You’re craving a workout, so, naturally, you pack your gym bag and brave the cold to head over to Dodge. You pass the turnstile and the familiar scent of sweat, week-old socks, and misery immediately hits you. All the machines and mats are occupied, and there are close to 20 people on that dinky little track. Turns out, it’s not just you on a new year’s workout grind. Oh well, you think, turning around and heading out the door. Maybe tomorrow.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. What if you could have a super intense, muscle-busting, endorphin-generating sweat sesh right from the comfort of your dorm room? Spectrum’s got you covered. We’ve compiled a few high-intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts, which engage all muscle groups through spurts of intense anaerobic exercise to give you the bang for your buck (hello, afterburn!). And even better, all that’s required is yourself, and enough floor space to lie flat, to get started.
Strengthening HIIT (~25 minutes)
This full-body strength-training set uses a series of bodyweight exercises to help you develop muscle definition and increase strength. Scale up or down as necessary!
4 min plank
-90 sec regular plank
-45 sec right-arm plank
-45 sec left-arm plank
-60 sec straight arm plank
20 squats
15 push-ups
1 min wall sit
Leg lift set
-20 for each leg
Repeat once.
Cardio HIIT (~15 minutes)
This short and sweet fat-burning circuit gets your heart rate up and is very straightforward. We definitely recommend this set for beginners.
1 min high knees
1 min butt kicks
1 min jumping jacks
1 min standing mountain climbers
1 min rest
Repeat twice.
Cardio + Strengthening HIIT (~24 minutes)
This workout combines moves from the previous two sets to get the best of both cardio and strength-training.
Part one: all exercises to be completed in 45 seconds, with 15 seconds rest in between
Butt kicks
Burpees
Jump squats
Mountain climbers
Standing bicycle crunches
Repeat once.
Part two: all exercises to be completed in 40 seconds, followed by a 20-second plank
Mountain climbers
Plank
1 min rest
Lateral plank walks
Plank
1 min rest
Repeat once.
Core HIIT (~20 minutes)
Got back pain from carrying all those CC books? Try this workout to strengthen your core and back muscles—essential to maintaining good posture.
4 min plank
-90 sec regular plank
-45 sec right-arm plank
-45 sec left-arm plank
-60 sec straight arm plank
Cardio set
-20 tuck jumps
-40 jumping lunges
V-sit
-40 seconds hold, 20 seconds rest
Repeat twice.
Leg lift set
-20 for each leg
Repeat once.
Staff writer Michelle Zhuang can be contacted at michelle.zhuang@columbiaspectator.com. Follow Spectator on Twitter @ColumbiaSpec.
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