>
Strength and HIIT Workouts
Strength training and HIIT cardio meet in this home workout: the best full body workout you can do in 20 minutes! First, you’ll fire up the legs, glutes, upper body and core with two sets of strength training exercises. Then you’ll finish with two sets of a bodyweight HIIT cardio to burnout. It’s a sweaty, effective full body workout!
Combining strength training with HIIT cardio is a great way to make the most of your workout. That’s exactly what we’re doing in today’s 20-minute workout.
In this full body workout you get all the benefits of strength training, like building muscle and boosting your metabolism. AND you get the cardiovascular benefit and metabolism boost of doing high intensity interval training (HIIT) cardio.
Best Full Body Workout FAQs
There are SO MANY effective full body exercises you can do at home. Whether you’re picking up a set of dumbbells, a kettlebell, or using just your bodyweight. When I’m doing a total body workout, I choose compound full body exercises that hit multiple muscle groups with one movement. Some of my favorite compound exercises include: dumbbell clean and squat thruster, reverse grip row to bicep curl and shoulder press, and push up to army crawl and dumbbell pass.
Studies show that people who include both weight training and cardio exercises (like HIIT) in their weekly exercise routine have the best overall results in terms of weight loss, strength and cardio endurance. That’s exactly what you get in this strength and HIIT home workout for women: the muscle building benefits of strength training AND the calorie burning benefits of HIIT training.
The combination of strength training and HIIT cardio makes this the best full body workout! The compound strength training exercises work multiple muscle groups, making this an efficient workout routine. The addition of heart-pumping cardio burns calories to help tone.
The Best Full Body Workout in 20 Minutes
This HIIT workout with weights starts with a brief warm up, followed by 8 minutes of strength training with dumbbells. Then you’ll drop the dumbbells and finish off with 8 minutes of fat-burning, bodyweight HIIT cardio and a cool down.
It’s the best of both worlds — full body dumbbell strength training combined with bodyweight HIIT cardio!
This workout is sure to help you achieve your fitness goals as you build strength and burn fat.
Workout Equipment:
Medium to Heavy Set of Dumbbells.
I recommend between 10-25 lbs depending on your fitness level. I’m using 12 lb dumbbells in today’s workout.
Shop My Favorite Training Leggings
The Wunder Train leggings are my favorite lululemon leggings for strength and HIIT workouts — they have the perfect compression and stay put during high intensity workouts.
Workout Instructions:
Follow along with the guided Full Body Workout on YouTube, led by certified personal trainer, Lindsey Bomgren.
Your Workout Looks Like This:
- 2 Circuits (4 exercises per circuit)
- Timed Intervals (45 seconds of work, 15 seconds rest; complete as many repetitions as you can in the timed interval)
- Repeat Each Circuit x2 Sets
Workout Outline
CIRCUIT ONE: STRENGTH
- Dumbbell Clean and Alternating Squat Thruster
- Reverse Grip Back Row and Bicep Curl and Overhead Press
- Staggered Squat and Reverse Lunge
- Push Up and Army Crawl and Dumbbell Pass
CIRCUIT TWO: CARDIO
- Lateral Bound and Squat Jump
- 4 Mountain Climbers and 4 High Knees
- Lateral Lunge and Bound and Reverse Lunge and Bound
- 2 Jabs and 1 Jack
8 Full Body Compound Exercises
Dumbbell Clean and Alternating Squat Thruster
Targets: Lower body, glutes, hamstrings, hips, quads, calves, trapezius, deltoids, lower back, abs and core.
How To Do A Dumbbell Clean and Alternating Squat Thruster
- Start standing feet hip-distance apart and knees slightly bent. Hold a dumbbell in each hand in front of your body (palms face each other).
- Hinge slightly forward at the hips, pushing your hips back as you lower the dumbbells down between your legs.
- Drive through your heels to push your hips forward, squeezing your glutes. As you press your hips forward to stand up, “clean” the dumbbells up towards your shoulders.
- Catch the dumbbells at your shoulders and hold the weights in a front rack position as you bend your knees to lower down into a squat, pushing your knees out as you drop your hips parallel to your knees.
- Drive through the heels to stand up, returning to the starting position.
- As you stand tall, perform a single arm overhead press on the right arm by sending the right arm long, locking out the right bicep near right ear.
- Return the dumbbell in your right arm to shoulder height and perform another squat.
- As you stand tall, perform a single arm overhead press on the left arm by sending the left arm long, locking out the left bicep near left ear. That’s one rep.
Reverse Grip Back Row and Bicep Curl and Overhead Press
Targets: Both the lower back and upper back, specifically the lats and rhomboids, as well as the biceps, shoulders and core.
How To Do A Reverse Grip Back Row and Bicep Curl and Overhead Press
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart, knees slightly bent.
- Grip a set of dumbbells, palms facing out away from the body.
- Hinge at the hips until your chest is parallel to the floor (neck in line with your spine, flat back, and belly button and rib cage pulled in).
- Pull the weights back towards your hips. Feel your shoulder blades squeeze together.
- Control the dumbbells back down to the starting position. Think up on a 1 count, down slow and controlled on a 2 count.
- Drive through the heels to stand tall and curl the dumbbells up to shoulder height.
- Then press the dumbbells overhead; palm stays facing your face.
- Lower the dumbbells back to the starting position with control and repeat.
Staggered Squat and Reverse Lunge
Targets: Legs, glutes, quads, hips, hamstrings, calves and core.
How To Do A Staggered Squat and Reverse Lunge
- Start standing feet hip-distance apart, slight bend in your knees and core engaged. Hold a set of dumbbells in your hands, palms facing in.
- Find a staggered stance — 80% of your weight in your front left foot, 20% of your weight in your back right toe.
- Maintain a staggered stance as you perform a narrow squat, lowering down into a squat position until hips are parallel with your knees.
- Maintain this loaded stance as you step your right foot back into a reverse lunge, lowering until you find a 90-degree angle in both knees. Front left thigh is parallel to the floor.
- Stay loaded in this position as you step forward into another staggered squat.
- Then, drive through the front left heel to stand tall.
Push Up and Army Crawl and Dumbbell Pass
Targets: Chest, shoulders, triceps, back, abs and core muscles.
How To Do A Push Up and Army Crawl and Dumbbell Pass
- Start in a high plank position, shoulders over wrists, core engaged. Place a dumbbell outside your right hand.
- Slowly lower your chest down towards the ground as your elbows fall back towards your hips (not out to the sides).
- Once at the bottom of your push up, exhale as you push back up into high plank position.
- Then drop your left forearm to the mat. Followed by dropping your right forearm to the mat; so you are now in a low plank or forearm plank position with your shoulders stacked over your elbows.
- Engage your core, then reach your left hand underneath your body to grab the dumbbell and pull it through to the left side. Place the dumbbell on the mat just outside where you’ll plant your left hand when you return to high plank.
- Exhale as you push yourself back up to the starting high plank position; starting with your left arm and following with your right arm, while trying to maintain stable hips, square to the ground.
Modification: Option to take the push up from your knees.
Lateral Bound and Jump Squat
Targets: Legs, quads, outer glutes (gluteus medius), inner thighs, calves and core.
How To Do A Lateral Bound and Squat Jump
- Start standing on the right side of your mat with your feet shoulder-width apart.
- Lower down into an athletic stance, knees bent, ready to move.
- Then drive off your right leg to bound laterally to the left.
- As you reach the left side of your mat, perform a squat jump. Explode off both feet to leave the ground; using power from your legs.
- Land softly, then repeat, this time bounding laterally to the right.
Modification: Option to omit the squat jump and perform a lateral bound and air squat.
4 Mountain Climbers and 4 High Knees
Targets: Arms, shoulders, back, legs, glutes, quads, abs, obliques and core.
How To Do 4 Mountain Climbers and 4 High Knees
- Start in high plank position with your shoulders stacked over your wrists, weight evenly distributed amongst all ten fingers.
- Hold this high plank position, maintaining a straight line with your body, gaze slightly in front of you.
- Then perform four mountain climbers — pulling right knee in towards your chest, then left knee towards the chest.
- Then jump your feet up to meet your hands and stand tall.
- Perform four high knees by driving the right knee up to the chest and then the left knee. Repeat this motion at a rapid pace, as if ‘running’ in place.
- Jump back to high plank and repeat this sequence.
Lateral Lunge and Bound and Reverse Lunge and Bound
Targets: Legs, quads, outer glutes (gluteus medius), inner thighs (adductors), hips and core.
How To Do A Lateral Lunge and Bound and Reverse Lunge and Bound
- Start standing, feet hip-width apart, slightly bent knees.
- Step your right leg out to the side as you push your hips back, bending your right knee while leaving your left leg straight. Think of performing a single leg squat with your right leg while your left leg remains straight.
- Then, drive off your right foot to reverse the movement, pushing back to center and bounding up on the left leg.
- Land on the left leg with control, then step your right foot back into a reverse lunge, lowering until you find a 90-degree angle in both knees. Front left thigh is parallel to the floor.
- Drive through the front left heel to stand tall and bound up on the left leg. That’s one rep.
2 Jabs and 1 Jack
Targets: Legs, glutes, quads, hamstrings, arms, shoulders, back, biceps and core.
How To Do 2 Jabs and 1 Jack
- Start standing feet shoulder-width distance apart, knees slightly bent, core engaged. Bring hands or knuckles up to “defend” your face in a guard position.
- Perform 2 jabs by quickly punching the right arm directly out in front of you, then the left arm.
- Bring both arms back to your defensive position, or starting position and perform a jack.
- Jack the feet in and out as you perform a quarter turn, landing softly on the toes before repeating another 2 jabs.
Shop This Post:
Pin This 20 Minute Full Body Workout
This post includes affiliate links. I do earn a commission for products purchased using these links (at no additional cost to you). Thank you for supporting Nourish Move Love, making the content you see on this blog possible.