Finish the Women’s Health+ Ultimate HIIT Challenge strong with this 20-minute upper body bodyweight workout. Today’s program uses fast-paced lateral exercises to strengthen and your arms, core, and even your legs.
Follow along with trainers Jacqueline Kasen and Gerren Liles in the workout video above, or if you’re ready to HIIT it solo, read the instructions below for a self-guided workout.
TIME: 20 minutes
EQUIPMENT: Yoga mat
INSTRUCTIONS: Perform each warmup exercise for 40 seconds, then move on to the next one. After completing the warmup, do the active recovery exercise for 30 seconds.
Modification: Any time you perform pushups in this workout, you can do them on your knees if that will help you maintain proper form.
Active Recovery: V-Sit
INSTRUCTIONS: In each circuit, perform the first exercise for 30 seconds. Then, perform the second exercise for 45 seconds. After completing those two moves, actively recover with a V-Sit for 30 seconds before repeating them on the opposite side (when necessary). Between each circuit, rest for 1 minute. After finishing all four circuits, complete the workout with the 90-second finisher exercise.
Modifications: To advance the side plank hold, lift your top leg. To modify the knee tuck, march instead of hop.
Active Recovery: V-Sit
Active Recovery: V-Sit
Active Recovery: V-Sit
Active Recovery: V-Sit
You’ve completed all the HIIT workouts—yay you!—but the Women’s Health+ Ultimate HIIT Challenge isn’t over yet. Up next:
Tomorrow, lean into joyful movement with a group fitness class, whether that’s a run club, aerobic exercise class, or Pilates class. If you don’t want to partake in a group fitness class, you can always opt for steady-state cardio instead, Kasen says. She recommends brisk walking, light jogging, or cycling at a moderate pace for 30 minutes with the goal of reaching “Zone 2” cardio, which is roughly 60 to 70 percent of your maximum heart rate. (A fitness tracker can help you measure this, but you can also estimate this by thinking about your “rate of perceived exertion” or RPE, which should be at 6 or 7 out of 10.)
You’ve put in a lot of hard work throughout this week-long challenge, so thank your body with some gentle active recovery today. Kasen recommends doing yoga, like this 20-minute recovery flow from Yoga with Adriene, to stretch your muscles, but if that’s not your jam, you can do steady-state cardio instead.
Wanna HIIT repeat? Click below to hop back to the beginning of this challenge whenever you’re ready:
Lindsay Geller is the lifestyle director at Women’s Health, where she oversees the Sex & Love, Relationships, and Life sections and manages Women’s Health+ content. She has 10 years of experience covering sex, relationships, health, fitness, and general lifestyle topics for print and digital publications. She currently lives in New Jersey with her husband and loves going on runs around her local park with her rescue dog.
The Space fitness club chain is launching a special campaign in support of reservists, aiming to express appreciation and provide assistance to those
Chelsea will be without six players due to injury for their Premier League clash against Aston Villa on Saturday evening.Enzo Maresca's Blues head to Villa Park
The excellent Garmin Forerunner 945 smartwatch is always on our radar, so we were excited to spot this fantastic Presidents Day deal on the excellent fitness w
Feb 22, 2025 10:52 AM IST Actor Richa Chadha, who welcomed daughter Zuneyra Ida Fazal, last year, opens up about resuming her fitness regimen Whi