Cardio Makeover

Love or hate cardio, you’ll feel your heart pumping when you swap your usual treadmill run for this bodyweight workout. You get the added benefit of building plyometric strength. The secret to the sweat is that you’ll work for 20 seconds and rest for 10 seconds, and repeat this pattern six times for each movement before you move on to the next set.

1. Jumping Jack

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spOdnq7BxXw

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart, arms at your sides.
• Jump your feet apart as you sweep your arms out to each side and up overhead, together.
• Reverse the arm motion as you jump your feet back together to your starting position.

2. Burpee

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79mhd8ud5IM

• Stand with feet hip-width apart, arms at your sides.
• In one fluid motion, drop into a squat and place your hands on the ground, and jump your feet straight behind you to a high-plank position.
• Lower into a push-up, and as you push back up, jump your feet under your hips to squat.
• Push through your heels to jump straight up and land softly, dropping into a squat to repeat the sequence.

3. High Knees

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJitjE9ihCw

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart, arms at your sides.
• Begin running in place, pumping your arms and lifting your knees to hip height.

4. Side-to-Side Shuffle

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwHiXO5ps_I

• Start in an athletic stance, knees slightly bent.
• Step quickly to your right and slide your left foot to meet your right, repeating to travel a few steps to your right.
• Pause and step to your left, shuffling in that direction for a few steps. Continue to alternate shuffling a few steps to the right and then a few steps to the left.

5. Bear Crawl

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuaiPs-aHWk

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart, arms at your sides.
• Lower yourself to your hands and knees. Keeping your back flat, core engaged and neck neutral, flex your feet to rise up onto your toes so that your hips and knees remain at 90 degrees with your knees hovering off the ground.
• Step your right and left foot forward, alternating, to travel forward for a few feet. Then reverse the arm-and-leg motion to crawl backward to return to the starting point, and repeat.

6. Drop Squat

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5007x5-i7w

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart, arms at your sides.
• Jump your feet out a little wider than hip width and sit back down into a deep squat position. Bring your hands up in front of your chest as you squat.
• Jump back to start, landing as lightly as possible, and repeat.

7. Mountain Climber

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkKQyuaQvog

• Begin in a high-plank position, shoulders stacked over your elbows and wrists, your core engaged and your body in a stiff, straight line from head to heels.
• Drive your right knee in toward your chest, lifting your right foot off the ground.
• As you extend your right leg to your starting position, drive your left knee to your chest. Continue, alternating sides.

8. Carioca

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EA55IPKz4mQ

• Stand with your feet hip-width apart.
• Keeping your torso facing forward, step your left foot across your right, rotating your hips and knees to the right as you extend your arms across your body to the left.
• Keeping your torso facing forward, rotate your hips to the left to cross your left foot over your right and swing your arms across your body to the right.
• Repeat this fluid side-to-side crossover step to travel a few feet to the right, and then reverse the motion to travel a few feet to the left, and continue switching your traveling direction.

Photo: Jacob Lund, Adobe Stock

Video: Mark Kuroda, kurodastudios.com
Grooming: Emily Sims, emilysimsmakeup.com

Models: Miguel Farjado Jimenez , Gregory Howard, Jr., 24 Hour Fitness