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Here's A 12-Minute HIIT Workout You Can Do In Your Apartment

Krista Stryker, NSCA-CPT
Author:
December 17, 2016
Krista Stryker, NSCA-CPT
Certified Personal Trainer
By Krista Stryker, NSCA-CPT
Certified Personal Trainer
Krista Stryker, NSCA-CPT is the author of The 12-Minute Athlete: Get Fitter, Faster, and Stronger Using HIIT and Your Bodyweight and a leading expert on HIIT and bodyweight fitness. She lives in Venice, California, and is a certified personal trainer through the National Strength and Conditioning Association.
Image by Krista Stryker / Contributor
December 17, 2016

Now that the days are getting shorter and the weather is getting chillier, you might be less excited about working out outdoors.

The good news is that you don't have to be stuck in a gym all winter long to stay fit and healthy. There's plenty you can do in your apartment—no matter how small! HIIT workouts are a perfect indoor workout option because they require very little equipment but allow you to get a lot done in a short amount of time.

This apartment-friendly HIIT workout will take you only 12 minutes to complete and doesn't require any equipment except for a chair or couch. So you have no excuse not to do it! All you need is your body and an interval timer.

Here's how to do it.

Set an interval timer to 18 rounds of 10- and 30-second intervals. Rest on the 10-second ones, then work as hard as you can during the 30-second ones. The harder you work, the more you'll get out of this workout!

Go through the following exercises three times until the final timer beeps.

Speed Skater Lunges

Photo by Krista Stryker

Stand in a side-lunge position with one leg bent parallel to the floor and the other leg straight to the side. Jump up explosively as you switch legs. Now the previously straight leg will be bent, and the previously bent leg will be straight to the other side. Try to keep your core tight and stay as low as possible as you switch sides as fast as you can.

If speed skater lunges make too much noise for your fussy neighbors, substitute them with side lunges instead.

Reptile Push-Ups

Start in a push-up position, with your shoulders directly over your hands. Tighten your abs, glutes, and thighs. While lowering your chest to the floor, bring one knee toward your elbow on the same side of the body. Push yourself back up and repeat on the opposite side.

Squat Jump In/Outs

Stand with your feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart. Lower yourself into a wide squat position with your thighs about parallel to the floor. Jump up as explosively as you can, then land in a narrow squat with your feet close together. Jump back up, then land in a wide squat. That's one rep. Repeat.

If jumping is just too loud, just take it out altogether by doing one wide squat then following with a narrow squat.

Pike Push-Ups

Start in a downward-dog position and walk your feet toward your hands so that your shoulders are above your hands. Lower your forehead down toward the floor so that you touch the floor or as far as possible. Raise back up to the starting position and repeat.

Burpee Step-Overs

Stand to the side of a chair, couch, or other elevated surface. Do a burpee, then step onto the box with one leg, then bring the other leg up so that you're standing on top of the box. Step down with one leg, then bring the other leg down to the ground and immediately do another burpee.

Continue going in the other direction, speeding up so you go as fast as you can.

V Up In/Outs

Lie on your back with your hands by your side. Pulling your belly button toward the ground, tuck your knees toward your chest, and raise your head and hands off the floor. Extend your legs until they're straight in front of you, continuing to press your back into the ground. Return your legs to the tuck position. That's one rep.

Krista Stryker, NSCA-CPT author page.
Krista Stryker, NSCA-CPT
Certified Personal Trainer

Krista Stryker, NSCA-CPT is the author of The 12-Minute Athlete: Get Fitter, Faster, and Stronger Using HIIT and Your Bodyweight and a leading expert on high intensity interval training (HIIT) and bodyweight fitness. She currently lives in Venice, California, and is a certified personal trainer through the National Strength and Conditioning Association.

From trying her first push up in college, to teaching herself to do pull ups and handstands, Krista is living proof of her philosophy that everybody is an athlete. She has helped tens of thousands of people to unlock their full athletic potential through her 12 Minute Athlete HIIT Workouts app and 12 Minute Athlete blog. You can find her @12minuteathlete on all social platforms.