HIIT Workouts for Beginners: Why Do HIIT & Sample Workout

FFC Gold Coast coach and personal trainer Jeremy Gorden shares some benefits of high intensity interval training, plus HIIT workouts for beginners.

You may have heard of The Faction, but you still may be trying to figure out what it is. In short, The Faction is a new type of workout at Fitness Formula Clubs that focuses on a high intensity interval training (HIIT) format. It utilizes non-conventional equipment (such as kettlebells, TRX straps, barbells, tires and sleds) and incorporates elements from MMA, boxing, Olympic weight lifting and others.

HIIT workouts for beginners - benefits and a plan to try on your own

I’ve been running classes in the Performance Training Center (PTC) at FFC Gold Coast since we started in the spring of 2016 and we’ve come a long way since. When building the program, we wanted to focus on HIIT, metabolic conditioning, and sports performance training. Over the years, we’ve learned what our members enjoy most and tried to build around those preferences. We still focus mostly on HIIT and metabolic conditioning but we’ve recently added three kettlebell classes and we’re always throwing out new class ideas we think our members will both enjoy and benefit from.

As trainers, we have the freedom to build the style of class that we personally enjoy teaching while still offering all of the benefits of full body instructional training. The benefits of HIIT workouts may have something to do with why the American College of Sports Medicine put it at the top of their list of recent fitness trends. Exercise enthusiasts everywhere are jumping on the HIIT wagon and here are a few reasons why:

Calorie burn and metabolic boost: A HIIT workout done properly has the potential to burn calories not only during the workout, but for up to 48 hours after the workout has been completed. Your metabolism is the process your body uses to convert food into energy. A high metabolism allows you to eat more food, which means you get to enjoy all of those guilty pleasures without the after effects.
Muscle gain: I structure all of my classes so that the participants are pushing their bodies to their individual limits. I encourage everyone in my classes to use as much weight as possible for the specified exercises in order to stimulate muscle growth along with calorie and fat burn.
Community: We’ve really striven to build a community that PTC members feel confident and comfortable being a part of over the past three years. We have every type of member involved in PTC with ages ranging from early 20s to members in their 60s turning heads with their abilities.
No experience necessary: members of any skill level to be able to come to class and be confident in their abilities. All of my classes are put together so that members coming on any given day are progressing through that workout for the entire month. This allows participants to see progression in strength, skill, or both.

HIIT Workouts for Beginners: A Sample Plan to Try

Check out the sample program below for a taste of what you can expect during a Faction workout. Want to try out The Faction for yourself? Head over to this link to learn more and sign up for a free class!

90 seconds ON – 60 seconds OFF – 2 rounds; run through each station in order, then start back up at the top.

Heavy sled row and push back – 20 yards
Kettlebell swing x 15; box jump x 3 – repeat
Battle rope circles x 40, rope slams x 40; burpees x 3 – repeat
Sand ball slam x 15, stair run with sand ball x 1
Row – 21 calorie goal (gals), 27 calorie goal (guys)

Related: check out The Faction at FFC, for serious workouts on the turf, coaches that motivate & inspire and progress tracking through monthly performance testing. You’ll hate it, then you’ll love it. Find out more here.