Forget Long Runs — You Just Need HIIT and 20 Minutes to Maximize Fat Loss

I’ve been a personal trainer for more than three decades. During my time in the fitness industry, I’ve heard every conceivable reason for not exercising regularly. However, the excuse I hear the most is lack of time. This point of view is supported by research on PubMed, which states time is a common barrier to exercise (1).

Unfortunately, many people believe that working out and getting fit are time-consuming and complicated. This belief is reinforced by the media, who love nothing more than to report on the latest and greatest fitness innovations, most of which are impractical for the average exerciser.

That’s not to say marathon workouts, twice-a-day training schedules, cryotherapy routines, vitamin shots, exotic supplement regimens, and ultra-strict diets don’t work. Of course they do! However, such approaches are usually unsustainable for the average person.

The good news is that getting fit and losing weight doesn’t have to be complicated or time-consuming. In my experience, simple, straightforward yet repeatable actions almost always produce better results than exotic methods you cannot maintain.

In this article, I discuss what is arguably the most time-efficient workout around: High-Intensity Interval Training, or HIIT for short. As well as discussing the advantages and benefits of HIIT, I’ve also got a tried-and-tested 20-minute HIIT workout for you to try.

The HIIT Advantage

HIIT is a form of cardio training. However, instead of maintaining the same pace for your entire workout, HIIT involves alternating periods of intense exercise with brief rests. Despite this difference, HIIT affects your body in much the same way as conventional cardio, offering all of the same benefits.

These benefits include:

• Improved fitness
• Fat burning
• Weight loss
• Improved cardiovascular health
• Reduced blood pressure
• Better circulation
• Blood glucose control
• Increased bone mass
• Improved mental health
• Reduced risk of dying prematurely

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), most adults should do at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity cardio per week (2). That’s 30 minutes five days a week. This is a significant amount of time and may be difficult for some people to achieve.

However, the CDC also states that you can achieve similar benefits in less time with more intense workouts. In fact, the CDC suggests that just 75 minutes per week of high-intensity exercise is sufficient (2) for most adults.

Such a big time saving means HIIT is more appealing than conventional cardio for many exercisers. Just three 25-minute workouts are all you need to hit the CDC’s recommendation of 75 minutes per week.

As well as shorter workouts, HIIT has several additional benefits to offer.

These include:

• Burn more kilocalories in less time – HIIT burns 20-30% more kilocalories per minute than most other types of exercise (3).
• Proven weight loss – studies support the effectiveness of short HIIT workouts for weight loss and fat burning, especially when combined with an appropriate diet (4).
• Increased post-exercise metabolism – HIIT doesn’t just burn more kilocalories during your workout, but in the hours that follow, too. HIIT boosts your post-workout metabolism more than low-intensity cardio (5).
• Increased muscle mass – HIIT has the potential to stress your muscles much like strength training. As such, HIIT workouts can preserve or even increase muscle mass (6). Losing fat as you build muscle will improve your body composition, which is a popular goal among exercisers.
• Improved aerobic and anaerobic fitness – conventional cardio is great for improving aerobic fitness. Still, it doesn’t do much for your anaerobic fitness. In contrast, HIIT develops both aerobic and anaerobic in the same workout (7).

20-Minute Fat-Burning HIIT Workout

As promised, here is a 20-minute HIIT workout for you to try. Do this workout three times a week on non-consecutive days, e.g., Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. HIIT can take a lot out of your body, so it’s critical to balance your workouts with adequate rest and recovery.

However, before you begin, make sure you spend a few minutes getting your muscles and joints ready for what you’re about to do. A short warm-up will reduce your risk of injury while making your workout more effective.

Begin with 2-3 minutes of easy cardio, e.g., brisk walking, jogging, or jump rope, followed by a minute or two of dynamic stretches and joint mobility exercises.

Ready? Then let’s get to work!

Do each of the following exercises for the allotted time, moving quickly from one movement to the next. Repeat the entire sequence four times to total 20 minutes. Note that the work periods increase and the rests decrease every two weeks. This built-in progression will ensure you get fitter over the coming weeks.

Exercise Instructions

There are two ways to do every exercise – the right way and the wrong way. The right way is safe and effective. In contrast, the wrong way is usually easier but increases your risk of injury. Follow these step-by-step guidelines to make your HIIT workouts as safe and productive as possible.

1. Mountain Climbers

Mountain climbers are a fast-paced exercise that works your arms, chest, shoulders, legs, and core. It’ll also drive your heart rate through the roof! Try to maintain an even pace during this movement, finishing as strongly as you start.

Steps:

1. Adopt the push-up position with your arms and legs straight and core braced.
2. Bend one leg and bring your knee up to touch your elbow.
3. Drive your leg back, swap sides, and repeat.
4. Continue alternating legs for the allotted time.

2. Jumping Jacks

Jumping jacks are one of the most popular calisthenic or bodyweight exercises around. They’re easier to master than jumping rope but no less effective. Land on the balls of your feet to reduce impact and give your legs and calves a great workout.

Steps:

1. Stand with your feet together and your arms by your sides.
2. Brace your core and pull your shoulders back and down.
3. Jump your feet out to slightly wider than shoulder width apart and simultaneously raise your arms above your head.
4. Jump your feet back together and lower your arms back to your sides.
5. That’s one rep – keep going!

3. Burpees

Burpees are a fantastic whole-body exercise that’s perfect for HIIT workouts. They work your upper body, lower body, and core and are essentially three exercises rolled into one – squats, push-ups, and squat thrusts. Most people have a love/hate relationship with burpees – they love how effective they are but hate them because they’re so tough!

Steps:

1. Stand with your feet together and arms by your sides. Brace your core.
2. Squat down and place your hands flat on the floor.
3. Jump your feet out and back into the push-up position.
4. Do a single push-up.
5. Jump your feet back up to your hands.
6. Leap into the air as high as possible.
7. Land on slightly bent knees and repeat.

Feel free to skip the push-up or the vertical jump to make this exercise more manageable.

4. Single-Leg V-Up

The single-leg V-up is one of my favorite core exercises. While it’s pretty simple, it’s also deceptively challenging, and the alternating leg action makes a nice change from most conventional abs movements. It’s certainly a lot easier than regular V-ups, which are a beast of a core exercise!

Steps:

1. Lie on your back with your legs straight, and arms extended overhead.
2. Brace your core and press your lower back into the floor.
3. Raising your upper body and one leg simultaneously, reach up to touch your foot.
4. Lie back down and repeat on the opposite side.
5. Continue alternating legs for the duration of your set.

5. Air Squat

Squats are one of the most functional exercises around. In fact, it’s almost impossible to get through a day without doing dozens of squats. Air squats are an accessible, effective, and safe way to develop your entire lower body. In addition, done for high reps and a brisk pace, they provide an excellent cardio workout.

Steps:

1. Stand with your feet roughly shoulder-width apart, toes turned slightly outward.
2. Brace your core, stand up straight, and pull your shoulders back and down.
3. Bend your legs, push your hips back, and squat down until your thighs are at least parallel to the floor. Extend your arms in front of you for balance if necessary.
4. Stand back up and repeat.

Closing Thoughts

You don’t need a lot of time to burn fat and get fit. In fact, you don’t even need any equipment to get in great shape. I spent five years in the British Royal Marines and rarely trained in a gym. And yet, despite such spartan workout facilities, I had no problem maintaining a high fitness level, even during deployments.

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is arguably the most time-efficient way to exercise. Switching from conventional cardio to HIIT can save you hours each week, delivering similar if not superior health and fitness benefits.

So, don’t waste your valuable time on unnecessarily lengthy or complicated workouts. Burn fat and get fit in minutes instead of hours with HIIT.

References:

1. Hasan ABMN, Sharif AB, Jahan I. Perceived barriers to maintain physical activity and its association to mental health status of Bangladeshi adults: a quantile regression approach. Sci Rep. 2023 Jun 2;13(1):8993. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-36299-7. PMID: 37268704; PMCID: PMC10238517.
2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Physical Activity for a Healthy Weight.
3. Falcone PH, Tai CY, Carson LR, Joy JM, Mosman MM, McCann TR, Crona KP, Kim MP, Moon JR. Caloric expenditure of aerobic, resistance, or combined high-intensity interval training using a hydraulic resistance system in healthy men. J Strength Cond Res. 2015 Mar;29(3):779-85. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000000661. PMID: 25162652.
4. Heydari M, Freund J, Boutcher SH. The effect of high-intensity intermittent exercise on body composition of overweight young males. J Obes. 2012;2012:480467. doi: 10.1155/2012/480467. Epub 2012 Jun 6. PMID: 22720138; PMCID: PMC3375095.
5. Wingfield HL, Smith-Ryan AE, Melvin MN, Roelofs EJ, Trexler ET, Hackney AC, Weaver MA, Ryan ED. The acute effect of exercise modality and nutrition manipulations on post-exercise resting energy expenditure and respiratory exchange ratio in women: a randomized trial. Sports Med Open. 2015 Dec;1(1):11. doi: 10.1186/s40798-015-0010-3. Epub 2015 Jun 5. PMID: 27747847.
6. Osawa Y, Azuma K, Tabata S, Katsukawa F, Ishida H, Oguma Y, Kawai T, Itoh H, Okuda S, Matsumoto H. Effects of 16-week high-intensity interval training using upper and lower body ergometers on aerobic fitness and morphological changes in healthy men: a preliminary study. Open Access J Sports Med. 2014 Nov 4;5:257-65. doi: 10.2147/OAJSM.S68932. PMID: 25395872; PMCID: PMC4226445.
7. Batacan RB, Duncan MJ, Dalbo VJ, et al. Effects of high-intensity interval training on cardiometabolic health: a systematic review and meta-analysis of intervention studies. British Journal of Sports Medicine 2017;51:494-503.

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