Knee Friendly HIIT (NO SQUATS NO LUNGES NO JUMPING)

Knee Friendly HIIT (No Squats, No Lunges, No Jumping) is also another no equipment/body weight workout from Heather Robertson. I’ve been doing a lot of Heather’s body weight workouts over the past few weeks and this has been the easiest. I found it relatively low intensity as well as low impact. I didn’t feel like I was wasting my time with it though. You get some total body conditioning in this workout along with some low impact cardio but nothing intense or difficult. It was an enjoyable workout. The intensity did increase as the workout progressed but it never got “intense.” I didn’t even really sweat much. I perspired a bit. According to my FitBit I burned 185 calories and spent the majority of the workout in my fat burning heart rate zone. This was a fun and feel good total body low impact cardio + conditioning workout with no squats or lunges. This means Heather finds unique ways to work your lower body.

Knee Friendly HIIT (No Squats, No Lunges, No Jumping) is 36:43 minutes; 2:20 minute warm up and 3 minute stretch. Equipment: fitness mat. The exercises are all done interval style: 40 seconds of work 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 recoveries Heather previews the next exercise.

Circuit 1:

1. Reach & twist (in split stance with both arms in front of you, raise back knee while pulling arms down and twisting torso toward knee as it raises)
2. Repeat #1 on other side of body
3. Lay down push up (start in straight arm plank, keeping body straight from heels to shoulders, lower body to mat, raise arms and legs into superman, place hands back under shoulders and, keeping body straight from heels to shoulders, push back up into plank)
4. Rocking chair (lay on back on mat, do one reverse crunch lifting hips and pushing your legs overhead, then roll forward until you sitting on mat with knees bent and feet on mat, and raise both arms overhead)
5. Mountain climbers
6. Repeat #1-5

30 second rest

Circuit 2:

1. Kickstand & lift (stand in a narrow split stance with back leg in kickstand, hinge forward into a single leg deadlift reaching fingertips toward the floor and when you raise torso, lift leg that is in kickstand straight behind you)
2. Repeat #1 on other side of body
3. Inchworm push ups (stand at end of mat, hinge forward and walk hands out to plank, do one push up, walk hands back to feet, stand and raise arms overhead while also raising onto toes)
4. Dancing crab (in crab, raise one knee and tap opposite elbow to knee when it raises (you are supported on one leg and opposite arm) then kick same leg to ceiling while reaching for toe with opposite hand, alternate sides)
5. Cross punch (alternate sides/arms punching across body)
6. Repeat #1-5

30 second rest

Circuit 3:

1. Reach & tap (tap one leg out to side while reaching same side arm across body, alternate sides to a brisk tempo)
2. Step cross jacks (step one leg out to side so your legs are wide, hinge forward tapping foot with opposite hand, when you stand, bring feet together (bring foot that didn’t step out to meet other foot) and raise both hands overhead, alternate sides)
3. Walking plank dog (start in elbow plank, raise into straight arm plank and push hips back to down dog, return to straight arm plank then lower back to elbow plank)
4. Bear kicks (in bear pose (on hands and toes, with knees bent and hovering a few inches off the floor), lift one bent leg behind you, pushing sole of foot to ceiling, alternate legs)
5. Side shuffle (in partial squat, lateral shuffle/step 2x to one side then raise onto toes while reaching arms overhead)
6. Repeat #1-5

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