One of the roadblocks we’ve seen through the years is the veteran athlete that believes that they can train 6 days per week trying to improve in strength and cardio at the same time, with no increase in calories, recovery or sleep. They end up frustrated and overtrained. Final note on Strength. EMOM CrossFit Workouts. Below are 17 EMOM workouts you can do anywhere. Some are for cardio/endurance, others for skill and others for strength. In no particular order, they are: #1 – 16 minutes. 4-minute EMOM: 8 Thrusters (barbell or dumbbells) Rest 1 minute. 4-minute EMOM: 10 Lunges (alternating and weighted) Rest 1 minute. 4-minute EMOM: 12 Jump Squats.
Doing your cardio exercising at home is an attractive option, offering convenience as well as a way to save money and time. Luckily, a good cardio workout doesn't have to require a ton of space or fancy equipment, and with a little creativity, you can put together a fitness routine with a wide range of effective cardio exercises that will tone muscle, burn calories, and help you lose weight. Below are some home cardio exercises you can do anytime, anywhere.
Watch Now: 4 Cardio Moves You Can Do In Your Living Room
Jumping Jacks
What: Repeatedly jumping the feet wide while circling the arms overhead, then back again
Why: Jumping jacks burn about 100 calories in 10 minutes and no special equipment or skills are needed.
Requirements: A good pair of shoes, a conditioned heart
Precautions: Jumping jacks are high impact, which may tax the joints. They may also remind you of elementary or high school gym class traumas.
Variations: Plyo-jacks (squatting then jumping in the air), stepping the feet out rather than jumping, holding a medicine ball, push-up jacks (jumping the legs together while doing push-ups)
- In a Cardio Circuit: Use jumping jacks in a circuit, doing them for 30-60 seconds and alternating them with other cardio exercises such as marching, jogging, jumping rope, etc. Try a different variation of jumping jacks each time, repeating the circuit for 10-30 minutes.
- In a Strength Circuit: Alternate 30-60 seconds of jumping jacks with strength exercises such as squats, lunges, pushups, and dips for 10-30 minutes.
- In Your Regular Workout: Add a high-intensity blast to your regular cardio or strength workouts by adding a minute or more of jumping jacks throughout the workout or at the end.
Jump Rope
What: Turning a rope with handles repeatedly while jumping over it and (optional) chanting rhymes
Why: It's great cardio, burning about 220 calories in 20 minutes. Jump ropes are inexpensive, travel well, require no special skills, and can be used anywhere you have space.
Requirements: A jump rope, a good pair of shoes, patience, and practice
Precautions: Jumping rope is high impact and requires practice. It looks easy, but beginners may have all the grace of a pigeon-toed elephant and trip often. For the best results, turn the rope with the wrists, not the arms, and land softly. Only jump high enough to clear the rope.
Variations: Jumping on one foot, alternating feet, crossing the feet, jumping with high knees, double turning the rope
- In a Beginner Circuit: Alternating 10-30 seconds of jumping with marching in place for 5-10 circuits. Gradually work up to longer jumping sessions
- In a Cardio Circuit: Alternate 30-60 seconds of jumping with other cardio exercises such as marching, jogging, jumping jacks, etc.
- In a Strength Circuit: Alternate 30-60 seconds of jumping with strength exercises, such as squats, lunges, push-ups, and dips.
Jogging in Place
What: Jogging in a stationary position
Why: It's simple, accessible, gets the heart rate up, and is a great way to warm up for more intense exercise.
Precautions: It's high impact, which may tax the joints, and it can be boring. Because there's no forward motion, it isn't as intense as jogging outside.
Variations: Press the arms overhead, high knees, butt kicks, wide knees
- As a Warm Up: Start by marching in place, then slowly change that to a jog to prepare your body for more strenuous exercise.
- In a Cardio Circuit: Alternate jogging in place with other cardio exercises, such as marching, jogging, jumping rope, step touches, etc. Do each for 30-60 seconds, repeating the circuit for 10-30 minutes.
- In a Strength Circuit: Alternate 30-60 seconds of jogging in place with strength exercises, such as squats, lunges, push-ups, and dips for 10-30 minutes.
- As an Active Break: Try jogging in place when you need an active break at work or at home.
Burpees
What: Squatting to the floor, jumping the feet to a plank position, jumping back in, and standing up
Why: It's a killer cardio exercise, burning 100 or more calories in 10 minutes (if you can stomach 10 minutes of this exercise).
Requirements: A good pair of shoes, experience with high impact exercise, an iron will
Variations: Stepping the feet back instead of jumping, jump up at the end, add a push-up, use equipment for an additional challenge (medicine ball, BOSU, kettlebell, or sliding discs)
- Sparingly: As mentioned above, they're really, really hard, so pace yourself.
- In a Cardio Circuit: Incorporate 30-60 seconds of burpees every 3-4 minutes of a cardio circuit that includes other exercises, such as marching, jogging, jumping rope, step touches, etc.
- In a Strength Circuit: Add 30-60 seconds of burpees for every 3-5 strength exercises, such as squats, lunges, push-ups, and dips for 10-30 minutes.
- In High-Intensity Interval Training: Do 30-60 seconds of burpees, rest for 30-60 seconds, and repeat for 10 or more minutes. You can also use burpees in a Tabata workout.
How to Add Intensity and Variety With Your Burpees
Mountain Climbers
What: Running the knees in and out from a push-up position.
Why: Mountain climbers raise the heart rate while building strength and endurance in the core. No special skills are needed.
Precautions: This exercise can tax the wrists, arms, and shoulders, as well as the core.
Variations: Alternate jumping each foot forward and back; use sliding discs, paper plates or towels; combine them with other exercises such as burpees, push-ups, or planks
- In a Cardio Circuit: Add mountain climbers to your cardio circuit, doing them for 30-60 seconds each time.
- In a Strength Workout: Combine mountain climbers with push-ups or planks to add intensity.
- In Combinations: For high intensity, do a series of mountain climbers with burpees, alternate 10 push-ups with 10 mountain climbers, or add them to bear crawls.
Squat Jumps
What: From a squat position, jump as high as you can, landing back into a squat
Why: Squat jumps are a plyometric exercise that will raise the heart rate, burn calories, and increase power in the legs. No special skills are needed.
Requirements: Happy knees, experience with high impact exercise, and a good pair of shoes
Precautions: This exercise is high impact and high intensity, and requires strong joints and a strong heart. With any plyo exercise, land softly to protect the joints.
Variations: Prisoner squat jumps (with your hands behind your head), froggy jumps (touch the ground when you squat), on a BOSU
- In a Cardio Workout: Incorporate 30-60 seconds of squat jumps into your regular cardio workout or in a cardio circuit with other exercises, such as marching, jogging, jumping rope, step touches, etc.
- In a Lower Body Workout: Add 30-60 seconds of squat jumps after every 3-5 lower body exercise, such as squats, lunges, or deadlifts to increase intensity, power, and strength.
- In High-Intensity Interval Training: Do 30-60 seconds of squat jumps, rest for 30-60 seconds, and repeat for 10 or more minutes. You can also use squat jumps in a Tabata workout.
Why You Should Try Squat Jumps to Build Your Leg Strength
Bear Crawls
What: Squatting to the floor, walking the hands out to do a push-up, walking the hands back. and standing up...like a bear
Why: They get the heart rate way up while building strength and endurance.
Requirements: Experience with high-intensity exercise
Precautions: This move is tougher than it looks and the intensity accumulates quickly.
Variations: No push-up, push-up on the knees, keeping the knees down as you crawl in and out
- In a Cardio/Strength Workout: Incorporate 30-60 seconds of bear crawls into your regular cardio workout or in a cardio circuit with other exercises such as marching, jogging, jumping rope, burpees, etc.
- In an Upper Body Workout: Add 30-60 seconds of bear crawls for every 3-5 upper body exercises such as push-ups, chest presses, or dumbbell rows to increase intensity, power, and strength.
- In High-Intensity Interval Training: Do 30-60 seconds of bear crawls, rest for 30-60 seconds, and repeat for 10 or more minutes, or alternate bear crawls with other high-intensity exercises such as burpees or squat jumps. You can also use bear crawls in a Tabata workout.
Kickboxing
What: Punching, kicking, and combinations thereof against a bag, the air, or (risky) another person
Why: Kickboxing can burn more than 100 calories in 10 minutes at the right intensity, requires no equipment, and can help you get out your aggressions.
Requirements: Basic knowledge of kicks and punches
Precautions: Extending the arms and legs all the way during punches and kicks can stress the joints.
Variations: Endless combinations of kicks, punches, or both
- Create Your Own Cardio Workout: If you're familiar with kickboxing, make your own combinations: Jab-cross-hook-upper, jab-cross-hook-knee smash-front kick, squats with front kicks, jumping front kicks, or side kicks.
- Exercise Videos: Familiarize yourself with different elements of kickboxing with these instructional videos: The 5 Basic Kicks In Kickboxing, Kickboxing Punching Techniques, Jump Rope and Kickboxing Tabata Workout. You can also try home kickboxing workout routine videos.
Staircase Exercise
What: Using a staircase for everything from cardio to strength training
Why: Walking stairs is an excellent cardio workout and you can use the steps for a variety of other exercises.
Precautions: Watch for cats, dogs, toys, and children. Make sure there's a handrail for safety.
Variations: Use a fitness step platform instead of actual stairs
Best Ways to Incorporate Stairs Into Your Workout:
- In a Cardio Circuit: If you have a longer staircase (more than six stairs), work it into a cardio circuit: Alternate 1-2 laps up and down with other cardio exercises, such as jumping rope, jogging in place, jumping jacks, etc.
- In High-Intensity Interval Training: Run or walk up the stairs as fast as you can and walk back down to recover, repeating for 10 or more minutes. You can also use just one step: Jump onto the step with both feet and step down, or stand sideways with one foot on the step and jump, turning 180 degrees, and landing with the other foot on the step.
- In Strength Workouts: Use one step for push-ups, lunges, dips, squats, step ups, and more.
Bonus: Run, Walk, Play
What: The great outdoors
Why: There's fresh air out there and it's fun to actually go somewhere when you're exercising.
Requirements: A door to the outside world, a decent pair of shoes, sunglasses, and sunscreen
Precautions: Watch out for dogs, heat, cold, chatty neighbors, distracted drivers, and bikers.
Best Ways to Exercise Outdoors:
- Walk: For weight loss, walk at a brisk pace, and incorporate hills and sprints to increase intensity.
- Run: If you're a beginner, start with a walk/run program to condition your body.
- Circuit Training: You're not just stuck with walking or running outside. You can also incorporate strength exercises like push-ups, dips, and burpees with your walks or runs to add intensity and make things more interesting.
- Play: Tossing a Frisbee or a football, chasing the dog or the kids, or a day at the park makes exercise more fun.
19 Effective Cardio Exercises for a Gym-Free Workout
If you really want to get the most out of your cardio workouts, break out of your comfort zone and try Tabata training. Tabata is a form of high-intensity interval training that forces you to work at a very high intensity for short periods of time. Not only do you burn more calories during your workout, but you also increase your afterburn—the calories you burn after you exercise as your body resets back to normal. This very advanced workout involves pushing you to that breathless place where you have to dig deep to find the will to keep going.
Each Tabata set involves alternating two high-intensity or anaerobic exercises for 20 seconds, followed by 10 seconds of rest, for a total of four minutes. In this version, you'll alternate two different exercises for each Tabata set rather than doing the same exercise. That keeps things from getting monotonous and allows you to work a variety of muscles.
This workout is best suited to advanced exercisers comfortable with high-intensity training. Choose one Tabata set for a shorter workout or complete all four for an intense 35-minute workout. You won't need any equipment for this workout. See your doctor before trying this workout if you have any injuries, illnesses, or other conditions
Tabata Workout Basics
- Alternate the exercises in each Tabata set, doing each for 20 seconds, resting 10 seconds between each exercise.
- Repeat each of the two exercises in a Tabata set four times, for a total of four minutes for each set.
- Complete one or all of the Tabata sets, resting for one minute between sets.
- Work as hard as you can at each exercise, working for a level 9 to 10 on a 10-point perceived exertion scale.
- Monitor your intensity throughout the workout and back off if your heart rate gets too high.
- Modify the workout as needed and avoid any exercises that cause pain or discomfort.
Tabata Set 1: Burpees
This Tabata set includes burpees and mountain climbers.
- Squat and place your hands on the floor.
- In an explosive movement, jump feet back into a plank position.
- Jump your feet back between your hands and stand up, adding a jump at the end for more intensity.
- Repeat for 20 seconds, then rest for 10 seconds.
As a modification, you can also step the feet back instead of jumping. To add intensity, try adding a pushup after you jump the feet back.
Mountain Climbers
The second exercise of Tabata set 1 is mountain climbers.
- From the burpees, stay on the floor in a pushup position and alternate bringing the knees in towards the chest, as though running.
- Keep the hips down and drive the knees as high as you can.
- Repeat for 20 seconds, then rest for 10 seconds.
Another option is to do more of a jump switch, which is harder.
- Bring the right foot in and touch the toe to the ground.
- Now jump, switch the feet in the air and bring the left knee in.
Alternate each the burpees and mountain climbers, performing each for 20 seconds, followed by 10 seconds of rest.
- Repeat four times for a total of 4 minutes.
- Rest for 1 minute.
Tabata Set 2: Long Jumps
The second Tabata set includes long jumps and plyo jacks.
- Begin with the feet together and the knees slightly bent.
- Jump forward as far as you can with both feet together, landing with the knees soft.
- Jump to turn around and do another long jump in the opposite direction.
- Repeat, jumping forward, jumping to turn and jumping forward again for 20 seconds, then rest for 10 seconds.
Make sure you land on your heels and keep the knees soft to avoid injury.
Plyo Jacks
The second exercise of Tabata set 2 is plyo jacks.
- Begin with feet together and jump up, taking feet out to the side, landing in a low squat.
- Jump up and bring feet back together (a very slow jumping jack).
- Swing your arms overhead to add intensity.
- Repeat for 20 seconds, then rest for 10 seconds.
To add intensity, slow down the move and squat as low as you can.
- Alternate long jumps and plyo jacks, performing each for 20 seconds, followed by 10 seconds of rest.
- Repeat four times for a total of 4 minutes.
- Rest for 1 minute.
Tabata Set 3: Squat Jumps
Tabata set 3 includes squat jumps and jogging with high knees.
- Begin with the feet wider than hip-distance apart and the hands behind the head, elbows out.
- Lower into a squat keeping the knees in line with the toes, and go as low as you can. Make sure you send the hips back to protect the knees.
- Jump as high as you can, keeping the hands behind the head and bracing the abs.
- Land with soft knees and repeat for 20 seconds, then rest for 10 seconds.
Jogging with High Knees
The second exercise of Tabata set 3 is jogging with high knees:
- Jog in place, bringing the knees up as high as you can, aiming for waist-level each time.
- Land on the balls of your feet and keep the knees bent to absorb the impact.
- Repeat for 20 seconds, then rest for 10 seconds.
To add intensity, you can also take the arms up and down as you jog.
- Alternate squat jumps and jogging with high knees, performing each for 20 seconds, followed by 10 seconds of rest.
- Repeat four times for a total of 4 minutes.
- Rest for 1 minute.
Tabata Set 4: Jump Kicks
The fourth set includes jump kicks and side-to-side jumping lunges.
- Stand with feet together.
- Raise the right knee to waist level and then jump, switching legs and kicking out with the left leg.
- Repeat that, bring the right knee up, then switching and kicking out with the left leg for 20 seconds on the same side, resting for 10 seconds.
- You'll do these on the other side during the next Tabata set.
Side to Side Jumping Lunge
The second exercise of Tabata set 4 is jumping lunges:
- Take the right leg out to the side and bend the knee into a lunge, going as low as you can.
- Windmill the arms so that the left-hand moves towards the right foot (you don't have to touch if you can't).
- Stand up and jump into a side lunge to the other side, again windmilling the arms.
- Repeat for 20 seconds, then rest for 10 seconds.
Alternate jump kicks and jumping lunges, performing each for 20 seconds, followed by 10 seconds of rest.
- Repeat four times for a total of 4 minutes.
- Rest for 1 minute.
Cool Down: 5 minutes of light cardio and stretching.