The Best 10 Minute HIIT Workout At Home (For Serious Results)
Do you want to get in shape, feel stronger, become leaner? Do you also have basically zero spare minutes in the day? This was my conundrum about a year ago. Then I discovered the solution: a 10 minute HIIT workout at home. Boom.
Rewind: Before I had a child, it was fairly easy to fit exercise into my life. I could hit the gym right after work for an hour, wake up half an hour early to do some YouTube power yoga, or go for a run at whatever time I felt like it on the weekends.
Post-child, that all changed. My schedule was no longer completely my own — I now had a tiny person in my life who relied on me for everything. There was no sneaking out for a run. Ever. And when my son was at nursery, you better believe I prioritized work. Those were my only hours to bring home the bacon (and cover said [very pricey] childcare).
So how to moms find time to work out, then? I realized I really needed to make a change — and figure out how to find time to workout with a toddler — the day my husband and I rearranged our bedroom and moved our full-length mirror, which had been gathering dust, out from behind a chest of draws. I saw myself head to tow for the first time in months (years?), and was horrified. I had no muscle mass, no shape. My skin was dull. I looked tired and drained — and I felt it.
I had to figure out how busy moms exercise with a toddler or a baby (or any busy person, for that matter) when their "free" time is limited.
After poking around and doing some research, I finally landed on YouTube, where I found the most incredible (dare I say perfect?) solution in 10 minute HIIT workouts at home.
And I’ve never felt better. I can’t believe how fast, simple, and enjoyable the path to get to this point was. Oh how I wish I’d started sooner.
First, You Have to Change Your Mindset About Exercise
The thing about exercise is that it makes you feel better. It makes you healthier, physically and mentally. And when you’re healthy, you can be better at all those things you’re doing (your career, parenting) that can sometimes stand in the way of doing the thing that keeps you healthy (working out).
To begin, you have to change your mindset. Exercise isn’t something to fit in in your “spare” time. Doing something that has a massively positive impact on your life isn’t something you can spare — it’s essential.
Still, we have limited hours in our days. Especially busy moms.
Then, You Have To Try a 10-Minute HIIT Workout
The solution to all my problems was free 10 minute HIIT workouts on YouTube. That's right. 10 minutes. Sometimes 12, sometimes 15. Often just 10. For free. In my living room.
HIIT stands for high-intensity interval training and involves brief bursts of a single exercise, usually 30 to 60 seconds, followed by an even shorter period of rest, often 10 to 15 seconds. (Though the intervals can be longer.) Then you start over.
Certain exercises prioritize cardio while others might be more strength-training oriented. Regardless, each should be performed at 80 to 95% of your maximal heart rate.
Louder, for those at the back: these are intense bursts.
What Are the Benefits of HIIT?
And why is it the best solution for how to find time to workout with a toddler or a baby?
1. HIIT builds different muscle groups
HIIT exercises incorporate a ton of different movements. Think: squats, mountain climbers, kicks, air punches, burpees, you name it. You’re moving your entire body, and in multiple different ways, each time you roll out your mat and get down to business.
A 2017 study found that a brief, 12-minute HIIT work impacted muscles to a greater degree than a 40-minute aerobic workout in young overweight females.
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2. HIIT burns a ton of calories
A HIIT workout burns more calories, minute for minute, than “steady-state cardio” (such as running, cycling, and rowing).
But it can also help you burn calories after you finish exercising, a phenomenon known as excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC). This can be attributed to its level of intensity and ability to promote muscle growth. And muscle, we know, burns more calories than fat.
3. HIIT boosts your metabolism
In addition to the above metabolism-boosting benefits, HIIT can boost your inner engine by stimulating the production of HGH, or human growth hormone, by up to 450 percent in the 24 hours following your workout. HGH works by speeding up the repair of muscle tissue after exercise.
4. HIIT can help you lose weight
When you’re burning a ton of calories, amassing muscle, and boosting your metabolism, you’re on the path to weight loss, my friend.
HIIT is also associated specifically with weight loss around your abdomen. This workout burns serious belly fat.
Did someone say flat tummy?
5. HIIT improves your heart health and lowers your blood sugar (and that’s not all!)
According to the American College of Sports Medicine, HIIT can not only make you strong and lean but also improve your heart health, blood pressure, oxygen and blood flow, cholesterol profile, and insulin sensitivity (which allows your muscles to more readily utilize your glucose stores).
6. HIIT is super efficient (Great for
Research has shown that a brief 15-minute HIIT workout completed just three times per week can result in more fitness progress than spending one hour running on a treadmill.
10 to 15 minutes a day, a few times per week, is pretty doable. I like to do it in those in-between or “dead” moments in my day, for example:
- right before I eat lunch
- right before I pick up my son from nursery
- as a break in my work, when I’m struggling to make progress (it's a phenomenal brain booster!)
- right before I make dinner (and my partner is able to play with our son)
- when I'm with my son and he seems keen to either watch me workout OR workout with me (super fun, super cute)
Another thing that helps me is keeping my mat out and putting on my leggings and a workout-friendly bra first thing in the morning. If you prefer to “get dressed” as part of your productivity routine, by all means do so. But put your workout gear out (maybe by your mat) so that it’s ready for you to change into.
You can also hop on the whole work-friendly athflow bandwagon. I'm intrigued.
Another plus? I DON'T WEAR SNEAKERS. Nope. Makes it all that much easier.
Sometimes I’ll do two sessions in a single day. Occasionally these sessions will be back to back, but more often than not all do one in the early afternoon and then one right before I make dinner.
My Crazy 10-Minute HIIT Workout Results
In less than a month, I started to see muscle tone in my stomach, I could feel major strength gains in my arms (my beast of toddler no longer felt so... beastly), and my faint saddlebags were starting to recede.
Perhaps more importantly, I felt more focused and happier. All those feel-good hormones we’re kicking in to clear my head, stabilize my mood, and make me the best possible version of myself.
So even though it doesn’t take that much planning and rearranging and prioritizing to fit HIIT in, I’d urge you to not view this as trying to find the “spare” moments to fit HIIT in. Because your health and happiness are not something you can spare – they’re central.
My Favorite 10-Minute HIIT Workouts
My 3 favorite quick 10-minute HIIT workouts for busy moms are by YouTuber Maddie Lymburner, also known as MadFit:
This one is fun. The first exercise — the step over with an ab twist — took me a few tries before I nailed it. But once you get it down, it burns so good.
The front kicks will get your peach peachy in no time.
I love the modified burpees in this one. Just my style!
Remember, you can ALWAYS make modifications if something is too hard at first. You can work your way up to it as slowly as you need to. Listen to your body. Yes you want to push yourself, but you also don’t want to feel pain or intense discomfort. (Please note that this is not medical advice.)
This should be FUN. Aside from its crazy benefits, one of the biggest reasons I keep coming back to 10 minute HIIT workouts is that I genuinely enjoy them and am excited (most of the time!) to get on my mat.
If you're a busy mom looking to learn how moms find time to workout — or if you're just a busy person, period — I hope this article was helpful.
Related Read: 7 Tips for How to Make Cooking Easier
