The treadmill is a great tool, for several reasons: It’s easy to adjust (in both speed and incline) to meet the goal of your cardio workout and your current physical capacity, it’s a great alternative to running if the weather outside is frightful, you can easily track miles run, calories burned, and even your mid-workout heart rate.
But if the thought of spending 20 minutes running in place sounds super boring to you, rest assured that you’re definitely not alone. Fortunately, you’ve got tons of other options for getting your sweat on. If you’re looking for a challenging cardio session that doesn’t involve logging miles on the treadmill, consider a simple bodyweight circuit–no equipment necessary!
Try This: A 20-Minute Cardio Workout With Only Bodyweight Movements Required
Whether you’re out of town or simply short on time, this little circuit training workout is sure to get your heart rate up, your sweat pouring, and your muscles burning–the trifecta of cardio goodness!
For easy reference, let’s call this workout “The Twenty-Fives”
1) Cash In: 25 burpees, then
2) Complete 3-5 rounds of: 25 push-ups, 25 sit-ups, 25 squats, 25 jumping lunges, 25 bicycle kicks, 25 chair or bench dips
3) Cash Out: 25 burpees
Feel free to push yourself, but make sure you choose a pace that you can maintain with relative consistency for 20 minutes without losing your form. This means you shouldn’t go all out in the beginning, and you shouldn’t completely disregard your technique simply to get through the rounds faster.
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A couple of helpful notes:
- The prescription here is listed as “3 to 5 rounds” of the main bodyweight circuit. This means that you can choose a little more or a little less trips through the gauntlet, depending on your overall fitness and ability.
- To perform the perfect push-up, check out this video. Can’t do a full range of motion push-up yet? Keep all the points of form the same but put your knees on the ground instead of your toes.
- To perform the perfect sit-up, check out this video. If you don’t have an ab mat (which is used to protect the low back), try a folded up towel.
- To perform the perfect squat, check out this video. If it’s helpful, squat to a chair (just touch, don’t sit down) so that you stay consistent with depth.
- For the jumping lunge, look here.
- For bicycle kicks, look here.
- Lastly, for a bench or chair dip, check out this video. Be sure you choose something sturdy, and if it bothers your shoulders, feel free to skip this one.
Go ahead, share this cardio workout with your friends and give it a try! Then let us know how it goes by sharing in the comments below!