10 Best HIIT Workouts With Resistance Bands

As a personal trainer, I’ve found resistance bands to be the perfect tool for effective and diverse HIIT workouts that people can do at home, outside, and on the road. 

Combining high-intensity interval training (HIIT) with resistance bands allows for quick and productive workouts that burn calories, promote muscle growth, endurance, and strength gain, and improve balance and stability. Some of the best HIIT band exercises are jump squats, mountain climbers, and plank jacks.

To help you make the most of your HIIT workouts, I’ll explain the benefits of using bands, share my favorite exercises, and include sample workouts that you can start incorporating today.

Key Takeaways

HIIT with resistance bands is an effective and efficient way to workout that promotes fat-burning, muscle gain, and athleticism.

Doing HIIT workouts can help you burn more calories during the workout, and help you to retain (or build) muscle while dieting to burn more calories throughout the entire day.

You can increase the variety of HIIT exercises you can perform and progress more readily if you invest in a set of loop bands and hip bands.

What Is HIIT?

HIIT stands for high-intensity interval training and is a form of physical activity where the trainee alternates between brief periods of near-maximum effort and recovery.

For example, sprinting for ten seconds, walking for 60-90 seconds, and repeating several times would be an advanced HIIT workout.

Though HIIT can be solely cardio-focused (like in the example above), it is generally used to help trainees improve their cardiovascular health and body composition at the same time by combining cardio and strength training.

8 Benefits Of HIIT Workouts With Resistance Bands

The benefits of doing HIIT workouts with bands are:

1. You Have Many Exercise Options

One benefit of doing HIIT workouts with bands is that you have a variety of exercise options to choose from, allowing you to train all the major muscle groups in your body and keep your training from becoming stale (which could improve your adherence).

2. The Caloric Burn is Excellent

HIIT workouts with bands can help you burn more calories, which can help you lose fat more easily. HIIT workouts themselves burn calories in the moment because of the cardiovascular nature of this style of training, but by adding resistance you can burn more calories long-term by retaining and/or building muscle.

3. Bands Contribute to Muscle Growth And Strength Gain

Any form of resistance training has the potential to trigger hypertrophy and strength adaptations. The good thing about HIIT is that you must push yourself to your limits, which provides your muscles with a strong stimulus.

Those who are new to strength training will have the most potential to build strength and grow muscle with banded HIIT workouts.

Those with more strength training experience will need more strength-focused workouts to achieve the same results, but could still use HIIT with resistance bands to encourage muscle retention while losing fat.

4. These Workouts Can Improve Mobility

Moving your body in various ways and through different ranges of motion can improve your mobility (freedom of movement), which is highly beneficial for sports, everyday life, and other forms of exercise, such as weight training.

5. You Develop Muscular Endurance

While people often associate HIIT with strength and explosiveness, this form of training is excellent for developing muscular endurance, which can boost your functional fitness and make everyday tasks (i.e. carrying groceries & climbing stairs) much easier.

6. Enjoy Effective Workouts Anywhere

Bands are light and portable, so you can use them outdoors, at home, or while traveling. Enjoy effective workouts in the local park, at the beach, in hotel rooms, and almost anywhere else.

“Bands offer the unique advantage of being portable, versatile, and dynamic. You can easily transition between exercises to get a killer, full-body workout anytime, anywhere, in a very short amount of time. But aside from their convenience, the dynamic resistance of bands is uniquely excellent at pumping blood into your muscles while you train, making bands the perfect tool for building muscle.”

 

Some bands, like these ones, come with a bag for even easier transportation.

7. Develop Your Balance and Stability

Forcing yourself to overcome the resistance of bands in multiple planes of motion engages your stabilizing muscles, which are often neglected. Bands can improve balance by challenging your muscles in ways that mimic real-world activities.

For example, when performing a standing shoulder press, you’re not just training your deltoids, triceps, and upper chest. You’re also using your core musculature to stabilize your torso and stay balanced as you exert force overhead.

8. You Can Adjust the Difficulty to Fit Your Needs

Bands are the ideal training tool because they come in a variety of resistance levels. If you’re finding the movements too easy, choose a heavier band; if you’re finding the movements too challenging, choose a lighter band. 

Using bands for HIIT workouts is a great option for all fitness levels; they can work for beginners and advanced exercisers simply by altering the HIIT movements and levels of resistance.

10 HIIT Exercises With Resistance Bands

Here are 10 of the best HIIT exercises to do with resistance bands:

1. Jump Squat

How To

• Step over a loop band with both feet.
  
  
• Wrap the other end of the band behind your head.
  
  
• Hold the band with both hands and bring your chest out.
  
  
• Inhale and descend.
  
  
• Press through your heels to jump in the air and exhale.

2. High Knees

How To

• Wrap a loop band over a sturdy object, such as a squat rack.
  
  
• Step into the band, face away from the anchor point, and position it against your hips.
  
  
• Take a couple of steps forward to stretch the band.
  
  
• Jog in place, raising your knees toward your chest alternatingly.

3. Mountain Climber

How To

• Wrap a hip band around your feet.
  
  
• Assume a standard push-up position with your body straight.
  
  
• Inhale, engage your abs and bring your right knee toward your chest.
  
  
• Extend your right leg and immediately bring your left knee forward.
  
  
• Alternate between left and right.

4. Plank Jacks

How To

• Wrap a hip or loop band around your ankles and get into a high or elbow plank position.
  
  
• Engage your abs and inhale.
  
  
• Spread your feet apart while keeping your legs straight.
  
  
• Bring your feet together and exhale.

5. Sumo Deadlifts

How To

• Step over a loop band with both feet.
  
  
• Spread your feet wider than shoulder-level apart.
  
  
• Bend over and grab the band between your legs with your palms facing back.
  
  
• Bring your chest out and lower your hips to position your shoulders roughly over your feet.
  
  
• Inhale and press through your heels as you drive your hips forward to stand up.
  
  
• Move down to the starting position and exhale. Keep your back straight.

6. Upright Rows

How To

• Step over a loop band with both feet.
  
  
• Grab the opposite end of the band.
  
  
• With your palms facing your body, stand up and straighten your arms.
  
  
• Bring your chest out and inhale.
  
  
• Pull the band in a straight line from your hips to your lower chest.
  
  
• Extend your arms and exhale.

7. Low-to-High Woodchopper

How To

• Attach a loop band somewhere low.
  
  
• Grab the opposite end of the band and stand with your right side facing the attachment point.
  
  
• Hold the band with both hands and maintain a slight bend at the elbows.
  
  
• Inhale and rotate your torso in the opposite direction, bringing your hands from hip level to overhead in one sweeping motion.
  
  
• Return to the starting position.
  
  
• Once finished, rotate 180 degrees, and repeat.

8. Jumping Jacks

How To

• Wrap a hip band over your thighs.
  
  
• Stand tall with your feet together and arms straight and to your sides.
  
  
• Inhale and hop, bringing your legs to the sides and lifting your arms laterally and overhead.
  
  
• Hop again and bring your arms and legs to the starting position as you exhale.

9. Shoulder Press

How To

• Step over a loop band and grab the opposite end with both hands.
  
  
• Stand up and raise your arms to your sides with palms facing forward.
  
  
• Bring your chest out, squeeze your glutes, and inhale.
  
  
• Press the band in a straight line overhead.
  
  
• Pause briefly and bend your arms until your elbows are slightly lower than your shoulders. Exhale.

10. Chest Fly

How To

• Grab a loop band and place it against your upper back.
  
  
• Position your arms to your sides with your elbows slightly bent.
  
  
• Bring your chest out, inhale, and squeeze your abs.
  
  
• Move your arms in and squeeze your chest.
  
  
• Extend your arms to your sides as you exhale.

3 Sample HIIT Workouts With Resistance Bands

Here are three effective HIIT workouts that you can do with resistance bands:

Workout 1 - Upper Body

Exercise	Time (seconds)	Rest Period (seconds)
Upright Rows	30-45	20-30
Low-to-High Woodchopper	30 (per side)	20-30
Shoulder Press	30-45	20-30
Mountain Climber	45-60	20-30

Workout 2 - Lower Body

Exercise	Time (seconds)	Rest Period (seconds)
Sumo Deadlift	45-60	20-30
High Knees	60	20-30
Jump Squats	45-60	20-30
Plank Jacks	45-60	20-30

Workout 3 - Full-Body

Exercise	Time (seconds)	Rest Period (seconds)
Sumo Deadlifts	45-60	20-30
Shoulder Press	45-60	20-30
Jumping Jacks	60	20-30
High Knees	60	20-30
Chest Fly	60	20-30

Basic Rules for HIIT Workouts

• Choose your band tension carefully. You should be able to do full reps with proper form, even close to the end.
  
  
• Prioritize form over intensity. While it’s important to push yourself, never do so at the expense of shortening the range of motion or using jerking motions. This is especially important on more complex movements like the jump squat and sumo deadlift.
  
  
• Adjust the rest periods. Don’t be afraid to rest slightly longer if you feel exhausted and unable to start the next movement immediately. You’ll get better results if your movements aren’t sloppy.
  
  
• Don’t do too many rounds. Start with one or two rounds to see if you can handle the intensity, and gradually move up to five rounds as you get used to this type of training.
  
  
• Don’t rest for too long. The key here is intensity, so take brief breaks between movements to prepare for the next activity and catch your breath a bit. Only rest longer (up to 60-75 seconds) if you feel exhausted or struggle to catch your breath.

Best Resistance Bands For HIIT Workouts

I highly recommend the Military Resistance Band Set by Gymreapers because it includes everything you need for productive HIIT workouts. 

SHOP MILITARY RESISTANCE BAND SET

The set comes with five bands, each covering a specific tension range:

• Desert Tan: 20-35 lbs.
• OD Green: 30-60 lbs.
• Dark Earth: 40-80 lbs.
• Ranger Green: 50-120 lbs.
• Coyote Brown: 60-150 lbs.

 Thanks to the range of bands included, you can get the exact resistance you need for each activity. For instance, you can use a tougher band for movements like sumo deadlifts and a lighter one for shoulder presses and upright rows. 

The set comes with a small bag, allowing you to organize your band and take them outside or while traveling. As such, you can enjoy dynamic and refreshing workouts at the local park or in a hotel room. 

You may also benefit from a set of hip bands for your HIIT training. These are smaller and flatter loop bands you wrap around your thighs, ankles, or feet for certain activities like jumping jacks, mountain climbers, and plank jacks.

Having access to both types of bands dramatically increases the number of HIIT exercises you’re able to incorporate.