Welcome to Trainer of the Month Club, our brand-new fitness series, where we tap the coolest, most in-the-know fitness leaders to create a month-long fitness challenge. On Mondays, we have our “sweat drops” where you’ll get access to the week’s workout that you can follow along at home. In June, Meg Takacs is bringing you her strength-building series. This week’s iteration? A six-minute HIIT workout that will leave you sweating, for real.
HIIT workouts are like dry shampoo or tinted sunscreen: Once they come into your life, it’s hard to imagine having ever lived without them. They give you a full-body workout, plus a serious cardio burst, in a fraction of the time that your old cardio-then-strength-training routine used to and the formula really does work when put into motion.
Bonus—you can get a full HIIT workout in only six minutes, thanks to Meg Takacs‘ latest TOTMC contributions. Here, she shares six full-body HIIT moves that will help spike your heart rate and get you stronger in the process. They’ll force you to move with speed, agility, and serious explosive energy. Check out the video below, and get ready to feel the burn (for real) for the next two days.
Try this full body HIIT workout at home
Hold each movement for 30 seconds each, and cycle through the series twice. For the isolated movements, hold on the left leg for the first round, then switch to the right for your second time through.
1. Bounding jump to high knees: Jump forward from the back of your mat to the front, landing in a squat. Then move backwards into your starting position with high knees. To modify, skip the jump and squat and do your high knees in place. Repeat for 30 seconds.
2. Pulse lunges: With your left leg forward and right leg back, pulse in a lunge for 30 seconds. Squeeze your glutes to get a full extension and keep your torso upright, which helps to ensure your back leg goes all the way up.
3. Hip extension jumps: Start on your knees with your toes flat on the floor and heels up, and send your butt all the way back to the tops of your heels. Jump straight up and land on your feet in a squat. To modify, step one foot at a time instead of jumping. Repeat for 30 seconds.
4. Burpee into a tuck jump: Start standing, and place your hands on the ground beneath your shoulders. Jump your legs back into push-up position, and lie your body down on the ground. Push back up to standing, then explode your legs high into a tuck jump. If you don’t want to do the full jump, just do the burpee with a small jump at the top. Repeat for 30 seconds.
5. Pulse lunge into curtsy lunge: With your left leg forward and right leg back, pulse down into two lunges, then cross your right leg behind the left for a curtsy lunge. Be sure to squeeze your glutes and keep your torso upright. Repeat for 30 seconds.
6. Single leg RDL: With your left foot planted firmly on the ground, swing your right leg straight back with your arms out in front of you. Then, bring it forward with your knee raised toward your chest, and jump straight up. To modify, put your right foot down behind you (instead of keeping it lifted), and then move it forward and jump up. Repeat for 30 seconds.
If you want to amp up this sweat sesh with some core work, try Takacs’ six-minute abs workout from week one:
Since you should only technically be doing HIIT two days a week, be sure to supplement this series with Takacs’ six-minute core workout, which you can also do in the comfort of your living room (pants: optional).
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