Want to See Changes in Your Body? Running Coaches Recommend This 40-Minute HIIT Workout

If you’re looking to get lean and lose weight, David Chesworth, ACSM-certified personal trainer and wellness coach at Hilton Head Health, told POPSUGAR that a combination of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and diet can help with weight loss, especially with reducing belly fat.

ACE-certified trainer John Kersbergen added, “The most efficient way to get results is to do some form of HIIT for a total-body workout.” And no need to suffer for hours at the gym. John said, “The whole workout, including warmup, doesn’t need to be more than 45 minutes to be effective.” He added that three to four times a week is enough.

While many HIIT workouts involve strength-training moves, you can also do HIIT workouts with just cardio. Since running is such a popular form of cardio, we asked Cortney Logan and Alexandra Weissner, both Road Runners Club of America (RRCA)-certified running coaches and founders of bRUNch Running, to share a 40-minute running HIIT workout you can do inside or outside.

“Running is great for weight loss and amazing cardio exercise,” they explained, and hills, sprints, and intervals are effective if you want to see changes in your body. For those who are already comfortable running, they suggest the following plan. Here’s what to think about for the paces mentioned in the chart:

Conversation pace: A pace at which you can move while having a conversation. If you are running solo, try singing along to your music to check your pace. If you are running with a friend, chat it up. If you start to feel breathless, slow down your pace.

Two minutes faster than conversation pace: This is where you want to start feeling breathless. You are breathing harder and you can still get a few words out but you can’t speak in complete sentences.

Sprint: This is your all-out pace! Dig deep and pretend to be Olympian Emma Coburn. You should be completely breathless at this point and feel like you are flying over the ground.

If you’re new to running, I’ve included example paces in the last column, so you can glance at the treadmill or your smart watch to be mindful of how fast you’re moving. If those feel too fast, slow down the pace and walk when you need to. If you want to make it harder, go faster than the pace suggested below, or add hills during the sprinting segment.

40-Minute HIIT Running Workout

Directions: After warming up with a brisk five-minute walk, complete the below workout, followed by a five-minute walk to cool down.