17 Minute At Home Cardio – High Intensity Interval Training Workout

This 17 minute At Home Cardio Workout uses high intensity interval training (HIIT) to blast calories and tone the body quickly. It is a great way to get maximum benefit from a routine in minimal time.

There are 6 exercises, each done for a full 60 seconds with a 20 second low intensity interval in between (during those rest intervals you will keep moving by marching in place).

If you can’t complete an entire minute of any of the exercises without stopping, that’s okay. Just jump right back into the motion as soon as you can. If you do this routine regularly, it wont take very long for your cardiovascular fitness and endurance to improve.

This is a no equipment cardio workout; it uses only bodyweight exercises.

Cardio is definitely a great example of how every little bit counts when it comes to getting in shape, particularly when it comes to a HIIT workout structure. Because of the short, intense bouts of exertion you can actually end up giving yourself a metabolic boost. Try doing this routine two different times throughout the day for the most dramatic benefit.

Exercises in this routine:

Jumping Jacks – A classic cardio move, these are a fantastic way to get your heart rate up without any equipment. Aside from using a great deal of energy (cals), these also tone the inside and outside thighs, deltoids, quads, and lats.

Lateral Jumps – Lateral jumps are a light plyometric exercise that builds strength within the ankles, hips, and knees. They target the outer thighs, inner thighs, glutes, quads, and calves, and also lightly engage the core muscles.

Jumping Oblique Twist – This is a great exercise for a slimmer waist for two reasons; it burns calories, and it calls heavily upon the muscles that wrap around the midsection. Aside from the obliques, it also engages the glutes, calves, lower back, deltoids and quads.


Burpees – Everyone loves to hate Burpees because they are challenging but they are also extremely effective at increasing your cardio threshold. This bodyweight exercise tones your pecs, glutes, abdominals, lower back, calves, hip flexors and delts.

Pendulum Swings – This at home cardio exercise tone the thighs and is an easy way to get the heart rate up when you don’t have any gym equipment available. It is also good for building basic coordination and agility in the lower body.

High Knees – A full 60 seconds of these is harder than it looks. These tone your thighs, hip flexors, and abdominal muscles.


Though there are a large number of variables that factor into an individuals calorie burn during any routine, a 140 pound woman will burn roughly 165 calories in this 17 minute workout, and a 180 pound man might expend somewhere in the region of 210 calories.

The thing to remember about this kind of workout is that with high intensity interval cardio, your body will burn calories at an elevated rate, even once you are finished with the routine (it takes a while for your body to regulate and go back to a normal rate).