If you've spent any time around Flex & Flow, you've probably heard of HIIT & Flow, our signature workout, which our founder Jamie King developed in the basement of her San Francisco startup.
HIIT & Flow combines cardio, strength, and mobility for an all-in-one movement practice in under an hour.
The best way to understand what makes HIIT & Flow so special, and why so many people bring their gliders everywhere they go, is to just try it, yourself (try it here for free).
But since you're here, we'll run down the top 10 reasons we love HIIT & Flow—how it strengthens our muscles and our hearts, and how it lifts our spirits and overdelivers on endorphins and results.
#1. HIIT & Flow is quick
You can get a full body—and by full body, we mean red faced, dripping sweat, muscles shaking—workout in 30 minutes.
Most of our classes are 45 minutes, but trust us, a 30 minute express class will challenge you and give you that oh so delicious endorphin rush.
Try this 20 minute HIIT & Flow class.
#2. HIIT & Flow is low impact
Because we use gliders to ramp up the challenge, there's no jumping or pounding unless you choose to level up. And unlike some low-impact workouts that feel like a compromise—where you have to choose between effort and safety—HIIT & Flow will always deliver that challenge without the wear and tear on your joints.
#3. HIIT & Flow is travel friendly
All you need are these gliders, which slide right into your suitcase or even snuggle up with your laptop in its sleeve.
And truthfully, you don't even need gliders. Socks on hotel room carpets work just fine. Paper plates do in a pinch. I've even used magazines as a glider replacement once (doable, but more of a last-resort method).
#4. HIIT & Flow is all-in-one
We are all for luxuriating in a 2 hour yin class, or spending most of a Saturday moving outside. And we don't always get to let movement expand to fill so much of our days.
For those days when you just need some efficiency, dammit, enter HIIT & Flow. We appreciate HIIT & Flow so much because it's the all-in-one for busy people who also want to be strong AF.
On weeks when time is especially tight, it's totally legit to count the yoga-based warm up and cool down of HIIT & Flow as your recovery & mobility work.
#5. You can dial the challenge up or down
Everything in a HIIT & Flow class is an offering. Everything can have a pushup added in. Everything can be dialed up, lunged deeper. And whether you're turning it up or down, you don't need to adjust your weights or get more equipment or learn complicated modification techniques.
You listen to your body, and you lunge deeper or shallower. You move faster or slower. You take a pushup or you take a knee. You pause for breath or you push through.
It's all on your terms, and your terms are always celebrated.
#6. HIIT & Flow is extra effective cardio
I'm not going to go too deep into the science here because I'm not an exercise scientist and this information is already overrepresented on the internet, so I'll just sum it up:
High intensity interval training (HIIT) is scientifically proven more effective at increasing V02 max than long runs—so building endurance via the short bursts of cardio work in a HIIT & Flow class is incredibly efficient.
#7. HIIT & Flow works those sneaky stabilizer muscles
You've probably read a handful of clickbait articles about why free weights are better than machines in the gym (tl;dr: because the free weights force you to activate your stabilizer muscles).
The same is true for doing HIIT work on gliders, because with every movement, you're building strength not only in your major muscle groups, but you're also activating those smaller stabilizer muscles that, crucially, support your joints and help you avoid injury.
For athletes who exert themselves out in the unpredictable, natural world, like trail runners, surfers, rock climbers, etc, etc—having that additional stability is a key part of avoiding injury and training your body to be more responsive to tricky terrain.
And yes, unexpected sidewalk cracks between the parking lot and your door 100% count as tricky terrain.
#8. The HIIT Hunger is so real
The HIIT Hunger has become somewhat notorious around the studio. When someone says, "I have the HIIT Hunger," everyone moves quickly to help them out, whether by offering snacks, making a "where should we get takeout from?" decision happen faster, or just generally supporting them so that the HIIT Hunger doesn't transform into HIIT HANGER.
When you're in the throes of the HIIT hunger, you will need to refuel. Like, ASAP. It's not optional, and everything, everything, everything, tastes so darn good.
It's pretty gratifying, honestly, when you first start feeling the first pangs of the HIIt Hunger. It's confirmation of what your dripping sweat and shaky muscles already told you: you worked hard and you deserve a hearty high fives and hearty sustenance, all around.
#9. HIIT & Flow helps you feel stronger, quickly
Okay this one is completely anecdotal, so please share your personal results so we can round it out a bit more.
But let me tell you this little story. I started doing HIIT & Flow regularly 2-3x week in January 2021, as part of HIIT & Flow teacher training. Before that, I'd dabbled in classes but never really committed to that much, so regularly.
Three weeks into this newly regular, frequent practice, I also started training for a backpacking trip. I went on my first weighted hike (carrying a backpack with 40 pounds) and I felt so strong tackling elevation even with all that extra weight.
Was it the HIIT & Flow that made me feel like a badass my first day carrying a weighted pack? I dare say yes.
That whole training season was a much quicker, much more ego-boosting, training period than in the past. And I credit HIIT & Flow with how strong I felt on that trip to the Grand Canyon.
#10. HIIT & Flow is open to everyone
Obviously I don't have an objective read on this one, so I'm going to let Susan, a HIIT & Flow teacher, describe her experience here:
"Flex & Flow embraces athletes from all walks of life. First, you acknowledge that we all have an inner athlete. Then, you simply ask them to join! Oh, and you welcome them with arms wide open ...You allow them to be & honor themselves, their bodies, without any judgment. We purposely share smiles and laughter to continue to keep them INCLUDED & therefore, motivated to pursue the best version of themselves in the moment. Even when I was part of the community and literally with ZERO idea of what to expect by participating in the brand, I saw and felt that you made people of color feel welcomed, valued and a part of what you wanted to grow."
Those are just ten of the many, many reasons HIIT & Flow is a crowd favorite. When you start practicing it regularly, we dare say you'll probably find a few more to add to your own list.
Try HIIT & Flow for yourself:
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