A person in a teal shirt and black shorts is performing a push-up exercise on a gym floor with red lines on it, with a wall and equipment visible in the background.

Jump for Joy with This Leap Year HIIT Workout

This HIIT workout burns calories and maximizes heart rate.

Are you ready for a quantum leap in your fitness?

Celebrate Leap Year 2020 with this HIIT workout that you’ll want to do a lot more often than every four years.

This quick workout takes less than 20 minutes and can be done almost anywhere. You’ve got two goals:

  • Maximize your calorie burn
  • Train your fitness for more intensity

High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) maximizes your calorie burn by keeping your heart rate high enough during the workout that your body burns calories long after you’re done exercising. This cardio benefit comes from Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC) — what we call afterburn.

This workout pushes your upper body, lower body and core with high intensity so you get the benefits of high-performing cardio with an all-over body benefit that’ll make you jump for joy.

Leap For Leap Day workout:

Warm Up Movements: 

The image shows a person standing in a gym or fitness center, with various exercise equipment and boxes visible in the background.

1. Air Squats
Start with your feet shoulder width apart, toes facing forward or slightly turned out.  Make sure that your core is braced, chest up, eyes forward. Start by lowering your butt to knee height (or below if comfortable), your knees should track over toes. Drive through your feet to return to standing position.

The goal: Perform the move for 30 seconds, and then rest for 15 seconds.

A person in athletic attire is performing a push-up exercise on a gym floor, with various fitness equipment visible in the background.

2. Push-ups

Start with your hands on the floor outsides of your chest, fingers forward, elbows inward to 45 degrees. Your feet should be hip width apart, core tight, and be sure to squeeze your glutes. Keep your eyes down, long, flat back in a straight line from your head to your heels. Begin to lower your chest to floor, and then push through your hands to lift your upper body back to starting position.

The goal: Perform the move for 30 seconds, and then rest for 15 seconds

A person in a blue shirt and black pants is performing a push-up exercise on a gray floor in a gym-like setting with various equipment visible in the background.

3. Mountain Climbers

Start with your hands on the floor, stacked under elbows and shoulders, fingers forward. Your feet should be hip width apart, core tight, squeeze glutes. Keep your eyes down, long, flat back in a straight line from your head to your heels. Alternate driving one knee in towards your chest at a time, extending that same leg, and then switching to the other side and repeating.

The goal: Perform the move for 30 seconds, rest for 15 seconds.

A person wearing athletic clothing stands on a red-lined court in a dimly lit indoor setting, with various equipment and storage containers visible in the background.

4. Backward Stepping Lunges

Begin with your feet hip width apart, toes facing forward. Be sure your core is braced, chest up, eyes forward. Take a long step backwards balance your weight on the ball and toes of that foot. Bend both knees to lower body towards the floor, and then drive through your front foot to move up and forward to return to starting position. Alternate between sides and repeat.

The goal: Perform the move for 30 seconds, and then rest for 15 seconds.

A person in athletic clothing is performing a wrestling or grappling move on a mat in a dimly lit indoor setting, with shelves and other equipment visible in the background.

 

5. Mobility Mountain Climbers

Start with your hands on the floor, stacked under elbows and shoulders, fingers forward. Your feet should be hip width apart, core tight, squeeze glutes. Keep your eyes down, long, flat back in a straight line from your head to your heels. Alternate jumping one foot towards the outside of the hand on the same side by driving your knee outside of the elbow. Jump that foot back to starting position, and then switch to the other side and repeat

The goal: Perform the move for 30 seconds, and then rest for 60 seconds before transitioning into Combo #1 of the workout.

Circuit #1  Movements: 

A person in athletic attire is performing a squat exercise in a gym setting with various exercise equipment visible in the background.

1. Squat Jumps

Start with your feet shoulder width apart, toes facing forward or slightly turned out. Your core should be braced, chest up, eyes forward. Lower butt to knee height (or below if comfortable), knees track over toes, arms swing behind you. Drive through your feet, extend through ankles, knees, and hips to move upward. Swing arms forward to help lift upward. Land toes to heels, and with bent knees to absorb the impact and go immediately into the next rep.

The goal: Complete as many reps as possible within 30 seconds, and then rest for 15 seconds.

A person in athletic clothing is performing a push-up exercise on a gray, textured floor in a fitness facility with a patterned wall in the background.

2. Plyo Push-ups

From a plank position- hands outsides of chest, fingers forward, elbows inward to 45 degrees. Your feet hip width apart, core tight, squeeze glutes. Keep your eyes down, long, flat back in a straight line from your head to your heels. Lower chest to floor, and then explosively push the floor away to jump your hands and upper body off the floor. Land fingers to palm, and with bent elbows to absorb the impact and go immediately into the next rep

The goal: Complete as many reps as possible within 30 seconds, and then rest for 15 seconds.

A person in athletic clothing is performing a dynamic exercise on a fitness mat in a gym setting, with shelves and equipment visible in the background.

4. Kick outs

Hands on the floor, stacked under elbows and shoulders, fingers forward. Feet hip width apart, core tight, squeeze glutes. Eyes down, long, flat back in a straight line from your head to your heels. Jump both knees in towards your elbows at the same time, land toes on the ground. Forcefully kick both heels backwards to starting position, and then immediately go into the next rep

The goal: Complete as many reps as possible within 30 seconds, rest for 15 seconds, and then start back at the top with squat jumps to repeat the moves for another round.

Circuit #2  Movements: 

A person in athletic clothing is performing a lunge exercise in a dimly lit gym setting, with various exercise equipment and storage shelves visible in the background.

1. Jumping Lunges

Feet hip width apart, toes facing forward. Core braced, chest up, eyes forward. Take a long backwards step and balance your weight on the ball and toes of that foot. Bend both knees to lower your body towards the floor and swing your arms behind you. Jump by driving through your front foot and back leg, and swing your arms forward to lift you up. Switch legs in mid-air and land with bent knees to absorb the impact and go immediately into the next rep

The goal: Complete as many reps as possible within 30 seconds, and then rest for 15 seconds

A person in a blue shirt and black shorts is performing a push-up exercise on a gym floor, with a wall of mirrors in the background.

2. Bolt Push-up

Start in push-up position: Hands on the floor outsides of chest, fingers forward, elbows inward to 45 degrees. Feet hip width apart, core tight, squeeze glutes. Eyes down, long, flat back in a straight line from your head to your heels.Bend your knees and push hips back towards your heels into a loaded position. Pull your upper body forwards to the floor into a low push-up by squeezing your shoulder blades and elbows close together

The goal: Complete as many reps as possible within 30 seconds, and then rest for 15 seconds.

A person in athletic attire is crouched on a gym floor, surrounded by weight training equipment and a wall with a grid-like pattern.

3. Dual Leg Mountain Climbers
Start with your hands on the floor, stacked under elbows and shoulders, fingers forward. Your feet should be hip width apart, core tight, squeeze glutes. Eyes down, long, flat back in a straight line from your head to your heels. Alternate jumping both feet towards the outside of one hand at a time by driving both knees outside of the elbow and rotating your torso. Jump feet back and rotate torso to starting position, and then switch to the other side and repeat

The goal: Complete as many reps as possible within 30 seconds, rest for 15 seconds, and then start back at the top with jumping lunges to repeat the moves for another round.

Here is the complete sequence: 

Warm-Up

0:00                Air Squats

0:30                Rest

0:45                Push-ups

1:15                Rest

1:30                Mountain Climbers

2:00                Rest

2:15                Backward stepping lunge

2:45                Rest

3:00                Push-ups

3:30                Rest

3:45                Mobility Mountain Climbers

4:15                Rest – 1 Minute

Circuit#1, Round 1

5:15                Squat Jumps

5:45                Rest

6:00                Plyo Push-ups

6:30                Rest

6:45                Kick Outs

7:15               Rest

Circuit#1, Round 1

7:30                Squat Jumps

8:00                Rest

8:15                Plyo Push-ups

8:45                Rest

9:00                Kick Outs

9:30                Rest   – 1 Minute

Circuit#2, Round 1

10:30              Jumping lunges

11:00              Rest

11:15              Bolt Push-ups

11:45              Rest

12:00              Dual Leg Mountain Climbers

12:30              Rest

Circuit#2, Round 2

12:45              Jumping Lunges

13:15              Rest

13:30              Bolt Push-ups

14:00              Rest

14:15              Dual Leg Mountain Climbers

14:45              End of workout. Congratulations!

Join us at participating Gold’s Gym for free workouts on Leap Day, Saturday February 29th 2020! Click here for more information. See you at the gym.

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