Got 7 minutes? Belly Dance inspired HIIT fitness

South Florida Belly Dance Fitness
photography by R_and_J Photography

Research shows that if you are short on time but still want to get fit, HIIT workouts are the way to go. What are HIIT workouts, you ask? HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training. Alternating low intensity movement with high intensity movement. And research shows that 7 minutes of HIIT workouts will produce the same results as 45 minutes of steady pace workouts. These workouts are great for targeting belly fat, reducing overall body fat, improving heart and lung health and improving immunity health. But why just do boring calisthenics everyday when you can add some fun sexy moves to the mix?

So here is my belly dance inspired HIIT 7 minute workout to target stubborn belly fat.

1 min (30 sec on each side) Turkish Kash step right 4, add figure eight arms 8, pivot repeat on left side

1 min (30 sec on each side) right hip drop kicks (3 sets of 8), first set no arms, second set add sunrise arms and sunset arms, repeat left hip drop kicks

1 min Egyptian folk step – small jump feet together know kick r and l pressing hands side

1 minute Hip bumps (2 sets of 8), Greek hip lifts (1 set of 8), hip extension 4x, switch sides and Repeat on the left side

1 min (30 sec on each side) right hip twist and turn it, repeat left

1 min Egyptian Shimmy, squeezing the glutes and pressing into the heels to make it as powerful as you can

1 min basic hip shimmy, add sunset arms, sunrise arms and snake arms


The best part of HIIT workouts, besides being short and effective, you can change what you do to target different areas or to drill and perfect new moves. Happy Shimmy’s