40/20 HIIT

The intervals

Warm-up	60s
Work	40s
Rest	20s
Rounds	3
Exercises	5
Rest between exercises	30s
Total time	16:30

How it works

Twenty seconds is roughly the point at which most people's breathing starts to come back under control, so 40/20 lets you hold near-maximum effort in the work interval instead of rationing it. The trade is total volume: you do less work per minute than 45/15, and the session is meant to be harder per interval rather than longer.

Who it's for

Anyone who finds 45/15 slightly too punishing but wants more than equal work and rest. It is the most forgiving of the genuinely hard ratios.

Coaching notes

• Treat the forty seconds as all-out. The extra rest is paid for by higher intensity, not by coasting.
• Five movements means each one comes round three times — pick things you can still do well when tired.
• Use the twenty seconds to breathe, not to check your phone.
• If you can talk in the rest interval, the work interval was too easy.