Cardio Workout Challenges!

Cardio Workout Challenges

The following cardio workout challenges are designed to push your body to its limit with the purpose of re-sculpting your body and providing great health benefits to your heart. Anyone from beginners to serious athletes can use these workouts with many variations to suit your ultimate goal. Also, have a stopwatch handy to time yourself. They do not take up a lot of time (great for those who are very busy), and by pushing your limits, you will get the best results in the shortest amount of time! We encourage changing up your regular workouts to include these challenging workouts. And, be sure you get enough rest and recovery time.

 

Challenge #1

This cardio challenge consists of 4 different exercises. After completing all 4 exercises, you have completed 1 round. Each exercise will last 30 seconds, and you will want to try to complete 3 rounds. This challenge should take about 6 minutes to complete. Let’s begin!

Round (duration)	Exercise	Time
1 (2 minutes)	High Knees *Jog in-place raising your knees High Knees Example Push ups with Knee Tuck Combo *While performing push up, raise one knee up to your elbow. Push ups Example Jumping Lunges *With one leg in front and one behind your body, squat down until your knee almost touches the ground. Jumping Lunges Example Burpees without Push ups *Starting from Push up position, raise legs to chest, then raise arms over head while jumping straight up. Burpees without push up Example	30 seconds       30 seconds         30 seconds           30 seconds
2	repeat	repeat
3	repeat	repeat

 

For beginners, you can take a quick 10 second break between exercises, and a 20-30 second break between rounds. For advanced athletes, no rest. Remember, this is all about challenging yourself. If you don’t need the break, don’t take it. Your ultimate goal is to complete the whole 6 minute challenge with no breaks. Write down how many reps of each exercise you completed, and then try to beat that record next time (keeping your technique clean). Feel free to include your own variations on these exercises. You can do many different types of push ups, lunges, and burpees to help keep this cardio workout creative and challenging. For example, try wearing a backpack with rice bags to give you some resistance. You can also push each exercise to 45 seconds and make it a 9 minute challenge!!

 

Challenge #2

This challenge is quite difficult. Each round is 60 seconds long, and you have to repeat a set of 3 exercises as many times as you can before the round ends. When the round ends, you get a brief 15 second rest, and then begin the next round. Try to complete as many rounds as you can. 5 Rounds will take 6 minutes, 15 seconds to complete. Are you ready for results??

Round (duration)	Exercise	Reps per exercise	Rest After Round
1 (60 seconds)	Burpees *Begin with a push up, then raise legs to chest, then raise arms over head while jumping straight up. Burpees Example Mountain Climbers *Begin in push up position, then alternate raising each leg to chest. Mounting Climbers Example Jumping Lunges *With one leg in front and one behind your body, squat down until your knee almost touches the ground. Jumping Lunges Example ***repeat exercises until round is complete	1             10 (5 for each leg)           10 (5 for each leg)	15 seconds
2 (60 seconds)	Repeat	Repeat	Repeat
3 (60 seconds)	Repeat	Repeat	Repeat
4 (60 seconds)	Repeat	Repeat	Repeat
5 (60 seconds)	Repeat	Repeat	Repeat

 

Because everyone from beginner to advanced should tackle these challenges, each person can adjust the challenge for their skill level. For beginners, you can push the 15 second rest after each round to 30 seconds. If you can only do 3 rounds, that’s fine. 3 rounds are still better than 0 rounds. As you continue training and become more advanced, you’ll be able to handle 5 rounds, then 10 rounds, then who knows!!

 

Challenge #3

This next challenge will be a 3 exercise challenge similar in format to Challenge #2. The difference is each round will only last for 30 seconds and you will be doing Push ups, Mountain Climbers, and Dumbbell Clean and Presses.

Round (duration)	Exercise	Reps per exercise	Rest After Round
1 (30 seconds)	Push ups *On all fours with your back straight, bring your chest to the ground and push back up. Push ups Example Mountain Climbers *Begin in push up position, then alternate raising each leg to chest. Mounting Climbers Example Dumbbell Clean and Presses *From a half squat, raise dumbbells up to shoulders, then raise dumbbells overhead. Dumbbell Clean and Presses Example ***repeat exercises until round is complete	1             10 (5 for each leg)           1	15 seconds
2 (30 seconds)	Repeat	Repeat	Repeat
3 (30 seconds)	Repeat	Repeat	Repeat
4 (30 seconds)	Repeat	Repeat	Repeat
5 (30 seconds)	Repeat	Repeat	Repeat

 

For beginners, if you need to increase the rest between rounds, you can begin with 30 seconds instead of 15. The Dumbbell Clean and Presses exercise can use many different kinds of weights. You can use dumbbells, a straight bar, sandbag, or backpack with rice bags. Once you can tackle 5 rounds, set your next goal to reach 10 rounds!

 

Challenge #4

This next challenge is a great partner workout challenge. Each partner competes to do as many reps as possible in 30 seconds. Keep score and see who is in better shape!

Round (duration)	Exercise	Rest After Round
1 (30 seconds)	Inverted Rows *Pull yourself forward using your upper back with arms shoulder length apart. Inverted Rows Example 1 Inverted Rows Example 2 Ab Crunches *The example link below has many different abdominal exercises. Select one that’s challenging or one you haven’t tried before. Ab Crunches Example Sandbag Shoulder Clean and Presses *Raise the sandbag from your knees up to your chest, then raise the sandbag up over your head. Sandbag Shoulder Clean and Presses Example Jumping Lunges *With one leg in front and one behind your body, squat down until your knee almost touches the ground. Jumping Lunges Example	30 seconds (while partner is doing exercise)       30 seconds (while partner is doing exercise)        30 seconds (while partner is doing exercise)         30 seconds (while partner is doing exercise)
2 (30 seconds)	Repeat	Repeat
3 (30 seconds)	Repeat	Repeat

 

So, who’s the winner? How about best 3 out of 5?? Feel free to add some variations to these exercises. If you have a Dip Bar, you can use it for Ab Crunches. If you’re using a sandbag for the Shoulder Presses, you can also use the sandbag with your Jumping Lunges too. Can you add another round or 2? Go for it!!

 

Challenge #5

Challenge #5 is going to be a tough, lower body pyramid workout. The way this pyramid works is after each round, you decrease the number of reps by 1. Starting with 5 reps on round 1 all the way to 1 rep on round 5.

Round	Exercise	Reps per exercise	Rest After Round
1	Jump Squats *From a standing position, squat down halfway then jump straight up. Jump Squats Example Side Lateral Lunges *Take a step out to the side and lunge down, keeping your shoulders and your hips square. Come back up and perform the action on the other side. Side Lateral Lunges Example Dumbbell Clean and Presses *From a half squat, raise dumbbells up to shoulders, then raise dumbbells overhead. Dumbbell Clean and Presses Example Jumping Lunges *With one leg in front and one behind your body, squat down until your knee almost touches the ground. Jumping Lunge Example	5           5                 5                 5	15 seconds
2	Jump Squats Side Lateral Lunges Clean and Presses Jump Lunges	4 4 4 4	15 seconds
3	Jump Squats Side Lateral Lunges Clean and Presses Jump Lunges	3 3 3 3	15 seconds
4	Jump Squats Side Lateral Lunges Clean and Presses Jump Lunges	2 2 2 2	15 seconds
5	Jump Squats Side Lateral Lunges Clean and Presses Jump Lunges	1 1 1 1	15 seconds

 

If you’re a beginner or have never tried this challenge before, go ahead and take the 15 second rest after each round. But, don’t let the rest become a crutch. Remember, each round is getting easier with 1 fewer reps per exercise. If you think you can handle no rests between rounds, go for it and push yourself!

 

Challenge #6

This last challenge will be a fun variation to the other challenges. This is the poker cardio workout challenge. You can do this by yourself or with a partner. You will need a deck of 52 cards and your choice of 4 exercises. Each suit is 1 of your 4 exercises, and the number on card is amount of reps you will perform for that exercise. For example, I could say the suit Diamonds are Jumping Lunges. If I draw a 10 of Diamonds, I have to perform 10 Jumping Lunges. Pretty simple, right?? If you want to make it a harder challenge, you can have Jacks count for 11 reps, Queens 12 reps, Kings 13 reps, and Aces 14 reps.