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HIIT Workouts For Women

Get Your Sweat on and Burn Calories With These 20 HIIT Workouts

HIIT Workouts For Women

If you want to work your muscles in bursts at the highest intensity, HIIT (high-intensity interval training) is for you. You go hard for short periods of time, then take rest periods. Tabata, for instance, is a specific kind of HIIT that follows a 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off format (typically, each round is four minutes long). HIIT is effective for burning calories and fat and improving cardiovascular health. And you even burn calories after your interval session, due to what's called the "afterburn effect." In fact, the American Council on Exercise names HIIT as the most effective exercise for the afterburn effect.

"The idea is that you're pushing your cardiovascular system and your metabolic system at a much higher rate than you normally would," Michael Fredericson, MD, professor and director of physical medicine and sports medicine at Stanford University, told POPSUGAR in a previous interview. The afterburn effect from HIIT, Dr. Fredericson said, could last up to six hours post-workout because HIIT really "turns on your metabolic system. It's processing at a very high rate, and it takes a while for that to calm down."

Don't know where to start? Ahead, check out 20 workouts to try right at home or in the gym. Some are bodyweight only, some are just cardio, and others require a treadmill — there are lots to choose from, so take your pick. They range from 10 to 45 minutes long. Note: for the workouts that don't come with a video you can follow along to, try a Tabata timer to help guide you. Find that here.

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