Believe it or not, you don’t need heaps of gym equipment to pack on muscle mass. This HIIT home workout uses nothing more than bodyweight exercises – and needs no more kit than an exercise mat – to burn body fat and get your muscles working.

In fact, one of the most effective ways to work your whole body – especially if you want to build arm and abs strength – is bodyweight training. As a boxing trainer I use these exercises with my fighters, allowing then to build upper-body strength without bulking up and jumping up a weight class.

If you’re a runner you might want to check out a variation on this exercises with our best bodyweight workout for runners.

Why you can trust the workouts in Men’s Fitness

At Men’s Fitness we pride ourselves on delivering information that serves a singular purpose: to improve some aspect of your health, fitness or wellbeing. For over 16 years, we’ve been publishing authoritative health and fitness content – written by our expert editors and contributors. Each of our workouts has been created and tested by either a highly experienced editor or expert contributor. This bodyweight HIIT home workout has been devised by boxing trainer Ross Enamait, and is based on the way he trains his fighters.

How to do this bodyweight HIIT workout

This bodyweight HIIT home workout incorporates some of the best bodyweight exercises. Go straight through all the exercises, doing as many reps as possible in the time allowed. Then rest for one minute and repeat. Three rounds is the minimum. Five means you’re championship material. We recommend doing this workout two or three times a week. 

Exercises in this HIIT workout

1. Single-leg burpee x 30 secs
2. Knuckle push-up x 30 secs
3. Mountain climber x 30 secs
4. V-sit x 30 secs
5. Alligator push-up x 30 secs

1. Single-leg burpee

Man performing a single-leg burpee
Man performing a single-leg burpee

Time: 30 secs

How to do single-leg burpees:

  • First up in this bodyweight HIIT home workout is a variation on the burpee that taxes your balance and one-legged explosiveness
  • Drop into a press-up position but with one foot off the floor
  • Pop back up to standing (keeping that foot off the floor throughout), then jump and land on the same leg
  • Switch legs for the next rep

2. Knuckle push-up

Man performing a knuckle push-up
Man performing a knuckle push-up

Time: 30 secs

How to do knuckle press-ups:

  • This press-up variation tests your triceps and gets your knuckles used to a bit of contact
  • Start in a push-up position on clenched fists
  • Lower yourself until your chest is almost on the floor, keeping your elbows in, then press back up powerfully

3. Mountain climber

Man performing a mountain climber exercise
Man performing a mountain climber exercise

Time: 30 secs

How to do mountain climbers:

  • For the next move in this bodyweight HIIT home workout, start in a push-up position, bring one knee to your chest, then quickly switch legs
  • Perform each rep quickly as if you’re sprinting 

4. V-sit

Man performing a v-sit exercise
Man performing a v-sit exercise

Time: 30 secs

How to do v-sits:

  • Lie on the floor with your arms stretched above your head
  • Brace your core
  • Bring your arms and legs up quickly so that your hands and feet meet at the top of the move
  • Lower under control

5. Alligator push-up

Man performing an alligator push-up
Man performing an alligator push-up

Time: 30 secs

How to do alligator push-ups:

  • For the final bodyweight exercise in this HIIT home workout, start in a press-up position, then bring one knee forward to touch your elbow as you lower your chest to the floor
  • Walk forward with your hands, bringing your other knee forward to your other elbow
  • Continue moving forward until the time is up

One of my favorite exercise mats – the BodyPower Never Quit mat – would be an ideal choice for this bodyweight HIIT home workout.