No workout equipment? No problem! Our body is all we really need to get a great workout.
For my cardio, I usually do a combination of 2 different workouts using only my body weight: Circuit Training, and Tabata High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). These are both types of workouts in which you do an intense workout for a certain amount of time, then switch to a workout of lower intensity, or rest completely, for a certain amount of time. You would alternate between high intensity and low intensity/rest over and over through the duration of the workout. These workouts target full body strengthening, fat loss, and cardiovascular improvement. Though the workouts can include any type of exercises, below I outline a specific example of a workout session I might have. The great thing about circuit training and HIIT is that you can switch up the exercises to tailor to your specific interests!
If you are a beginner, you can start with just the Power Circuit Training, which should be enough to wear you out if you’re just getting into working out hard.
As you get more comfortable with this first workout, and if you feel like you can do more, you could add the Tabata workout, after 5-10 minutes rest in between workouts. Note that Tabata, if done correctly is very intense. If at any point during this exercise you feel dizzy or like you will faint, you should slow yourself down. I am not a doctor, so I can’t tell you if you are fit enough to do the Tabata workout. It would be good to consult a doctor to ensure you are healthy enough to do a more strenuous workout such as Tabata.
Exercise I: Power Circuit Training
Power Circuit Training – a total of 21 minutes. A circuit is a group of exercises, usually repeated throughout the exercise. Each circuit in this case is 20 seconds of a “power” exercise move, followed by one minute jogging in place. The “power” exercise move is to be done as fast and hard as you can (if you feel dizzy or about to faint, definitely slow it down, but you should go hard enough that it’s hard to go longer than 20 seconds). Each jog should be slow to allow yourself to cool down in between power exercises. Below is the exact workout I do:
After one minute jogging in place, repeat this circuit 3 times:
1. 20 seconds – Burpees
One minute – jog in place
2. 20 seconds – mountain climbers
One minute – jog in place
3. 20 seconds – pushups or modified pushups
One minute jog in place
4. 20 seconds – squats (for beginners) or squat jumps (for more advanced exercise)
One minute – jog in place
5. 20 seconds – high knees running in place
One minute – jog in place
Exercise II: Tabata
Tabata – a total of 20 minutes. Tabata is a form of High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). HIIT is a way to raise your heart rate for a short amount of time, then rest shortly, then raise the heart rate again, and do this back and forth. Since you get only a short cool down or rest, your heart rate is constantly high, and you can burn a great deal of calories in a short time, and even after the workout. Once again, if you feel dizzy or about to faint, you should slow down, but the goal is to go as hard as you can for that short duration of time. Below is the workout I do:
The following 8 exercises are done, and then rest for one minute, then repeat for a total of four times (so that’s these 8 workouts, rest one minute, 8 workouts, rest one minute, 8 workouts, rest one minute, 8 workouts, rest one minute).
1. 20 seconds – high knees running in place
10 seconds standing in place
2. 20 seconds – pushups or modified pushups:
10 seconds standing in place
3. 20 seconds – squat or squat jumps
10 seconds standing in place
4. 20 seconds – burpees
10 seconds standing in place
5. 20 seconds – high knees running in place
10 seconds standing in place
6. 20 seconds – pushups
10 seconds standing in place
7. 20 seconds – squat jumps
10 seconds standing in place
8. 20 seconds – burpees
10 seconds standing in place
How to Do each Exercise:
For instructions on how to do each exercise, please see the following YouTube tutorials:
Mountain climbers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyeZM-_VnRc
Modified pushups: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFyzS1Z_mxA
Squat jumps: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVaEhXotL7M
High knees: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZZoCNMU48U
How to Measure the Time for Each Exercise:
If you have a smart phone, you can find an app for HIIT – in this app you can plug in how long you will do a warm-up, how long you will do a hard exercise, and how long you will do a rest. Otherwise, you can use a watch or timer to tell you when to move through each exercise.
Yessss!! This is EXACTLY what I needed!! And I’m glad you included the websites/tutorial for the exercises because I was like “mountain climbers?!! What the heck..?!” Lol.. Again–thanks my girl! I’ll keep you posted on my progress!
Good! Glad it made sense, I was hoping people would try it out and let me know if it sounded like complete garbage or not lol. Yes let me know!
Hello,
This is very helpful&will be done during this challenge time. Thanks for sharing.
Kk-
Great! Glad it helped!
Spec!! I love your site im not sure how I’m just now noticing it 🙁 anyway it is extremely helpful!! Thanks for the tutorials 😉
Hey Spec! Great, I’m not sure how you missed it either lol. Let me know if you try this workout. Best of luck with the site you’re pulling together too!
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Perfect!!! Thanks so much soror trying this today.
Just did this workout this morning, challenging but glad I was able to complete the entire two cycles. Thanks Monica, You are an inspiration:)
Awesome! Glad it worked out for you 🙂
Thank you for this! I definitely did the Tabata today and I was so happy that I was able to get through the 4 sets! I hope that my form and endurance will increase as I get stronger.
I was just wondering how often would you recommend someone doing these?
If this is the only workout you’re doing then anywhere from 3-5x per week is good. Glad you were able to complete it!