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Heather Robertson Review: 1 Hr No Repeat Total Body Hiit
1 Hr No Repeat Total Body Hiit is a fantastic and fun cardio and strength, total body, workout. I utterly loved this routine – it is just the right balance of strength and cardio to get a great workout without completely wiping you out. The beauty of this workout is also that you can adapt it to your own preferences, on any given day, by using heavier or lighter weights and using higher or lower intensity for the cardio (jumping higher, increasing the pace etc). I have included the YouTube link HERE for this routine. (I am also reviewing one of Heather’s Core workouts, as a bonus on this review, so keep reading till the end for more details!)
By now you have probably already heard of Heather Robertson, as she just reached her 1 million subscribers on her You Tube channel but just in case… Heather is a certified personal trainer and fitness cover model from Canada. She has a huge variety of free workouts on her channel, including cardio, low impact, upper and lower body strength training, stretching, kettlebell workouts etc (link HERE). She also offers a fantastic and very comprehensive 12 week programme that is also completely free (link HERE). In addition, she also offers monthly calendars to follow that comprise a number of her archived workouts plus two new workouts per week. The link to sign up for the monthly calendar to be sent directly to your inbox is HERE. I really love her workouts they are professional, full of variety, focused on form and Heather comes across as so sweet and passionate about what she does. So if you haven’t already, her channel is definitely worth checking out.
This workout consists of 60 different cardio or strength intervals so there is tons of variety and the whole hour flew by. Each interval is done for 40 seconds and then you have a 20 second rest. In addition, after every 20 exercises there is an extra 20 seconds rest (so 40 seconds in total) between that and the next move so you have time to grab a drink and towel off, if necessary.
The cardio intervals are all very familiar moves and are not too high intensity. However, there is one set of burpees but the rest are more jacks and squat jump type moves, with a few lower impact moves mixed in, such as, lateral skates, squat toe taps, squat and front kicks etc. Therefore, it is not all go, go, go… like some workouts. Also the 20 seconds rest makes a big difference and so I sometimes started some of the intervals a little earlier, as this felt a little too long of a break in between some moves.
The strength intervals are all metabolic strength exercises using lighter dumbbells. Heather uses a set of 5 and 10 pounds dumbbells. I, on the other hand, used a far greater range of dumbbells from 5 to 20 pounds and this worked well for me. I probably could have gone heavier, on quite a few of the moves, but I wanted to keep the pace up a bit higher to get more of a cardio effect rather than focusing too much on heavy strength work. However, it would be very easy to do that, if you wanted to, as they are timed intervals so you can go at your own pace. I really liked the different mix of exercises as they hit the lower, upper body and core very well. Many of them are compound moves and this also helps to keep the heart rate up, a bit higher, throughout. I was pretty drenched and nicely worked by the end. A few moves took a little practice, such as, the hip twister, as for some reason I found this difficult to know which way my arms and body should go at the top – but this might just be me! I also found the bicep curls in a low squat quite challenging and struggled to use heavier weights on that one.
As always, with Heather’s workouts (apart from her very early ones), the setup is very professional. There is only good music and on screen graphics to show what is coming next, plus a timer counting down the intervals and rest periods. Therefore, you always know in advance what is coming next and have time to select the right dumbbells and set up for the next move. This is probably my favourite of Heather’s workouts, so far, as I really enjoyed it and got a great workout too.
Overall, a really excellent total body cardio and strength workout and one I will definitely return to frequently.
Bonus Review - If you are looking for a little bit more core work, to add on the end of this one like I did, I have also reviewed the moves for her At Home Lower Body Abs workout (link HERE) below. This is a quick and effective core routine that targets the lower abs well. You don’t need any equipment for this one and it consists of six exercises that you repeat three times through. It sounds a lot but actually as its only 30 seconds, at a time, it went by pretty quickly.
The Workout
1 Hr No Repeat Total Body Hiit is a cardio and strength interval workout consisting of 60 different exercises.
What You Need to Know
(Rating scale – 1= lowest & 5 = highest).
The Moves
1 Hr No Repeat Total Body Hiit is 68 minutes long. The workout starts with a 2:15 minute warm-up before moving into the first exercise. You will need to have you dumbbells and mat nearby for this routine. Cardio intervals are shown in bold italics below.
Each Interval below is 40 seconds of work with 20 seconds of rest
Squats – two 10# Dbs (I used 20’s)
Inchworm push-up & hop (at top) – mat
Double arm front swing – two 10# Dbs
T push-ups (push-up then rotate into side plank w/ top arm reaching straight up; then push-up & rotate to other side) – mat
Jump squats
Alternating reverse lunges – two 10# Dbs (I used 15’s)
Bicycle crunch – mat
Walking plank (start in straight arm plank; walk down to forearm plank & back up) – mat
Narrow & wide row – two 10# Dbs (I used 15’s)
Jumping jacks
Alternating 1 leg deadlift – two 10# Dbs (I used 12’s)
Plank & tap (straight arm plank & tap opposite shoulders) – mat
Push press – two 10# dbs
Rear delt flys – two 5# Dbs (I used 10’s)
High knees
Side lunge & front press – one 10# Db
Crab dance (crab kicks) – mat
Curl & press (bicep curl & press overhead keeping palms facing in) – two 10# Dbs (I used 12’s)
Push back push-ups (push-up then push back into cannonball squat) – mat
Pop squats (touch down jacks)
Rest – 40 seconds
Sumo squat – two 10# Dbs (I used 15’s)
Mountain climbers – mat
In & out curls (alternate bicep curl & W curl) – two 10# Dbs (I used 15’s)
Plank saw (rock forward & back in forearm plank) – mat
Ninja hop (squat thrust & come up to low squat then back out to plank) – mat
Stand up & press (start on knees & stand up w/ overhead press then go back to knees) – one 10# Db & mat
Around the worlds – two 5# Dbs (I used 8’s)
Reverse crunch tuck & kick out (extend legs straight out) – mat
Pilates 100 – mat
Burpees (w/ chest to floor) – mat
Glute bridge (Db on hips) – one 10# Db (I used 1x 20) & mat
Alternating 1 arm tricep kickbacks – two 5# Dbs (I used 12’s)
Suitcase crunch (hands at forehead; crunch up bringing bent knees to chest) – mat
Scapular squeezes – two 5# Dbs (I used 8’s)
Straight up jacks (lifting straight arms overhead; hands clasped)
Cross & press (alternate reaching 1 hand down to opposite foot then straight up overhead) – two 10# Dbs
L-raise (side & front lateral raises) – two 5# Dbs
Spot sprint (run in place)
Wall sit – wall
Hip twister (squat jump & twist)
Rest – 40 seconds
Squat & front kick
Superman / push-up – mat
Side bridge & kick (right) – mat
Side bridge & kick (left) – mat
Crossover jacks
Curtsey lunge & squat – one 10# Db (I used 1x 15)
Plank stroke (in forearm plank; swim 1 arm out & around then other side) – mat
Squat toe taps
Tricep overhead extensions – two 5# Dbs (I used 10’s)
Speed skater
Lunge & twist – one 10# Db (I used 1x 12)
Plank & renegade row – two 10# Dbs (I used 15’s) & mat
Standing side bend crunches (right) – one 10# Dbs (I used 1x 20)
Standing side bend crunches (left) – one 10# Dbs (I used 1x 20)
Toe taps
Squat & curl – two 10# Dbs
Deadlift & row – two 10# Dbs (I used 15’s)
Plank pass under (passing Db underneath body from one side to other while in plank) – one 10# Db (I used 1x 20) & mat
Shadow box – two 5# Dbs
Side leap & hop
The workout ends with a 5 minute cool down and stretch.
At Home Lower Abs Workout
This core routine is 12 minutes long (workout starts at 00:43 seconds after short intro by Heather) and only requires a mat, if you are on a hard surface. There is no warm-up or cool down included with this routine.
Each move below is done for 30 seconds with a 10 second rest.
Reverse crunch (straight legs up & down) - mat
Scissor kicks - mat
Toe touches (lying on back; alternate reaching opposite hand to foot) – mat
Knee tucks (reverse crunch & extend legs out straight at the bottom of the move) – mat
Prayer crunch (soles of feet together & knees open; hands clasped overhead in prayer position; crunch up & down) – mat
V-sit hold - mat
Repeat above moves two more times.
Take Action
Try it today! Check out Heather’s YouTube channel HERE.
If you liked this workout, check out my review of Cathe Live: Total Body Hiit (#133) – HERE.
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