Back in 2022, a viral story about a Japanese man named Hiiragi circulated the internet due to the fact that he became ripped in a matter of 5 months, reportedly losing 18kg of weight while increasing his muscle mass. The best part, he did this by only doing 4 minutes of burpees Tabata style (which is 20 seconds of work followed by 10 seconds of rest). 

Realistically speaking though, doing 4 minutes of burpees with this time control everyday will not necessarily get you the same results, especially because the biggest secret is eating a healthy high protein low calorie diet. This is the primary reason for his amazing results, not the 4 minutes of HIIT (high intensity interval training), but the daily discipline of eating healthy and being mindful of what foods he chooses to put in his mouth. 

This is best summarized by Jeff Cavaliere in the following YouTube video, we highly recommend giving it a watch. 

We will constantly emphasize that diet plays a significant role in obtaining results like Hiiragi. To be honest, it likely accounts for 99% of his results. But, it did make us wonder if we can emulate a workout plan that is similar in premise to Hiiragi’s, but with more balance yet still not time consuming. In a future blog, we will discuss meals that are designed to build muscle while simultaneously burning fat. 

This blog will be about a 6 day weekly workout plan that is split in legs, push, and pull, with only 10 minutes of working out these muscle groups. After each workout, 10 minutes of either full body stretching or ab workout (alternating between the two depending on the day) which will total 20 minutes a day with one day out of the week being a rest day. 

We are extremely excited to share this plan because of all of the following benefits:

Beautiful balanced:

Cardiovascularly, this plan will help you reach 36 minutes of total weekly HIIT, which is ideal since some recommendations are between 30-40 minutes a week. There is also a hypertrophy component where each muscle group is pushed to mechanical failure to stimulate muscle growth. Furthermore,  there are some high impact exercises to help strengthen bones and joints, stretching that will increase flexibility, and both fast and slow twitch fibers will be activated.

Optimizing fat loss.

When it comes to fat loss, many people wonder if they should spend their time doing cardio or strength training. According to studies, if you want to optimize fat loss, the answer is both. As we know, cardio does burn a lot of calories as a high energy activity, but strength training burns calories during lifts as well as during rest as the body uses fuel to rebuild (strengthen) muscles that are broken during exercise. Doing a mix of both will boost fat burning!

Building Discipline while building muscle:

Developing habits is hard and working out is no exception. However, this workout regimen is a great way to build habits that can last a lifetime. It all starts with something small and with only a 20 minute commitment everyday, it is much easier not to break. 

Perfect for all Levels:

Whether you are a complete beginner or an advanced gym goer, we have ideas on how to adjust this workout plan to make it easier or harder depending on what level you are at! 

With all of these benefits in mind, we do have to say that this workout is not the most effective in bulking/ bodybuilding. So if you are looking for a workout split that will maximize hypertrophy, we have a workout plan for you here. 

But if you are looking to get toned or lose weight while building some muscle, this workout plan is perfect for you!

Here is the workout plan: 

6 days a week, cycling through legs, push, then pull. 

After each 10 minute workout, we advise doing either 10 minutes of abs/core (routine at end of workout plan) or 10 minutes of full body stretching and alternate between the two each day. 

Legs: Getting a Leg Up

4 minutes of HIIT for legs, each set is 20 seconds work, 10 seconds of rest:

• Exercise 1: jumping lunges – x2 sets (total of 1 min)
• Exercise 2: jumping squats –  x2 sets (total of 1 min)
• Exercise 3: Dumbbell RDLs – x2 sets (total of 1 min)
• Exercise 4: jumping jacks – x2 sets (total of 1 min)

Rest for 2 minutes before moving onto Hypertrophy exercises.

Hypertrophy exercises: Pick a weight where you will fail somewhere within the rep range

• Exercise 1: Alternating lunges with dumbbells, aim for 6-8 reps for each leg
• Rest for 15 seconds
• Superset into RDLs for 8-12 reps or until failure
• Bonus: For an added challenge, after the RDLs, superset again into dumbbell squats
• Rest for 1 minute
• Repeat for 1 more round

Adjustments:

1. To make this easier: don’t worry about jumping during the HIIT session, bodyweight is a great place to start. Bodyweight is also plenty of work if dumbbells cannot be done for the hypertrophy portion of the workout. You can also adjust time controls to 15 seconds of work to 15 seconds of rest or even 10 seconds of work and 20 seconds of rest.
2. To make this harder, add dumbbells during the HIIT component. You can also adjust the time control to 25 seconds of work and 5 seconds of rest if needed.

Chest: Push it to the LIMIT

4 minutes of HIIT for chest, each set is 20 seconds work, 10 seconds of rest:

• Exercise 1: push up shoulder taps – x2 sets (total of 1 min)
• Exercise 2: push up knee taps – x2 sets (total of 1 min)
• Exercise 3: prowler push ups – x2 sets (total of 1 min)
• Exercise 4: regular push ups – x2 sets (total of 1 min)

Rest for 2 minutes before moving onto Hypertrophy exercises.

Hypertrophy exercises: Failure is the best teacher, rest 15 seconds in between each superset

• Exercise 1: Decline push ups to failure
• Superset into regular push ups
• Bonus: For an added challenge, superset into knee push ups
• Rest for 1 minute
• Repeat for 1 more round

Adjustments:

1. To make this easier: during the HIIT portion, you can do every push variation on your knees or at an incline against a bench or counter. You can also adjust time controls to 15 seconds of work to 15 seconds of rest or even 10 seconds of work and 20 seconds of rest. You can also replace both the HIIT and hypertrophy portion using dumbbells and a bench. 
2. To make this more challenging: the HIIT portion can be done with more explosive exercises such as superman push ups, clapping push ups, or even archer push ups. You can also add a backpack with a plate or resistance bands. If bodyweight push ups are too easy during the hypertrophy phase, we recommend using dumbbells and a bench. 

Back 1: Pull yourself to Victory!

4 minutes of HIIT for back, each set is 20 seconds work, 10 seconds of rest:

• Exercise: bent over dumbbell rows

Hypertrophy exercises: Failure is the best teacher, rest 15 seconds in between each superset

• Exercise 1: pull ups 
• Superset into resistance band assisted pull ups
• Bonus: For an added challenge, superset into isometric hold at the top of the pull up until failure
• Rest for 1 minute
• Repeat for 1 more round

Back version 2: Pull yourself together!

4 minutes of HIIT is the same as version 1.

Hypertrophy exercises: Failure is the best teacher, rest 15 seconds in between each superset

• Exercise 1: deadlifts until failure at around 6-8 reps
• Superset into Australian pull ups or bent over dumbbell rows
• Bonus: For an added challenge, superset into supermans on the ground for 8-12 reps. 
• Rest for 1 minute
• Repeat for 1 more round

Adjustments:

1. To make this easier: during the HIIT portion, you can also adjust time controls to 15 seconds of work to 15 seconds of rest or even 10 seconds of work and 20 seconds of rest. For the hypertrophy portion of the workout, you can substitute pull ups for lat pulldowns to failure and then immediately drop set the weight (lowering the weight by 10-20lbs) training to failure. 
2. To make this more challenging: Adjusting the HIIT timing to 25 seconds of work 5 seconds of rest will help. For the pull ups, adding weight to your pull ups will be extremely effective (such as a plate in between your legs). 

Abs/ core routine (10 mins):

Perform the McGill Big 3 for stability work. (3-5 minutes)

4 minutes of HIIT for abs, each set is 20 seconds work, 10 seconds of rest

• Exercise 1: X Men Crunch 
• Exercise 2: Starfish Crunch
• Exercise 3: Mountain Climbers
• Exercise 4: Drunken Mountain Climbers (similar to regular mountain climbers but bring your knee up to the opposite elbow)
• Exercise 5: Otis Ups
• Exercise 6: Butterfly kicks
• Exercise 7: Bicycle kicks
• Exercise 8: Russian twists

Here is a Full Body 10 minute Routine we recommend!

Summarized 6 Day Plan:

Here is how we would put this together: 

Day 1 – Legs for 10 minutes, 10 minute abs

Day 2 – Chest for 10 minutes, 10 minutes of stretching

Day 3 – Back for 10 minutes, 10 minutes of abs

Day 4 – Legs (same exact routine), 10 minutes of stretching

Day 5 – Chest (same exact routine), 10 minutes of abs

Day 6 – Back version 2, 10 minutes of stretching

Personal Experience/ some tips: 

Personally, I (the author) have just recently started this routine. For legs, I usually do HIIT first and then the hypertrophy portion. The reasoning is simply because the HIIT training for legs is brutal for me, and I find it easier to exercise in this order. For chest and back, I actually swap the order and do hypertrophy training first then the HIIT routine to follow. The reasoning for swapping these around is because I want the carbs (the main fuel for muscle) to be effectively used for hypertrophy and the HIIT portion to be more focused on burning excess calories (and therefore focusing on fat loss). 

Too Busy? NO Problem!

Although this workout plan is a 6 day split and a 1 day rest, there is plenty of benefit of still doing this routine with more rest in between. For example, for the individuals that are busy and have hectic unpredictable schedules, we recommend just doing as many days in a row as possible, and when time permits, just pick up where you left off. We think it’s best to simply view those days as extra rest days. That is the beauty of this routine, adjust such that it fits you and your schedule! 

Final Thoughts

Give this workout a try! Since this workout is basically tripling the amount of work Hiiragi put in, we are confident that if you are consistent with it, paired with a proper diet, you will fall in love with the process as well as the results. We aim to curate balanced and efficient workout sessions to help you reach all of your fitness goals. In the end of course, we want to help people achieve and take steps towards their own happiness. In today’s busy world, we hope that this 20 minute workout can find its place in your schedule. Thank you so much for reading! Have a Global Happy Day!

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Disclaimer: This blog shares general fitness and wellness tips based on personal experience and research. It is not intended to substitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult your physician or a qualified healthcare provider before starting any new workout, diet, or health routine. Use of any information on this site is at your own risk.