIIT with the mindfulness and flexibility of yoga. 

• High Plank to Downward Dog
• Warrior II to Reverse Warrior (alternate sides)
• Chair Pose to Forward Fold
• Chaturanga to Upward Dog to Downward Dog
• Warrior I to Warrior III (alternate sides)

Run through these five moves two times (45 seconds on, 15 seconds rest).

11. Advanced HIIT Workout for Women

This advanced HIIT workout incorporates light plyometric (explosive) exercises to elevate your heart rate, challenge your muscles, and enhance explosive power. Remember to warm up before starting this workout and cool down afterward.

Here’s the workout:

• Box Jumps
• Jumping Lunges
• Burpees with Box Jump
• Speed Skaters
• High Knees
• Box Push-Ups
• Plank Jacks
• Squat Jumps

Perform each exercise for 20 seconds and Rest for 10 seconds between exercises. Aim for 3 to 5 rounds. Workout duration: 12-20 minutes.

12. Cardio Kickboxing HIIT

Cardio kickboxing is a high-energy workout that includes both the elements of traditional kickboxing and cardio exercises. Combining cardio kickboxing with HIIT principles can elevate the workout’s intensity and efficiency, leading to various health and fitness benefits.

Try these six moves for 60 seconds each, followed by 30 seconds of rest, then repeat for 1-3 sets:

• Low squat hold with alternating punches
• Alternating front kicks
• Sideways high-low punch with squat jump (each side)
• Alternating hook punches
• Lunge to knee strike (each side)

13. Bodyweight HIIT Workouts

Bodyweight exercises effectively burn calories, improve cardiovascular health, and build strength. Here’s a bodyweight HIIT workout you can do anywhere without needing equipment.

• Jumping Jack
• Bodyweight Squats
• Push-Up
• Mountain Climbers
• Burpees
• Plank
• Lunges
• Tricep Dips
• Alternating Side Lunge

Perform each exercise for 40 seconds, followed by a 20-second rest. Complete the circuit and rest for 1-2 minutes between circuits. Complete 1 to 3 times total.

14. Create Your Own Circuit

If you want to curate your own HIIT workout, try any of the exercises listed below in a sequence. Feel free to add any of the exercises from any other circuits here. Choosing exercises you enjoy and that you’ll do is excellent for staying on track.

Decide what exercises and intervals you want to complete, and GO!

15. Commandos

Commandos is an effective bodyweight exercise that can be incorporated into various workout routines, including HIIT or strength workouts.

It engages the chest, shoulders, triceps, and core muscles and provides a dynamic combination of a plank and push-up, targeting strength and stability.

• Begin in a press-up (straight arm plank) position with hands flat on the ground, arms fully extended, and body forming a straight line from head to heels.
• Lower yourself onto your forearms, maintaining a plank position one hand at a time.
• Hold the plank position with your elbows directly below your shoulders.
• Raise yourself back up to the press-up position, again, one hand at a time.

Repeat the sequence by alternating between the press-up and plank positions for the desired number of repetitions.

16. Jumping Jacks

Jumping jacks are a great cardiovascular exercise that can be incorporated into a HIIT routine for an extra boost.

This exercise also improves muscle tone, increases the body’s metabolic rate, and helps you lose weight.

• Stand with your feet together and arms at your sides.
• Jump your feet out to the sides while simultaneously raising your arms overhead.
• Keep your knees slightly bent to reduce impact on the joints.
• Quickly return to the starting position by bending your feet together and lowering your arms to your sides.

17. Burpees

The burpee is a full-body, compound exercise combining strength training and cardiovascular conditioning elements. It targets multiple muscle groups and is known for its effectiveness in weight loss and improving overall fitness. Here’s how you can perform a burpee

• Start in a standing position
• Perform a squat
• Kick your feet back into a plank position
• Do a push-up
• Jump your feet back to a squat position
• Explosively jump up
• Repeat

18. High Knees

High knees are versatile. They can serve as an effective warmup, a cardio burst between strength training exercises, or a key element in HIIT or aerobic workouts.

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart and arms at your sides.
• Lift your right knee as high as possible, bringing it towards your chest.
• As you lower your right knee, lift your left knee in a continuous and rhythmic motion.
• Swing your arms in coordination with your legs as if jogging in place.
• Perform high knees briskly to elevate your heart rate and engage your muscles.
• Maintain a regular and controlled breathing pattern.
• Exhale as you lift your knee and inhale as you lower it.

19. Mountain Climbers

Mountain climbers are a highly effective cardiovascular exercise that engages the core, shoulders, and legs.

• Begin in a high plank position, ensuring your back is straight, and your head aligns with your spine.
• Place your hands directly beneath your shoulders with arms fully extended and fingers facing forward, slightly spread apart.
• Tighten your core muscles to maintain a stable plank position. This exercise targets both the lower and upper abs.
• Alternately, pump your knees toward your chest, one at a time.
• Keep the movement controlled, and avoid rocking your torso from side to side.

20. Alternating Lunge

The runner’s lunge is an effective HIIT exercise that targets the muscles in your legs, including the quads, hamstrings, and glutes, while also engaging your core for stability.

• From standing, step back into a reverse lunge with your left leg.
• Push through your right heel to return to standing, following through with your left leg to raise it in front of you at 90 degrees.
• Place your left foot on the floor.
• Repeat with the right foot, alternating for 30 to 60 seconds at a time.

21. Jumping Lunges

Jumping lunges are a dynamic exercise that provides numerous benefits for overall fitness. This plyometric movement simultaneously engages multiple muscle groups, including the quadriceps, hamstrings, hip flexors, glutes, calves, and lower abs.

1. Stand straight with your legs shoulder-width apart.
2. Put your left leg in front, keep your spine straight, flex your knees, and go down.
3. Jump, and before landing, put your right leg in front, with the left femur perpendicular to the floor (aka a lunge).
4. Jump, and before landing, put your left leg in front.
5. Do this at a higher intensity.

22. Kettlebell Swings

Kettlebell swings are among the best HIIT exercises targeting the hips, glutes, hamstrings, and lower back muscles. This exercise also engages the core muscles and provides a cardiovascular workout.

• Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and place the kettlebell on the floor between your feet.
• Hinge at your hips to reach down and grab the kettlebell handle with both hands.
• Keep your back straight, chest up, and shoulders pulled back.
• Keep your Knees bent.
• Swing the kettlebell back between your legs, maintaining a slight knee bend.
• Initiate the forward swing by forcefully extending your hips and straightening your knees to bring the weight in front of your chest.
• Keep movement as controlled as possible and repeat.

We recommend checking out fitness blender for more HIIT workouts, visual guides, and motivational instructors to accompany these workouts.

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