Your Quick (4 Minutes!) Total-Body HIIT Circuit

If you’re short on time (and motivation), this is the fast routine that still delivers results. (Photo: Getty Images)

Summer is in full swing, so we totally get that you’d rather be enjoying drinks on a rooftop while watching the sunset with your pals instead of heading to the gym after work. Our solution: a fast and furious, no-equipment-required high-intensity interval training (HIIT) workout. When your schedule is packed, HIIT workouts are ideal because training at a higher intensity leads to the afterburn effect (where your body keeps burning calories even after you stopped exercising—read more about that here). “Ask yourself, ‘When do I have the most amount of energy?’ and try to schedule your workout around that time,” suggests Ashley Borden, celebrity trainer and spokeswoman Motrin’s Make It Happen Weekends campaign.

To get started, warm-up for a couple minutes with jumping jacks and high knees. Then, perform each exercise below for 40 seconds, aiming to complete as many reps as possible. Rest for 20 seconds then move on to the next exercise. The circuit only takes four minutes, but for the best results, repeat the entire set a total of five times.

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1. Reverse Lunges
Stand with feet shoulder-width apart and hands resting behind head, keeping elbows wide. Step right leg back two to three feet and bend both knees, lowering so left thigh is parallel to floor. Push through left heel to stand and return right leg to start. Reverse the movement, stepping back with left foot. Continue alternating sides.

2. Squat Thrusts
Begin in a standing position. Place hands on floor in front of you and jump legs back into a plank position. Hop feet forward, landing just outside hands. Jump up, reaching arms towards ceiling and immediately lower into the next rep.

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3. Speed Skaters
Stand on right foot with right knee slightly bent and left leg lifted off floor. Take a wide jump to left, landing on left foot and swinging right leg behind left. Reverse the movement, landing on right foot. Continue alternating sides.

4. Bicycle Crunches
Lie faceup and place hands behind head. Raise legs to tabletop position. Lift head and shoulders off floor and twist torso to right, bringing left elbow to meet right knee, and extend left leg out at a 45-degree angle. Return through center and repeat on the opposite leg. Continue alternating sides.

By Amy Schlinger

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