The ULTIMATE 8-Minute, Fat Burning, HIIT Workout


One of my favorite types of workouts is the fat burning HIIT workout.

The fat burning HIIT workouts that only last 8 minutes are even better.

HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) is a workout that involves intense bursts of exercise followed by short rest periods. HIIT workouts will challenge your mind and body to get as many reps as you can in the allotted time period. When a person prepares HIIT workouts consistently week to week, they are destined to receive an abundance of benefits.

In essence, HIIT workouts are great for burning fat, improving health, and improving strength and endurance, while giving you a great workout in a short amount of time.

A fat burning HIIT workout can be done by people of any age and any skill. Just remember to vary your exercise difficulty and workout intensity to match your level of fitness. There is always a happy medium. Don’t overdo it, but don’t underdo it either. Pick an intensity that is challenging, but not impossible.

Here are 7 tips on how you should use your:

8-minute, Fat burning HIIT workouts to benefit your body.

Tip #1 Use HIIT to Burn Extra Calories in a Short Amount of Time

HIIT is best designed to burn through tons of calories in a minimal amount of time. My favorite workouts are fat burning HIIT workouts. I am a very busy person and do not have much time to spend getting my workout in. One study found that HIIT workouts burned 25-30% more calories than other forms of exercise in only 1/3 the amount of time.  That’s an excellent use of time and a great way to burn tons of calories.


Tip #2 Use HIIT to Increase Your Resting Metabolic Rate

One of the best benefits of a fat burning HIIT workout is the afterburn or EPOC (Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption) effect you get after the workout. The EPOC effect is influenced primarily by the intensity and not the duration of the workout. So, the higher intensity the workout, the better.

During the immediate post-exercise recovery period oxygen is used to produce ATP, resynthesize muscle glycogen, restore oxygen levels, and restore body temperature to resting levels. One study showed that just 2 minutes of HIIT (sprinting in this case) increased metabolism over a 24-hour period. You would have to do 30 minutes of running to have the same after burn effect.


Tip #3 Use HIIT to Burn Fat

If your goal is fat loss, HIIT can help you with that as well. One study showed that individuals who performed a HIIT workout 3 times a week, 20 minutes per session, lost on average approximately 4.4 pounds in 12 weeks without any changes to their diets.

Another study showed that Tabata style HIIT workouts can burn approximately 15 calories per minute. Tabata training features exercises that last four minutes. With this method, you can burn about 60 calories per exercise.  If you merely do 4 exercises, you can burn 240 calories in your short workout. This can add up to huge fat losses over time.


Tip #4 Use HIIT to Burn Visceral Fat

With HIIT workouts, not only are you burning fat, but the training allows you to tap into and shed visceral fat, the deep abdominal fat surrounding your organs. Having some body fat is perfectly normal and healthy but removing some of the extra visceral fat can help decrease your risk of certain health complications, such as the risk to get type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke, and heart disease. Typically, a woman whose waist measures 35 inches or more is more likely to have excess visceral fat. The same is true for a man at 40 inches or more.


Tip #5 Use HIIT to Reduce Blood Pressure

One study shows that HIIT can reduce resting heart rate and blood pressure (when elevated) in obese and overweight individuals. The group who did HIIT for 20 minutes a day, 3 days a week, matched the results for the group who did traditional exercise for 30 minutes a day, 4 days a week.

Moreover, one study showed HIIT to be promising in its ability to improve HDL (High Density Lipoprotein) cholesterol, the waxy substance that’s found in all of your cells, after only 8 weeks of training. Higher HDL’s help in the reduction of bad cholesterol, LDL (Low Density Lipoprotein), a substance that can build in your arteries and form fatty, waxy deposits called plaques. The rule of thumb is to increase your HDL’s and lower your LDL’s.


Tip #6 Use HIIT to Improve Strength

Strength gains will occur significantly more in individuals who are less active to begin with. Whichever muscle you are using the most in your HIIT workout (usually the legs) will benefit the most in its gains in strength.

Even though HIIT training does increase strength, it doesn’t do so nearly as well as traditional weight lifting. Traditional training with heavy weights is your best bet for strength gains because strength gains are directly correlated to the amount of weight you are using.  The heavier the weights are, the more strength you are likely to gain. 

HIIT workouts are based more on the intensity of your workout and less on the maximum weight you can press. Where traditional workouts focus more on the opposite. I recommend you incorporate both into your training regimen.


Tip #7 Use HIIT to Workout Anywhere

Are you reading this in a hotel room? Do you like the outdoors? Do you just want to do your workouts at home? You don’t need heavy weight machines to do a HIIT workout. All you need is your body and maybe a couple small pieces of equipment. The lesson here is your excuses are irrelevant when it comes to getting a HIIT workout in. You can do these workouts in your basement or on top of a mountain (the latter is recommended). All you need to do is start. Once you get going, the only place you will end up is sweaty, maybe on the floor, and healthier than when you started.

Have I convinced you of the effectiveness and quality of a fat burning HIIT workout?

I hope so because I’ve created a good one right here for you to do right now, as promised! Safely proceed and do as many reps as you can within the allotted time period.


8-Minute Fat Burning HIIT Workout #1

Round 1 – Twice Through Equipment Warmup – Jumping Jacks
Slam ball Slams Slam Ball 30 sec
Push-up Jack to Renegade Row Dumbbells 30 sec
Russian Twist Medicine Ball 30 sec
Squat to Shoulder Press Dumbbells 30 sec
Round 2 – Twice Through Equipment Drink Break
Kettlebell Swings Kettlebell 30 sec
Alternating Reverse Lunges + Bicep Curl Sliders 30 sec
High Knees Bodyweight 30 sec
Jackknifes Swiss Ball 30 sec

Bonus Finisher: Sprint in place for 1 minute

Download the FREE PRINTABLE PDF version of this workout here:

Are you missing any of the equipment from above?

Check out my article ->> Top 20 of the BEST Pieces of Functional Fitness Equipment to find the best functional fitness equipment options to complete your workout.

Summary: The ULTIMATE 8-Minute, Fat Burning, HIIT Workout

A fat burning HIIT workout is one of the all around best workouts for your body. Intense exercise followed by short rest periods make for a quick, challenging workout. HIIT’s benefits are unmatched by most other workout styles.

The vigorous activity of a fat burning HIIT workout is so effective, it can lead to a “runner’s high”, a euphoric and exhilarating moment in which pain can seemingly cease to exist.  Mix and match exercises and intensities for best results. It is in your best interest to incorporate HIIT workouts into your weekly exercise routine.

Have you incorporated HIIT into any of your workouts? Why or why not? Let me know below!

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