This 30-minute low-impact workout is great for burning fat, and it's joint-friendly

A no-jumping or running routine to raise your heart rate, burn fat and increase strength at home

Woman completes home workout
(Image credit: Getty)

If you're looking to improve your fitness or work on your physique but struggle to find ways to do this that aren't aggressive on your joints, you'll be wanting to find a session that's intense but avoids any jumping and running. Thankfully, this high-intensity low impact workout is a great way to burn fat and develop strength and it only takes 30 minutes.

You won't need any equipment to complete this full-body routine but HIIT style workouts are known for working up a sweat so it's a good idea to keep a towel and one of the best water bottles for the gym by your side. 

High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) takes a typical cardio workout up a notch, it has you alternate between short periods of intense exercise with brief recovery periods. A real bonus of this training style is that it works just as well with low-impact moves thrown in and this Juice & Toya joint-friendly HIIT routine serves as an excellent example of this.

The routine only takes half an hour so it's easy enough to fit into a busy schedule and packs in 12 different low-impact exercises to ensure you are able to raise your heart rate and have your body burning lots of calories as you move.

The two certified personal trainers, Juice and Toya, will lead you through two sets of 12 exercises. You will work for 45 seconds and rest for 15 seconds and take a slightly longer 60-second break in-between sets.

If you need some modifications, follow the male trainer Juice, who will be demonstrating variations of any exercises that people may find trickier.

WATCH JUICE & TOYA'S 30-MINUTE LOW-IMPACT HIIT WORKOUT

Not only is the workout suitable for all fitness levels but it's also designed to make minimal noise. If you live in an apartment building and try to avoid disturbing your neighbors with any thudding sounds then this routine is a great solution that allows you to stay active in your home.

Juice and Toya encourage you to go at your own pace while completing this routine and since there is no set number of reps to complete during the active periods, you really can apply this to your training. 

But if you do go hard in the first set and feel like you could up the intensity, even more, you could add one of the best adjustable dumbbells to the second set of exercises to make the session harder. If you're contemplating 'what dumbbell weight should I use?' keep things low when using weight in a HIIT style workout to avoid injury when you are working at a fast pace.

Regardless of whether you are incorporating weight into this routine or not, HIIT workouts are a great weight loss strategy for many as they help you burn calories faster than other forms of exercise can. 

According to one study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 30-minutes of HIIT burned 25-30% more calories than steady-state sessions of weight training, running, and cycling. For this study, the HIIT active periods lasted for 20 seconds each followed by 40 seconds of rest, so the participants were actually moving for one-third of the time that the cycling and running groups were. 

Another great thing to point out about HIIT workouts is that they don't have to be 30-minutes long, they can be much shorter and still get results. Take this HIIT workout for fat loss as an example, it only involves five exercises. 

Jessica Downey

Jessica is an experienced fitness writer with a passion for running. Her career in journalism began in local news and she holds a Masters in journalism. Jessica has previously written for Runners World, penning news and features on fitness, sportswear and nutrition. 


When she isn't writing up news and features for Fit&Well covering topics ranging from muscle building, to yoga, to female health and so on, she will be outdoors somewhere, testing out the latest fitness equipment and accessories to help others find top products for their own fitness journeys. Her testing pairs up nicely with her love for running. She recently branched out to running 10Ks and is trying to improve her time before moving on to larger races. Jessica also enjoys building on her strength in the gym and is a believer in health and wellness beginning in the kitchen. She shares all of this on her running Instagram account @jessrunshere which she uses for accountability and for connecting with like-minded fitness lovers.