Video: A 25-Minute Cardio Workout You Can Do Anywhere
When weather, schedules, or low motivation keeps you from the gym, try this 25-minute at-home cardio workout—with a killer playlist to boot. Jump around, have some fun, then go back to binge watching that show you got sucked into.
Get a preview of the moves in the video above, start up your playlist below, then get going.
Song 1: Blame, by Bastille and Jack Ritchie
The point of this warm-up is to shake it out and groove. Start with several deep breaths. Reach your arms to the sky as you breathe in, then bend into a forward fold on an exhale. Repeat eight times. Alternate through the following moves, switching from one to the next after 16 or 32 counts. Feel the beat and do what feels natural.
- Move 1: Start with jumping jacks. Keep knees and elbows bent slightly. Pull the arms down with force.
- Move 2: Warm up the core with “twisties.” Knees and toes go one way, chest and arms go the other way.
- Move 3: Move into a jump rope. Bounce lightly on your toes, shifting from one foot to the other to keep it low impact.
Song 2: Move Your Body, by Sia
Time to work the core. Start in a high plank and move through the following three moves, resting in child’s pose before starting a new move.
- Move 1: Come into a high plank. Shoulders should be over wrists, with all muscles engaged.
- Move 2: While in high plank, begin shoulder taps. Tap your right hand to your left shoulder, then your left hand to your right shoulder.
- Move 3: Move into side planks, first on your right and then on your left side. Stack your feet and lift up with your hips and obliques.
Song 3: Wild Child, by Lupe Fiasco and Jake Torrey
Here’s another chance to groove to the music. Start with “twisties” and jumping rope, then transition into the squat-lunge sequence below during the chorus.
- Move 1: Alternate between “twisties” and jumping rope during the verse of the song.
- Move 2: Pulse in a squat for four counts. Lunge your right foot back and pulse for four counts. Move back to a squat for four pulses. Then, lunge your left foot back for four pulses.
Song 4: Are You Sure?, by Kris Kross Amsterdam, Conor Maynard, and Ty Dolla $ign
At this point in the workout, you should be very warm. For the next three minutes, alternate between squats and burpees.
- Move 1: Squat up and down 16 times, keeping your feet slightly wider than your hips, with knees behind your toes.
- Move 2: Burpees. Place your hands down, jump back to a plank, jump your feet up, and stand. Do this eight times total.
Song 5: I Got You, by Bebe Rexha and Cheat Codes
This round is a shoulder burner. Rotate through the following moves until the song is over. Take a break in child’s pose if you need it.
- Move 1: Do four pushups.
- Move 2: From the top of your pushup, rock back to down dog twice.
- Move 3: Do eight mountain climbers.
Song 6: My Boo, by Flume, Vince Staples, Ngaiire, Vera Blue, and KUCKA
Here’s one last round before your cool-down. During the long intro, jump rope. Once the lyrics come in, resist the urge to dance, and do 32 jumping jacks.
- Move 1: Pulse in a sumo squat for eight counts.
- Move 2: Stay in a low sumo squat, lifting your heels up and down eight times.
- Move 3: Do 32 jumping jacks before starting the sequence over.
Song 7: Broccoli, by Cheat Codes
You made it to the cool-down. Do the breathing exercise from the beginning of the workout, inhaling arms up, and exhaling to fold forward. After doing eight of those, hang in a rag doll forward fold, grabbing opposite elbows. Stay in a forward fold, interlace your hands at your low back, and lift your hands toward the ceiling. Finish the song with other stretches your body needs, such as a quad stretch, runner’s lunge, or spinal twist.
Emily McLaughlin is a Boston-based fitness instructor and the blogger behind Stay Healthy Stay Happy.