10 Reasons Why HIIT Workouts for Women are the Time Saving Answer for Busy Moms That Don’t Have Time to Work Out

HIIT workouts for women are one of those Godsends that happened when I thought getting fit with small kids totally impossible. As busy moms like us tend to have more and more responsibility loaded onto our shoulders, fitness tends to get moved to the back burner. I know it is for me. Even though I know I’ll feel awesome when I do strength training, walk a few miles, or do my secret weapon workouts: HIIT workouts.

But honestly–the amount of time needed for a single hiit workout at home or at the gym inevitably will get clouded with questions about what else I could be spending that time doing. Is it that way for you, too?

I’ll preach this till the day I die to other moms, but in all heart-to-heart honesty💕: Your home and family cannot run well if YOU aren’t running well. Movement and fitness has GOT to be a mandatory part of your self care! It’s just as important as incorporating relaxation into your days, as well as being KEY to reducing stress and anxiety, not to mention a huge catalyst in getting better sleep.

Which is why I’m so incredibly thankful I discovered HIIT workouts. HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training. And if the term ‘high intensity’ scares you right off the bat–STOP! Please don’t let it! It’s actually a very effective (and super efficient) way to work out, and HIIT workouts for beginners are aplenty online (but really aren’t difficult to make on your own.)

My philosophy is to find the magic middle where we merge healthy + efficient to make healthy habits doable on the daily. And HIIT is a perfect example of that magic happening! ✨

The way that HIIT workouts work–simplified–is that you have a set number of exercises, and you go all out for about 20 seconds, then rest for 10 seconds, then move onto the next exercise all out for 20 seconds, and so on, until you finish all exercises. (BTW, a similar type of workout called Tabata is as effective since it uses the same high intensity interval method.) So basically you can work in cardio and strength at the same time.

When I have a serious lack of time I do the simplest exercise routine of HIIT exercises that I have. It’s printed out, and it’s 4 really simple exercises that get a workout in so that I can de-stress and rest easy.

The exercises consist of:

20 seconds-jumping jacks

10 seconds-REST

20 seconds-mountain climbers

10 seconds-REST

20 seconds-high knees

10 seconds-REST

20 seconds-burpees

Easy, right??!

So, I have asthma and long-winded cardio has never been a good option for me. Especially during my most allergenic periods, since my asthma is triggered by allergies.

Which is why I’m such a big supporter of easy HIIT workouts, and why HIIT for beginners can be so simple and hopefully prove the benefits in only that short amount of work. The shortest one can take ONLY 8 MINUTES!! (And if I’m sick or it’s that time of month, I may get away with only one cycle for only 4 minutes.) Honest to goodness, if you can’t fit an 8-minute workout it, we got problems. Cause the best HIIT workout is the one you actually do.

So here are the benefits of doing these quick HIIT workouts for women:

1-HIIT workouts are excellent for heart health

First of all, this includes lowering blood pressure. See, when you do things that make your heart rate elevated, the blood flow initiates the cells lining your blood vessels to release a compound that dilates the blood vessels. This is like your body’s own natural medicine working for it! Pretty cool, huh? When those blood vessels are more dilated, your blood pressure goes down. That’s why any good doc’s first recommendation for lowering blood pressure should be exercise! (IMO)

2-HIIT workouts allow you to choose your own workouts

Honestly, you can choose any exercise you want for each component. If you’re focusing on cardio, do something bouncy like burpees or jumping jacks. Want to focus on strength for legs and butt? Do walking lunges. Need more core work? Do planks. The possibilities are endless. Also, all you have to do to get ideas is go onto Pinterest and type in ‘HIIT workouts core’ or whatever you’re looking for specifically, even ‘HIIT for beginners’. A million people have already made this easy for you. 😉

3-HIIT workouts allow you to choose your own time allotment

Even the most Type-A’s of us sometimes let our fitness goals fall to the wayside when we’ve got super limited time. When that happens, do 3 rounds with 4 exercises. 8 minutes–bam! Got a bit more time? Add in another exercise, or opt for doing 4 rounds. The options for time restraints are limitless. Which–again–is why I absolutely love HIIT workouts for women.

4-HIIT workouts can be done with or without any kind of equipment, so essentially you can do your HIIT workout at home

Yep–isometrics are totally fine with every exercise you do in your HIIT workout. But if you wanna add in something like a kettlebell (which is what I do when I’m working on legs and butt), you can absolutely do that, too!

And–get this–there are HIIT treadmill workouts, too! So if you’d rather do this on a treadmill, tread-climber, whatever–it’s totally doable. And this is sometimes the ONLY option if you have a joint injury or condition where burpees and the like aren’t possible. (Or, ya know, just had a baby.)

5-HIIT workouts can be done literally anywhere!

Going on vacay? Or a work trip? HIIT workouts can be done right in your hotel room. And if you’re doing one of the treadmill workouts, nearly every hotel chain has a fitness room. Take advantage of it!

6-HIIT Workouts burn calories and fat in a short period of time (this one is my absolute fave!)

Studies have shown HIIT to burn the same amount of calories in just a 15-minute session than would happen in an hour session of jogging on the treadmill! That’s pretty incredible! And a giant bonus for us moms that have limited time!

7-HIIT Workouts boost your metabolism

HIIT keeps that metabolism going way after you’ve quit working out. Yeah, you heard that right! The research also says it can keep burning calories 1 1/2 hours up to 24 hours after your workout. As a result, that’s gonna help you burn calories, so if you’re trying to lose some fat, this is an excellent type of workout to consider.

8-HIIT Workouts help build endurance

What this means is that if you ever do any other types of exercises, even, say, riding a bike, that doing HIIT workouts will help you be able to ride for longer on that bike. As a result, the increase in endurance on your system will translate to other physical demands you have.

9-HIIT Workouts allow you to be creative and sort of ‘multi-task your fitness’.

Need to get in some play/exercise time with your dog? Go in the back yard with a dog toy and do sprints around while he chases you to get the toy. Rest for about 10 seconds, then do the same again. My lab particularly loves to chase her soccer ball, and WANTS me to kick it around and chase her when she has it.

Wanna spend more time with your kids while they get energy out? Chase them on their bikes for 20-second sprints. Kick a ball back and forth with them. Also, the younger they are, the worse their aim–you’ll have to chase it down every time! Jump on the trampoline with them. Play freeze-tag!

These examples, and any you come up with, should be based on spurts of all out work balanced with small periods of rest.

10-HIIT Workouts Reverse Signs of Aging

Whuuuuuuttt??!! YES!! HIIT workouts for women have been shown to reverse signs of aging better than any other type of workout! This is also especially important when you cross the age-40 threshold, and having that cellular performance already in place when you do turn 40 is even better. Seriously, busy Mama, that expensive wrinkle cream can only do so much. 😉

Ready to try out a HIIT workout? Maybe you already do an awesome one? Let me know in the comments!

Know someone that could use help with a super time efficient and effective workout option like HIIT? Please SHARE this post!