The summer is coming to an end and the back to school season has arrived. For many of us, this may be the time of the year when we promise ourselves to start heathy habits.

Only problem is, hitting the gym can be hard to fit into our schedule. Luckily though, research is starting to show that workout routines of short, intense intervals are more effective than working out at a moderate pace for a long time. What this means is that it is the quality of your workout that counts, not the duration.

High Intensity Interval Training

This type of training is called HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) and is growing in popularity due to its effectiveness and time efficiency. The idea is that you work as hard and fast as you can for an exercise interval, and then recover your heart rate for a rest interval and repeat that pattern for a determined amount of rounds.

The intense, short bursts of energy stimulate fat loss hormones and that is why HIIT training, in combination with a healthy diet, is more effective for burning fat and calories.

Other benefits of HIIT are improved glucose tolerance, better exercise endurance from improved cardio health, increased lean muscle mass, and anti-aging effects.

It gets even better – on top of all those positive side effects, workout sessions need not be longer than 15 minutes and can be done without equipment! Experts also say that two to three HIIT sessions a week is sufficient for improving health. More than that is not necessary and could actually be counterproductive.

At Home HIIT Workout

Here is a HIIT workout that can be done in your living room in about 12 minutes – that’s all you need!

Each workout interval is 30 seconds long, followed by a one minute rest. I use a little timer that hooks onto my clothing to guide me.

If you are a beginner, you will do 4 rounds and gradually move up to 8. You may also want to increase your rest interval to about 90 seconds if you haven’t recovered after 1 minute.

More advanced exercisers will repeat the loop of the following four exercises for a total of 8 rounds.

Remember, the idea is to work hard and get your heart rate up high in that 30 second interval.

Here we go!

30 Seconds Jump Squats

Beginner modification: Skip the explosive jump for now, and just squat.

*One Minute Rest*

30 Seconds MMA Sprawls

Start in a fighting stance to come down and sprawl just like you’re doing the bottom portion of a burpee.

Beginner Modification: Come down into a push up position and stand back up.

*One Minute Rest*

30 Seconds Split Lunges

Lunge and then jump up to switch your stance. Do not touch your knee to the ground.

Beginner Modification: Skip the explosive part and just do forward alternating lunges.

*One Minute Rest*

30 Seconds Touch-Jumps

Like you’re leapfrog, hands touch the ground, then explode up with the legs as shown.

Beginner Modification: Again, skip the explosive jump and just touch down to reach up.

And there we have it – short, sweet and effective!