HIIT is an exercise technique that’s incredibly effective at burning fat. It stands for high-intensity interval training and is known to be more effective at burning fat than steady state cardio.
It’s a type of interval training usually featuring 30 – 60 seconds of work followed by 10 – 30 seconds of rest.
The idea is to give your maximum effort during the work intervals. This isn’t endurance work or steady state, so you want to give bursts of heavy exertion.
HIIT is intense, so it’s often performed in 10-15 minute increments, though some workouts can be longer.
If you’re looking to amp up your workout and burn some fat, HIIT could be the perfect workout for you!
HIIT for beginners will still be intense, so it’s only as easy as interval training can be.
But there are definitely shorter intervals and workouts designed to help you ease into HIIT so you can get a taste and build up your strength and endurance for more advanced HIIT cardio workouts.
Fat Burning HIIT Cardio for Beginners
This routine is a great taste of HIIT for beginners. It’s 10 minutes long: 30 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest in between.
The moves are simple but still challenging. You’ll definitely break a sweat. Stephi incorporates active rest into the beginning of workout by jogging in place during her rest intervals, but you can easily modify that and take a passive rest instead.
Via Stephi Nguyen
HIIT Home Workout for Beginners
This is definitely a longer HIIT session than most on this list, but it’s still beginner friendly. It features a warm up and 5 minute cool down, so the HIIT is really more like 15 minutes.
This routine emphasizes the importance of warm ups and cool downs when doing intense workouts. You want to be safe and warm ups can help you prevent injuries.
The rest of the workout is wonderfully simple, using only a few moves during the HIIT intervals.
10 Minute Beginner HIIT Workout
This workout is 10 minutes long and features 30 seconds of work and 10 seconds of rest.
Although it’s a shorter period of rest between intervals, the moves are a mix of cardio and strength so it’s a more sustainable workout to do for the longer duration.
This workout is all about the classics like squats, burpees, and planks.
5 Minute Complete HIIT Workout
Even just 5 minutes of HIIT can have significant effects. Although this workout is just 5 minutes long, it packs a big punch.
It’s 30 seconds of work followed by 30 seconds of rest, repeated for 5 minutes.
There are just 5 moves, but they’re definitely intense. This is great for beginners who have a basic level of cardio fitness.
Via Whitney Simmons
20 Minute HIIT Basics
I adore these workouts because they’re so positive and encouraging. It’s actually kind of like having a trainer there checking in on you.
This workout offers modifications so you can go at your own pace and listen to your body.
It’s also on the longer side, but it’s also a lower impact than other workouts on this list.
Via Millionaire Hoy
HIIT Workout for Beginners: 10 Min. Total Body
This is a perfect example of HIIT for beginners. A lot of the moves are modified, to begin with, like knee pushups instead of plank pushups.
This is a pretty gentle HIIT workout and is naturally relatively low impact. It will still get your heart rate up and your muscles firing though.
There are lots of options to make this completely low impact too. This is a great routine to help ease you into HIIT.
Beginners Ultimate Weight Loss Workout
This features 30-second intervals with classics like mountain climbers and tricep dips. This is a lower impact HIIT video with plenty of room for modifications.
It definitely builds in intensity leaving tougher moves like jump lunges towards the end.
Via Psyche Truth
Low Impact HIIT Workout for Beginners
A lot of HIIT workouts incorporate various plyometric moves which means there is often quite a bit of jumping involved.
Workouts heavy on the plyometrics (think jump lunges, box jumps, jump squats, etc) can be strenuous on the joints, especially if you’re starting out and haven’t 100% mastered the proper form.
Even if you aren’t a beginner, after a while, lots of plyometrics can definitely do some wear and tear on the body.
That’s why I like this HIIT routine. It’s low impact and involves no jumping, so it’s safe for your joints.
Via Lifecall Fitness
HIIT Workout for Beginners
I like this workout because it incorporates jump rope moves, which is a refreshing change from other HIIT workouts that focus on similar bodyweight moves.
This combines jump rope with high-intensity bodyweight moves, but it’s really fun to have the jump rope in there for an added challenge.
It’s only 7 minutes long so give it everything you have.
Via Zen Dude Fitness
25 Minute HIIT Total Body Burn
This is the longest HIIT workout on the list, so it’s definitely a full workout.
It combines strength and cardio for a total body workout.
To me, this workout leans more on the circuit side of things rather than a strictly HIIT routine, but it definitely has some circuits that are HIIT intensive.
I also think this workout is a good precursor for anyone who wants to build up fitness endurance before jumping into some of the higher intensity HIIT routines out there.
Via BeFiT
Get out there! Torch fat and get fit with these HIIT routines. HIIT for beginners is still no joke, but you’ll be amazed at how great you feel and how effective it is at transforming your body.
Listen to your body, modify when needed, and try to do your HIIT 2-3 times a week for the best results.
When you’ve mastered HIIT for beginners, check out 9 HIIT workout plans that will burn fat fast.
