Erin Stern Shares Modified Low-Impact ‘HILIT’ Workout for Building Muscle Without ‘Wear & Tear’

IFBB Figure/Bikini Pro Erin Stern continues to give back to fans with easy-to-understand workout demonstrations. In a recent YouTube video, Stern discussed her alteration to high-intensity interval training, where she promoted low-impact activities, but at a rigorous pace. While Erin Stern appreciates the benefits of HIIT workouts, she believes her low-impact variation will benefit those who are getting older, and lack the ability to recover like they used to. 

“It can be done pretty much anywhere depending on what type of equipment you have. Let’s say you have a pool, you can go swim once or twice for me. For me, I have my assault bike in the backyard,” Erin Stern shared. 

Stern began her career in 2008 and took first place at the NPC National Bodybuilding and Figure Championships. She leads an incredibly active schedule and routinely competes in multiple Pro competitions a year. In her first Olympia appearance in 2009, she took sixth place but went on to correct her mistakes. 

The following year (2010), Stern reached the pinnacle of her career, having laid claim to a prestigious Olympia title in the Figure category. While she was unable to fend off Nicole Wilkins in 2011, Stern exacted revenge in 2012, when she took out her rival in a close show. Erin has also made numerous appearances at the annual Arnold Sports Festival. 

Stern is well-respected in the community for her training knowledge and work ethic. Her last Figure competition came in 2021 at the GRL PWR in 13th place. Stern transformed her physique for the Bikini division and later earned the right to compete at Bikini Olympia in 2021 and 2022. In addition, she now spends her time offering advice to fans online with a YouTube channel of over 292,000 subscribers. 

HIIT ‘Low-Impact’ Takes 1/10th of the Time Traditional Cardio Takes, Says Bodybuilder Erin Stern

Erin Stern maintains that high-intensity interval training is anabolic and helps grow muscle. However, since the intensity can cause damage to the body over time, her solution is to perform HIT workouts with low-impact exercises. 

“By now you’re probably very familiar with HIT or high-intensity interval training. It’s one of my favorite forms of cardio. It takes an eighth to a tenth of the time of the amount of time that traditional cardio takes. Of course, it’s super intense and it’s anabolic, it can help you build muscle. It’s going to boost your metabolism for 24-48 hours after training, also known as the after-burn effect. 

But there are quite a few drawbacks to HIT, especially if you’re weight training, you’re looking to really gain muscle and you are on a structured lifting program. HIT especially, things like sprinting, there’s a lot of eccentric force, a lot of wear and tear on the joints and on the muscles. You can lessen your recovery ability meaning the next time you’re looking to weight train, you’re going to be sore from HIT. So training with HIT and weights. It can be really really tough.” 

Next, Stern highlighted the importance of choosing a movement/exercise that is either ‘concentric or push-based.’ In addition, she named a few workouts that fall into those parameters, such as sled pushing, kettlebell swings, and swimming. 

“We tend to recover a bit more slowly as we age. What is the solution? It’s high-intensity low-impact training,” said Stern. “Now, for high-intensity low-impact training, what you’re looking for is an exercise that concentric or push-based.”

“Now, I’ll explain this: With HIT, you’re typically looking at something like sprints and for each step that you take when you’re at full speed, you might put 500-600 pounds of pressure on your foot as you land and you’re experiencing a tremendous amount of eccentric force with traditional HITS. Now, take this exercise, a sprint for example, and put yourself on an assault bike or get on stairs. 

Push a sled. Anything where you’re limiting that negative aspect or the eccentric force on your joints is going to qualify as HITS, or high-intensity low-impact training. Other exercises can include kettlebell swings, the rower, swimming, so think about that when you’re structuring a 1-2 time per week high-intensity training session.” 

Stern’s High-Intensity Low-Impact Training Guide

According to Erin Stern, a high-intensity low-impact workout should consist of 3-4 rounds of 15-30 seconds of all-out effort. Once the heart rate lowers, repeat the workout. In total, the training session should add up to 20-25 minutes. 

“We’re looking at to start three to four rounds of between 15-30 seconds of all-out effort. And also keep in mind that as you do these intervals it’s going to have a cumulative effect on you. So after you do the first interval, it might take you a minute to a minute in a half to get your heart rate back down to that 60% each successive interval though. It’s going to take you a little bit longer and a little bit longer each time and that is totally fine.” 

“We’re looking at 20-25 minutes max as far as your workout goes. So if someone tells you that they’re able to do HIT or high-intensity low-impact training for an hour and that is the working time and they’re not taking 10 minutes in between each sprint, I would highly doubt that. You do want to keep that training time pretty short, 20-25 minutes total, not including your warm-up or cool down which could be 5-10 minutes depending on what you like to do before/after training.” 

She believes eliminating eccentric or negative force is essential to limiting wear and tear on the body. 

“Eliminating that eccentric or negative force on the muscles which is going to limit the wear and tear on the joints, it’s going to improve recoverability so you’re able to get a lot more volume in and you’re going to get the benefits of HITs without the wear and tear that HITs bring along.” 

It’s no mystery that fans and athletes alike have gotten a lot of out high-intensity interval training. Just look at six-time Mr. Olympia Dorian Yates. HIT workouts were a staple part of his Olympia training routine. He recently mentioned that these workouts have helped him maintain mobility and flexibility in retirement. Most importantly, Yates stressed warming up properly to avoid injuries. 

Historically, Yates has been a supporter of HIT-style training regimens. In 2021, he emphasized that taking part in regular HIT workouts can promote positivity and confidence. And judging from the physique he’s carrying today, those techniques appear to be paying off. 

Erin Stern’s low-impact HIT variation is a great alternative for people getting older and looking to stay in shape. It minimizes stress on the tendons and joints while still reaping the benefits of a traditional HIT workout. 

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You can watch the full video from Erin Stern’s YouTube channel below: 

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