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Woot woot! Last day of our 30 days of cardio. I am pretty excite and I know you are too. I am definitely going to do this again, on a smaller scale, with a strength and conditioning series using actual equipment…..if there’s one thing you’ve probably learned if followed along the whole way, it’s that working out at home with no equipment is very limiting, and even though it’s a good start to fitness or a supplemental workout to your regular training, you can only go so far without equipment. Your health and happiness should be a welcome investment. You don’t need much, but you do need some things. And by just adding a few dumbbells or kettlebells and medicine balls you can keep your training much more effective AND fun, so you’re more likely to stick to it.
And with that…I give you your final session. Set your timer to 45s of work, 10s of rest, complete 3 rounds.
Now before we get started, keep these things in mind:
Any uninjured/reasonably healthy person should be able to do this. Remember to listen to your body. If it feels like you can work harder, you probably can. If it feels like it’s too hard or something is causing pain, you probably should not be doing it. Be aware of your fitness level when starting this program (not where you once were 10 yrs ago or where you think you should be). Work hard enough to challenge yourself, but not so hard you injure yourself.
If you don’t like, or can’t do, a specific movement, try to think of an alternative before you get started. For instance, I have an injury to my left arm. I can not bend my wrist or put pressure on it. That means all movements like pushups, planks, burpees, mountain climbers, etc need modifications because I can’t put my hands flat on the ground. Holding onto a set of dumbbells or holding onto the side of a step or table allows me to do the exercise without furthering my injury.
Burpees and mountain climbers become easier when you place your hands onto a step or sturdy chair instead of all the way down on the the ground, or if you simply slow down the movement. Plank variations can be done on elbows and/or knees until you build up the strength to do them from hands and feet. I will post more modifications alongside each exercise.
To make an exercise harder you can hold onto a medicine ball or any kind of weight you have around the house (water jug works well). Hold it at chest level or overhead. You can also increase the speed with which you move to increase the difficulty. To ensure you are not slacking in your 15 min session, count your reps for each exercise and match or exceed them on subsequent sets.
To make an exercise easier, slow it down. We use timed intervals to avoid having to do a certain number of reps. Beginners will get 5 reps out in 40s while advanced will be able to bang out 15 but everyone is working hard for their own level…right?! So slow the movement down, step or shuffle instead of jump or hop, walk instead of jog, jog instead of run, remain stationary instead of travelling or jumping.
If you are doing your session first thing in the morning, like straight outta bed, do yourself a favour and add an extra 5 minutes at the start to do some leg and arm swings and some light dynamic stretching before you get started. This is a good idea regardless of the time of day…so you prevent injury and can actually train hard during the 15 minute session…but it’s super important if it’s the first thing you do in the day.
Lunges are a great exercise but many people do them wrong and hurt their knees. If you are a beginner, if you have a weak core, if you have bad knees…step BACK into a reverse lunge. And if even that is too hard, keep it stationary, both feet planted, and move yourself up and down. If you are more advanced, and have a good strong core, you can do forward alternating lunges if you have a small space. Walking lunges if you have a hallway or the space to move forward. Make sure the heel of the front foot is planted with each rep…if it doesn’t touch you need to take a longer stride.
If you can not keep up to the timed interval and need extra rest, that’s ok, take it. Just keep at it, keep challenging yourself and working at it and little by little you will improve. By the end of the 30 days, if you repeat work out #1, I’d bet money you’ll be able to keep up and not need the extra rest.
If you are going to share this to a friends wall, or pin it, please link back to the page and not just the image so that they have the benefit of these modification tips just like you do.
Now before we get started, keep these things in mind:
Any uninjured/reasonably healthy person should be able to do this. Remember to listen to your body. If it feels like you can work harder, you probably can. If it feels like it’s too hard or something is causing pain, you probably should not be doing it. Be aware of your fitness level when starting this program (not where you once were 10 yrs ago or where you think you should be). Work hard enough to challenge yourself, but not so hard you injure yourself.
If you don’t like, or can’t do, a specific movement, try to think of an alternative before you get started. For instance, I have an injury to my left arm. I can not bend my wrist or put pressure on it. That means all movements like pushups, planks, burpees, mountain climbers, etc need modifications because I can’t put my hands flat on the ground. Holding onto a set of dumbbells or holding onto the side of a step or table allows me to do the exercise without furthering my injury.
Burpees and mountain climbers become easier when you place your hands onto a step or sturdy chair instead of all the way down on the the ground, or if you simply slow down the movement. Plank variations can be done on elbows and/or knees until you build up the strength to do them from hands and feet. I will post more modifications alongside each exercise.
To make an exercise harder you can hold onto a medicine ball or any kind of weight you have around the house (water jug works well). Hold it at chest level or overhead. You can also increase the speed with which you move to increase the difficulty. To ensure you are not slacking in your 15 min session, count your reps for each exercise and match or exceed them on subsequent sets.
To make an exercise easier, slow it down. We use timed intervals to avoid having to do a certain number of reps. Beginners will get 5 reps out in 40s while advanced will be able to bang out 15 but everyone is working hard for their own level…right?! So slow the movement down, step or shuffle instead of jump or hop, walk instead of jog, jog instead of run, remain stationary instead of travelling or jumping.
If you are doing your session first thing in the morning, like straight outta bed, do yourself a favour and add an extra 5 minutes at the start to do some leg and arm swings and some light dynamic stretching before you get started. This is a good idea regardless of the time of day…so you prevent injury and can actually train hard during the 15 minute session…but it’s super important if it’s the first thing you do in the day.
Lunges are a great exercise but many people do them wrong and hurt their knees. If you are a beginner, if you have a weak core, if you have bad knees…step BACK into a reverse lunge. And if even that is too hard, keep it stationary, both feet planted, and move yourself up and down. If you are more advanced, and have a good strong core, you can do forward alternating lunges if you have a small space. Walking lunges if you have a hallway or the space to move forward. Make sure the heel of the front foot is planted with each rep…if it doesn’t touch you need to take a longer stride.
If you can not keep up to the timed interval and need extra rest, that’s ok, take it. Just keep at it, keep challenging yourself and working at it and little by little you will improve. By the end of the 30 days, if you repeat work out #1, I’d bet money you’ll be able to keep up and not need the extra rest.
If you are going to share this to a friends wall, or pin it, please link back to the page and not just the image so that they have the benefit of these modification tips just like you do.
Day 28….congratulations on completing another week of the cardio commitment. Today your session is really easy. 15 minutes of foam rolling, tennis balling, massaging, stretching and whatever else you need to do. You should be doing this every day anyway, but if you don’t….here’s your chance to get started. You’ve already committed to setting aside 15 minutes today so you have no excuse not to. You will feel good. It’s a hurt-y good but it’s good.
Day 27! If you can do this one outside, at a park or the beach, I would highly suggest it…we’re doing jingle jangles between our exercises. So if you are doing it outside, set your dumbbell in one spot, pick a spot to run to and back just once (meaning further distance), much more enjoyable than jingle jangles. If you are doing it inside, you can follow as written.
Jingle Jangles – 10
Swing – 15
Jingle Jangles – 8
Woodchop (L) – 15
Jingle Jangles – 6
Woodchop (R) – 15
Jingle Jangles – 4
Plank Jacks – 25
Jingle Jangles – 2
Burpees – 10
30 cardio commitment day 27
Now before we get started, keep these things in mind:
Any uninjured/reasonably healthy person should be able to do this. Remember to listen to your body. If it feels like you can work harder, you probably can. If it feels like it’s too hard or something is causing pain, you probably should not be doing it. Be aware of your fitness level when starting this program (not where you once were 10 yrs ago or where you think you should be). Work hard enough to challenge yourself, but not so hard you injure yourself.
If you don’t like, or can’t do, a specific movement, try to think of an alternative before you get started. For instance, I have an injury to my left arm. I can not bend my wrist or put pressure on it. That means all movements like pushups, planks, burpees, mountain climbers, etc need modifications because I can’t put my hands flat on the ground. Holding onto a set of dumbbells or holding onto the side of a step or table allows me to do the exercise without furthering my injury.
Burpees and mountain climbers become easier when you place your hands onto a step or sturdy chair instead of all the way down on the the ground, or if you simply slow down the movement. Plank variations can be done on elbows and/or knees until you build up the strength to do them from hands and feet. I will post more modifications alongside each exercise.
To make an exercise harder you can hold onto a medicine ball or any kind of weight you have around the house (water jug works well). Hold it at chest level or overhead. You can also increase the speed with which you move to increase the difficulty. To ensure you are not slacking in your 15 min session, count your reps for each exercise and match or exceed them on subsequent sets.
To make an exercise easier, slow it down. We use timed intervals to avoid having to do a certain number of reps. Beginners will get 5 reps out in 40s while advanced will be able to bang out 15 but everyone is working hard for their own level…right?! So slow the movement down, step or shuffle instead of jump or hop, walk instead of jog, jog instead of run, remain stationary instead of travelling or jumping.
If you are doing your session first thing in the morning, like straight outta bed, do yourself a favour and add an extra 5 minutes at the start to do some leg and arm swings and some light dynamic stretching before you get started. This is a good idea regardless of the time of day…so you prevent injury and can actually train hard during the 15 minute session…but it’s super important if it’s the first thing you do in the day.
Lunges are a great exercise but many people do them wrong and hurt their knees. If you are a beginner, if you have a weak core, if you have bad knees…step BACK into a reverse lunge. And if even that is too hard, keep it stationary, both feet planted, and move yourself up and down. If you are more advanced, and have a good strong core, you can do forward alternating lunges if you have a small space. Walking lunges if you have a hallway or the space to move forward. Make sure the heel of the front foot is planted with each rep…if it doesn’t touch you need to take a longer stride.
If you can not keep up to the timed interval and need extra rest, that’s ok, take it. Just keep at it, keep challenging yourself and working at it and little by little you will improve. By the end of the 30 days, if you repeat work out #1, I’d bet money you’ll be able to keep up and not need the extra rest.
If you are going to share this to a friends wall, or pin it, please link back to the page and not just the image so that they have the benefit of these modification tips just like you do.
