A 12-Minute Outdoor HIIT Workout That Helps You Lose Weight And Build Muscle

To help you find your new go-to, do-anywhere workout, we have put together a high-intensity interval training (HIIT) workout. It’s about getting the work done in a short amount of time so that you can get to the day’s activities.

Short HIIT workouts like the one below can assist with increased overall athletic endurance, increase core strength, and help with lean muscle gain and fat loss over time. When you are short on time and need to get a quick total-body workout fix, I always suggest HIIT workouts.

HIIT workouts are short, super intense workouts that have you alternating between intervals of all-out effort with intervals of active recovery or rest. This workout includes a quick dynamic warm-up followed by two supersets.

A superset means that you’re performing two different exercises in succession with little to no rest in between. In this workout, the first superset is yoga push-ups (an upper-body-dominant exercise) followed by burpees (a total-body, plyometric exercise).

The second superset is walking lunges (a lower-body-dominant exercise) followed by “get-ups to jump lunge combo” (a total-body, plyometric exercise). Pairing a strength exercise with plyometrics—explosive moves, like jumping—is an effective way to amp up your short workout.

Finally, there’s a core burnout section designed to fatigue your abdominal muscles in a short amount of time. The core exercises that I selected in this particular workout are dynamic, move through various planes of motion, and are challenging and functional.

Warm-up:

High Knees — 20 seconds
Crabby Crawl Out — 20 seconds
Grass Grabbers — 20 seconds
Rest — 30 seconds

Superset 1:

Yoga Push-ups — 45 seconds
Burpee to Lateral Jump Squat — 45 seconds
Rest — 30 seconds
Repeat one more time.

Superset 2:

Get-up to Jump Lunge — 45 seconds
High Knees — 20 seconds
Rest — 30 seconds
Repeat one more time.

Core Burnout:

Single Leg Bicycles — 20 seconds each side
Sumo Squat Hold With Oblique Crunch — 30 seconds
Plank Hold — 30 seconds

High Knees — 20 seconds

How to:

Stand tall with feet hip-width apart.
Keep your chest lifted and your abs tight as you drive your knees toward your chest, one at a time.
Swing your arms, focusing on taking your finger tips from hip height to lip height in rhythm with your knees.
Continue for 20 seconds.

Crabby Crawl Out — 20 seconds

How to:

Stand with your legs wider than shoulder-width apart. Lower into a sumo squat.
Crawl out onto your hands until your body is stretched out in plank position.
Then, do a push-up.
Crawl back with your hands and sit back into the sumo squat, arms straight and extended overhead.
Repeat for 20 seconds.

Squat to High Kick — 20 seconds

How to:

Stand with your feet slightly wider than hip-width apart, toes facing forward.
Sit your hips back into a squat.
As you stand back up, kick one leg up, keeping it straight, and bring your opposite hand out to touch your toes.
Alternate sides for 20 seconds.

Grass Grabbers — 20 seconds

How to:

Start with your feet wider than shoulder-width apart.
Push your hips back and lower into a sumo squat, bringing your arm to touch the ground right underneath your torso.
Then, stand up straight and jump your feet in so that they land directly under your hips (land on the balls of your feet).
Immediately hop your feet back out to start position and start with the squat again.
Continue for 20 seconds.

Yoga Push-ups — 45 seconds

How to:

Start in high plank.
Shift your weight back and bring your butt to the sky so your body’s in a triangle shape.
Your heels should be touching or hovering above the floor (feel free to bend your knees if that’s too intense).
Make sure your neck is in line with your spine so your gaze is toward your feet.
Leading with the crown of your head, bring your upper body down through your hands, swooping your chest about a inch away from the ground and then lifting your chest into Cobra before pushing your hips back into Downward Dog.
Continue for 45 seconds.

Burpee to Lateral Jump Squat — 45 seconds

How to:

Do a burpee without a push-up: Start in a deep squat with your legs wider than shoulder-width apart, toes slightly turned out.
Reach forward to place your hands on the floor right beside your ribcage.
Kick your legs straight out behind you so that you end up in high plank.
Jump your legs back to start.
As you stand up out of squat position, jump to the right, straightening legs while you’re in the air and lowering back into a squat when you land.
Do another squat jump back to the left, ending in start position.
Continue this combination for 45 seconds.

Single-Leg Bicycles — 20 seconds each side

How to:

Lie face up with both legs extended straight in front of you, keeping your heels higher than your hips.
Lift your shoulder blades off the ground and engage your abs.
Twist your torso to bring your right elbow to your left knee, keeping your right leg extended.
Bring your chest and leg back to start.
Continue on the same side for 20 seconds; then, repeat on the other side.

Sumo Squat Hold With Oblique Crunch — 30 seconds

How to:

Stand tall with feet wider than shoulder-width apart, toes pointed out.
Keep your back straight as you push your hips back and bend your knees to lower into a squat, stopping when your butt is in line with your knees.
Reach toward the ground with one arm and twist your torso open to the opposite side.
Initiating the twist from your hip, and avoid hunching your shoulders or tipping your torso forward.
Repeat this movement, alternating sides, for 30 seconds.

Plank — 30 seconds

How to:

Get on all fours with your toes on the floor shoulder-width apart.
Your wrists and elbows should be stacked directly beneath your shoulders.
Keep your core tight so your body is in a straight line from head to toe.
Squeeze your thighs and butt.
Keep your neck and spine in a comfortable, neutral position. (Tip: Try aiming your chin about 6 inches in front of your body.)
Hold this position for 30 seconds.