Most Efficient 8-Minute HIIT Cardio Workout At Home (video, pictures)

Welcome to this 8-minute HIIT Cardio Workout! Before you dismiss it as “nah, what’s 8 minutes going to do to me?” I dare you follow along.

In true Flat Belly Firm Butt style (my 16-minute HIIT program) we’ll be doing:

HIIT, i.e., High Intensity Interval Training: Give it your all for a few seconds, then take a quick break, and then back to pushing yourself.
The 20-10 protocol: we’ll be pushing for 20 seconds, then resting for 10, then pushing again for 20, resting for 10, etc.
Burpees: If you’re going to do only 1 exercise then that’s the one I recommend. You’ll be working out your whole body with just this one move! Today we’ll be jumping from one burpee variation to the next.
If you want to modify, skip the jumps and mostly do the soldier plank or the modified burpee. I strongly recommend you review last week’s 9 burpees exercise variations so that you practice the right form before you get into this hiit cardio workout.

And with that said, let’s not waste any more time and get into action with today’s burpees-based HIIT Cardio workout at home (no equipment needed!)

(Make sure you warm up at first before you get started. Static marches or a brisk walk around the house for 2 minutes is a good start.)

What to expect, esp. if you do this at home hiit cardio workout consistently.

Most people who do HIIT consistently will experience the following:

Your heart rate will go up and your cardiorespiratory fitness will improve
You’ll get stronger all over: stronger legs, abs, and upper body
You’ll feel like you worked out even though it’s only 8 minutes (I dare you to do it twice and see how THAT feels!)
Burn double the calories than in your usual workout
Your daily energy will increase

Select snapshots from our HIIT Cardio Workout…

Doing one of the burpees variation here (open & close):

Improve your explosive power! Jump up!

You don’t have to jump. Modify by just standing up:

Let’s do the mountain climbers burpees exercise variation:

Add pushups make this an even more effective hiit cardio workout:

How to add this HIIT cardio workout routine in your weekly workout plan:

So you’d like to get more cardio and dig this short but effective workout. Here are a few ideas.

If you’re a yoga person and often do a yoga workout routine at home, then stop your yoga somewhere in the middle, do this workout, and then get back to it. This way:

you’ll warm up with yoga
then get to your max heart rate with this cardio workout
then take it easier again with yoga until cool down time comes.

If you have no time to exercise, then just do those 8 minutes. Just make sure you put in another 2 (make it 10 minutes) at the beginning to warm up. Static marching can do the trick or just a brisk walk around the house.

Make this a 30-minute total body workout: Start with this bird dog exercise workout to get warmed up, then do this HIIT Cardio Routine, then repeat the bird dog exercise routine one more time!

Make this a 16-minute HIIT cardio workout: Just do this routine – twice. If you can take it! Feel free to do the first 3-4 minutes of the routine at a slower pace to warm up.

Get a high energy morning for a high energy day: Start with this 30-minute morning yoga routine to gently wake up. The take it to the next level by following up with this HIIT Cardio workout.
Ok so I gave a few ideas on how to make this part of your routine. Don’t skip this step of scheduling when you’re actually going to do this. It may sound easy (8 minutes, duh!) but if you leave it up to chance or for “later” it may never actually happen.