Although the school year has been in session for less than a month, University of Saskatchewan students may already be feeling the shortage of free time that accompanies an academic workload. Couple this with the trials and tribulations of daily life, and health and fitness can easily fall by the wayside.

Another Saskatoon winter is right around the corner, so an indoor workout on a student’s time and money budget is an appealing way to stay fit.

High Intensity Interval Training, otherwise known as HIIT, is a great way for students to get a quick intense cardiovascular workout that requires little to no equipment, space or time. In the span of 20–40 minutes, you can break a sweat right next to your computer desk and reap the benefits of a functional full-body workout.

The following is a HIIT workout that students can complete one to five times a week, altering the amount of reps — regularly three to four — sets and time to best accommodate their schedule. The moves are demonstrated by fitness model and second-year sociology student Brooke Nistor.

Optional equipment: yoga mat, 10 pound hand weight, timer

Total approximate time: 30 minutes

Set one (1 minute per exercise — use this as your warm-up)

Squat with weighted shoulder raises

• Hold hand weight in front of your chest with palm facing inward as you squat down.

• Proper squat: legs hip-width apart, feet firmly planted on the ground, knees over your ankles as much as possible (you want to be able to see your toes) and keep your chest upright and your back straight as if you were sitting into a chair.

• As you come out of the squat, raise your hand weight directly above your shoulder, turning your palm outward.

• Return to starting position and repeat for 30 seconds, then switch arms for the remaining 30 seconds.

Lunge jumps

• Sink down into a lunge position with both legs at 90 degree angles. Your back knee should be hovering above the ground and you should be able to see your toes below your front knee.

• Keep your body upright — do not lean forward or backward.

• Jump and switch the position of your legs. Ensure to always land back in a lunge position to prevent any stress on your knees. Repeat for one minute, taking five to 10 second breaks as needed.

Set Two (1 minute per exercise)

Plank with knee to elbow

• Begin on your forearms or hands. Make sure to keep hips and glutes level with the rest of your body. Either hold still for the full minute, 30 second intervals, or bring your knee up to touch the back of your elbow on the same side. Alternate sides and repeat, looking like Spiderman scaling a wall.

Army crawl

• Begin on your forearms in plank pose, elbows on the ground, then move up to your hands flat, one by one, and then lower back down onto your elbows. Repeat.

• Modification: lower your knees.

Set Three (20 seconds per exercise, 10 seconds rest, 8 times total)

Squat jumps

• See proper squat instructions above. Jump into air with hands at your sides. Land lightly back in a squat position with your hands in front of your chest. Repeat for 20 seconds.

Weighted deadlift

• Spread your legs wider than hip width apart with toes pointed slightly inward.

• Keep your legs straight the entire time as you lower your weight down and back to touch the ground through the opening between your legs.

• Keep your back straight and neck long as you lower and raise back up. Clench or flex your glutes at the top. Repeat for 20 seconds.

Set Four (20 seconds per exercise, 10 seconds rest, 8 times total)

Skater strides

• Begin on the left end of your mat, if you have one. Balancing on your left foot with a slightly bent knee, cross your right leg behind and swing your arms out to the left, grazing the ground with your right fingertips.

• Hop off your left foot, projecting yourself to the right side of your mat or workout area, landing on your right foot and crossing your left foot behind, grazing the ground with your left fingertips.

• Hop side to side like a speed skater, always landing in a bent knee position.

• Keep your chest and gaze upright.

Push-ups

• These can be done from your feet or your knees. Lower your chest to the ground, keeping your gaze slightly in front of your workout area with your neck flat and long.

• If you’re on your knees, make sure to keep your bum and hips in, ensuring your body is in a straight line and your core is tight.

All done! If you are feeling amped up and ambitious, you can throw in some abdominal exercises such as crunches or leg raises, alternating styles according to any of the time frame patterns used in your other sets. Make sure to also take some time to stretch and cool down before you head back to that computer chair to exercise your brain.

Perform these exercises responsibly and at your own risk. The Sheaf will not be responsible for any injury sustained as a result of using any workout program presented and/or discussed in our publication.

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Photos: Caitlin Taylor/Photo Editor