HIIT for Women: How Much You Need for Results

We all have a lot on our plate these days. Making time for work, family, friends, and even just some solo time can feel impossible. While exercise has more benefits than we can count, like better mood and sleep, it might be hard to find time to squeeze a sweat session into your routine. Enter, high-intensity-interval training, better known as HIIT—a trendy, upbeat workout that doesn’t require much time or space to deliver amazing results. 

A HIIT workout, typically lasting 10 to 30 minutes, alternates between brief bursts of intense cardiovascular activity and short rest periods. The goal is to get your heart pumping to at least 80 percent of your maximum heart rate. Just because it takes less time than other workouts, like long-distance running or hour-long strength training sessions, doesn’t mean you get any less bang for your buck. 

While we know that HIIT sessions should be short, how long do they need to be in order to count? Below, learn about all the benefits of HIIT—and how much time you should set aside to maximize benefits. 

What Is HIIT and What Are Its Benefits?

Athletes have been doing HIIT as far back as the 1950s, when Olympians started using sprint training to improve their performance. Today, different blueprints for HIIT workouts can easily be adapted to different fitness levels and the equipment you have available, says women’s health and fitness expert Melody D.

HIIT can include a variety of formats:

• Circuit training: Alternating between movements like push-ups and jumping jacks for one minute at a time, with short rest periods.
• Tabata: 20 seconds of intense exercise (which can include movements like burpees or mountain climbers) followed by 10 seconds of rest, repeated for 4-minute blocks.
• Sprinting: In a sprint workout, you might alternate between sprinting for 30 seconds and walking for 1-2 minutes—for a total of 20 minutes. 
• Bodyweight exercises or strength equipment: In a HIIT workout, you may do bodyweight movements like sprints and push-ups or use gear like dumbells.

No matter what, a HIIT workout keeps you on your toes and delivers amazing benefits along the way. It’s also one of the few workouts that works both your aerobic and anaerobic systems at the same time, leveling up your endurance (more on that, here!). 

• Improved cardiovascular fitness: Regular HIIT can significantly boost heart health by increasing VO2 max and endurance​.
  Fat burning: HIIT is highly effective for burning fat, including visceral fat, even after the workout is over.
• Preserves muscle mass: Unlike some other forms of cardio, HIIT helps preserve muscle mass while promoting fat loss​.
• Metabolism boost: HIIT can increase resting metabolic rate, helping you burn more calories throughout the day.
• Cognitive support: Research shows that HIIT can improve brain function, including memory and cognitive processing.
• Reduced chronic disease risk: Regular HIIT has been shown to lower the risk of chronic conditions such as heart disease, breast cancer, and rheumatoid arthritis​.
• Improved insulin sensitivity: HIIT enhances the body’s response to insulin, which can help regulate blood sugar levels and reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.

Why More HIIT Isn’t Always Better

When it comes to HIIT workouts, the phrase “less is more” rings true. While HIIT is known for its efficiency and effectiveness, overdoing it can lead to diminishing returns. Because real talk: HIIT works best when you push your body to 90-100% during work periods—something that’s only sustainable for short periods.

When you work out, your body—particularly the adrenal glands—releases cortisol, a hormone associated with stress. It’s just part of your body’s natural response to physical stress, says Melody. In fact, in a lot of ways, cortisol is important to getting a good workout. (🔎Read more: The Truth About Why You Shouldn’t Fear Cortisol In Your Workouts)

But pushing your body too hard with frequent sessions can increase cortisol levels, the stress hormone, beyond what your body can effectively manage. Elevated cortisol over time may interfere with recovery, fat metabolism, and overall stress regulation, especially for women, who naturally have higher baseline cortisol levels than men. Studies suggest that HIIT can help lower resting cortisol levels over time, but overtraining has the opposite effect, increasing stress.

Another important detail? Following the gender gap in sports & exercise science, current research on the benefits of HIIT has been primarily conducted on men, meaning the exact “sweet spot” for women isn’t as well-established. 

That does not mean you should skip these workouts entirely—it just means keep them on the shorter side! In the right doses, workouts that activate your fast-twitch fibers (like HIIT!) can be more beneficial for women than steady-state zone two cardio types like jogging or dancing. 

How Often Should You Do HIIT—and For How Long? 

While HIIT offers plenty of benefits, its high-intensity nature, which pushes your heart rate to the max, can also stress the body. For many people, especially women, the shorter the class, the better. 

Melody says the ideal class should last between 15 to 30 minutes, including the time it takes to warm up. The amount of time you spend in a class might also depend on your fitness goals. For instance, if you’re looking to burn more calories, you might want to choose a longer class. 

Some research suggests that the 4×4 method, which calls for four minutes of four different exercises, interspersed by three-minute intervals, can be especially effective. 

At the end of the day, the key, Melody says, is intensity. “Shorter, intense intervals, like 30-60 seconds of high effort followed by equal or greater rest, stimulate metabolic benefits and the afterburn effect without overtraining,” she adds. FYI, the afterburn effect, also known as excess post-exercise oxygen consumption (EPOC), refers to the calories your body continues to burn after your workout as it recovers.

Due to the high-intensity nature of these sessions, it’s also best to intersperse HIIT with other forms of movement, like strength training, mobility, or cardio (check out all the options on obé). Melody recommends capping it at two HIIT workouts per week, so you have plenty of time to recover in between. As always, it’s important to combine HIIT classes with hydration, sleep, and a balanced diet to help your body recover quickly and efficiently. 

The Bottom Line

If you’re short on time during the day but still want the benefits of exercise, HIIT might be for you. Keep in mind that shorter sessions, ranging from 15-30 minutes, with more intensity are often better than prolonged HIIT workouts—which can lead to hormonal balances.

Luckily, obé has a wide range of HIIT workouts to choose from, with durations from 10-30 minutes, the perfect amount of time to get a workout in without over-stressing your body.