A lot of times when people think of cardio, they picture a treadmill or elliptical, but the reality is that bodyweight cardio workouts are far superior to anything you can do on a piece of gym equipment. Instead of literally thousands of repetitions of the same movement on a large machine, no equipment cardio makes the most of your own bodyweight, providing a challenge that is much more varied, dynamic, and functional.

The other great thing about bodyweight only workouts is that you can do them anywhere, anytime. These kinds of routines can travel with you - whether it be to your own backyard for a workout in the fresh air, or a hotel room while you’re traveling. 

With this workout I wanted to build an easily scalable, solid cardiovascular challenge that wasn’t quite as intense as HIIT. There is a coordination component to a number of these exercises; this is to lessen the overall intensity at different points throughout the routine, and also to bring in elements of balance, bodily control, and mind body connection. With that said, there are a number of easy ways to make this a pure cardio or more strength oriented challenge. 

Different ways to modify this routine for your own goals:

• Deepen the squats & lunges to increase the challenge on the muscles & the difficulty of this routine.
• Speed up the motions & keep the lunges/squats more shallow to use this as a purely cardio challenge. 
• Wear a weighted vest, hold onto dumbbells or utilize resistance bands to drastically increase the difficulty & increase the strength challenge.

Choose your focus & level of difficulty based on your fitness needs, and even where you’re at in your own workout schedule. For instance, if your legs are sore from a previous lower body workout, stick with the mods that make this more of a cardio challenge, instead of working those same sore muscles with deep ranges of motion before they’re ready.

I’ve provided both high and low impact modifications all the way through; choose the level you need in order to push yourself in the smartest way, for what you need today.

Workout Structure
Warm Up
Cardio Interval Workout
Cool Down & Stretch

Cardio Warm Up - 30 Second Intervals
March in Place/Boxer Shuffle
Side Stretch Steps
2 Torso Twist + Knee
Good Morning + Fly
2 Butt Kickers + Front Kick
Walkdown Plank Taps
Fly Jacks
Step Through + Lateral Step
Bird Dog
Push Ups
Bridge
Clamshell (both sides)
Mountain Climbers

Bodyweight Cardio Workout - 45 Seconds Active, 15 Seconds Rest
Side Lunge + Knee to Elbow
Plank to Crouch
Squat + Step Back
2 Side Jacks + 2 Runners
Monster Walk + Jump
3 Point Taps/Lunges; Curtsy, Side, & Front
Split Jumps + Front Kick

Water Break

5 High Knees + Wide Drop Squat
3 Side Steps + Reverse Tap or Lunge
Reverse Lunges + Ventral Pull Downs
Kneeling Plank Rocker (switch sides halfway through)
Bridge Walks
Bridge + Extension & Toe Touch Crunch
Side Plank + Knee + Kick
Plank Jack + Center Tap
Supine Leg Lifts (Alternating)

Cool Down & Stretch

I hope you enjoyed this workout! Let me know what kinds of workouts you would like to see next and I will do my best to deliver. 

Thank you for working out with me!

Kelli