30 Minute Low Impact HIIT Workout

30 Minute Low Impact HIIT Workout is another excellent workout from Heather Robertson. The “low impact” in the title is misleading. I was expecting a low impact cardio workout. This workout does get your heart rate elevated but it is not a cardio workout. This is a bodyweight strength workout and it is awesome! This is a feel good workout that works you well. I felt so good both during this workout and after. This is not an advanced workout, but it is the perfect level to work you nicely and make you feel good. Heather manages to hit every major muscle group. Some of the exercises in this workout even made me feel as if I was getting some excellent functional mobility work. This workout is total body, metabolic, low impact and functional. Another winner from Heather–and another new favorite of mine.

This workout is set up interval style. Each exercise is done for 40 seconds followed by 20 seconds of recovery. There is a timer in the lower right hand corner of the screen, counting down your intervals and recoveries. During the recovery, Heather previews the next exercise. This workout is set to music only, no verbal cuing. The music is excellent and motivating. In fact, the 20 seconds felt like a rather long recovery early on in the workout and the music motivated me to start the next move early (which is easy since Heather is previewing it). It just made me want to move–not stand there waiting! However as the workout progressed, I wanted my recoveries. But the music was motivating enough that my recoveries were active–I did heel digs or something esle in time to the excellent music.

30 Minute Low Impact HIIT Workout is 36:08 minutes; 3 minute warm up and 2:30 minute stretch. No equipment but I used a few items. I needed a chair for balance for #2 and a fitness mat for some of the floor exercises.

1. Lunge and twist (alternating reverse lunge, while in lunge, hold isometrically with hands clasped in front of chest and elbows extended out to side at shoulder level, twist ribs/arms to one side then the other)
2. Deadlift + lunge (reverse lunge into knee raise into single leg deadlift into knee lift)
3. Repeat #2 on other leg
4. Repeat #1-3
5. Inchworm with knee tap (hinge forward and walk hands out to plank, bring in knee under body and tap knee with opposite hand, repeat on other knee/hand, walk hands back to feet, stand and raise arms overhead)
6. Plank saw (hold elbow plank isometrically, push body forward and back with feet)
7. Clam push up (one push up on knees, rotate into knee side plank, top hand behind head, while in kneeling side plank, raise top knee to ceiling, close knee and return to knee plank and do a push up, alternate sides when doing the plank clam)
8. Repeat #5-7
9. Side to side squat (step out squats, alternate sides, touch one hand to floor when squatting)
10. Squat + toe tap (hold squat isometrically and alternate tapping feet out to side)
11. Squat and twist (hands are clasped in front of chest and elbows extended out to side at shoulder level, squat, when you stand pivot hips to side, raising onto toes but keeping arms and torso facing forward, alternate sides with a squat between each side)
12. Repeat #9-11
13. V squeeze push up (lay on stomach with arms extended straight in front of you, raise arms and legs and hold isometrically while pulling elbows back to ribs, place hands on floor and, while keeping body straight, push up to straight arm plank)
14. Bear plank tap (start on hands and knees then raise into toes with knees still bent, hold this position isometrically (bear plank) and tap hand to opposite shoulder, alternate sides)
15. Crab dips (while in crab, do one tricep dip then raise one leg and tap toe with opposite hand, repeat on other hand/leg)
16. Repeat #13-15
17. Speed skater (alternating curtsy lunges, raise arms overhead between lunges and tap the floor with fingertips when lunging)
18. High knee twister (alternating knee raises, hands are clasped at chest level, bring elbow to opposite knee)
19. Ski jacks (low impact squat jacks–narrow squat then step out to side, swing arms down when squatting and when you step out, swing arms up and out wide)
20. Repeat #17-19

For more info on Heather Robertson’s workouts and other (free) streaming workouts I’ve sampled and reviewed, check out my Streaming page.