Cardio Archives Page 6 of 8 | Redefining Strength

The 15-Minute Battling Ropes Tsunami Workout

by Cori Lefkowith | Dec 15, 2013

WARM UP
Stretch and Roll Out:
Hips/Glutes
Back
Lats
Chest
Shoulders

WORKOUT
Complete 5 rounds of each circuit. Work for 20 seconds, rest for 40 seconds.

CIRCUIT #1:
20 seconds Basic Tsunami Wave
40 seconds of Rest

CIRCUIT #2:
20 seconds Sidewinder Tsunami Wave
40 seconds of Rest

CIRCUIT #3:
20 seconds Rainbow Tsunami Wave
40 seconds of Rest

COOL DOWN
Stretch and Roll Out:
Hips/Glutes
Back
Lats
Chest
Shoulders

NOTES:
To do any variation of the Tsunami waves in this workout, tie a 50ft (1.5 inch or 2 inch) rope to a pole. You want to just tie one end to an anchor point without losing too much of the length of the rope.

Beginners should definitely use a 1.5 inch rope while more advanced exercisers may want to try a 2 inch rope. However, if you just have an 1.5 inch rope, you can simply step in and keep more slack in the rope to make the moves harder.

Work as hard as you can for the 20 seconds and recovery in the 40 seconds so you an do the exact same amount of work the next round. Beginners may need to do fewer rounds of each circuit and rest longer, making this workout potentially a bit longer than 15 minutes.

EXERCISE DESCRIPTIONS:
Basic Tsunami Wave – Attach the end of a 50ft rope to an anchor point without losing too much of the length of the rope. Holding the rope in both hands, squat down just a little with your arms straight down. As you quickly jump up, pull your arms up toward the ceiling. Then snap your arms back down as you land. Small quick hops with a slight hinge as you raise and lower your arms to create quick small waves. You aren’t trying to jump high off the ground. You are just hopping an inch off the ground and stomping your feet right back down to help you generate more power and not just depend on your arms. Everything should move quickly together.

Sidewinder Tsunami Wave – Attach the end of a 50ft rope to an anchor point without losing too much of the length of the rope. Keep more slack in the rope than you would with other battling ropes moves. Relax your arms, holding the rope in both hands, and stand with your feet between hip-width and shoulder-width apart. Bend your knees slightly and hinge slightly forward. Do not let your back round. Keep your chest up nice and tall. Then sweep your arms to the right, rotating through your core and pivoting your back foot. Then quickly sweep your arms to the left. Sweep back and forth. Keep your arms more relaxed and only slightly bent. Use your core to push and pull from side to side. You shouldn’t do huge rotations. Your arms and the rope should stay out in front of you. The rope should make snake-like waves on the ground and swish side to side.

Rainbow Tsunami Wave – Attach the end of a 50ft rope to an anchor point without losing too much of the length of the rope. Pull the rope out straight then take a step or two in. Hold the rope with both hands with the handle facing up. Bring your hands and the rope down outside your right hip and pivot your left leg. Then pull the rope up and over toward your left hip. Pivot your right leg as you bring the rope to your left hip. Then arch back up bringing the rope up toward your shoulders than back down to your right hip. The rainbow is created as you arch from one hip up to your shoulders and back down to the other hip. Keep pivoting and rotating the rope from hip to hip, arching up toward your shoulders as you bring the rope from one hip to another.

The Partner Chain Workout

by Cori Lefkowith | Dec 12, 2013

WARM UP
Stretch and Roll Out:
Calves
Hamstrings
Quads
Groin
Hips/Glutes
Back/Lats
Chest/Shoulders
Wrist/Forearms

WORKOUT

Complete 3-5 rounds of each circuit. One partner will go and then the other. Your rest will be when your partner goes. In between circuits rest up to 2 minutes.

CIRCUIT #1:
20-50ft Chain Sprint
1 Chain length Front Plank Pulls

CIRCUIT #2:
20-50ft Chain Sprint
1 Chain length Lateral Plank Pulls

CIRCUIT #3:
20-50ft Chain Sprint
1 Chain length Backward Plank Pulls

COOL DOWN
Stretch and Roll Out:
Calves
Hamstrings
Quads
Groin
Hips/Glutes
Back/Lats
Chest/Shoulders
Wrist/Forearms

NOTES:

In this workout, you will sprint with the chain behind you. It will then be stretched out along the ground. When you do the plank pulls, you will pull it into a pile on that side so that when your partner sprints, they will drag it back out on the ground. Battling ropes can also be used if the chain is too heavy or you simply don’t have one. Beginners may also need more rest and might not be ready to go right after their partner finishes. Rest more if needed. You do not want to rest once you’ve begun the round.

EXERCISE DESCRIPTIONS:

Chain Sprint – Hold the chain behind you or strap it on around your waist or to a harness. Sprint, driving with the opposite arm and leg. Keep your head in line with your body as you sprint and don’t round forward. Sprint all the way down, letting the chain stretch out behind you.
Front Plank Pulls – Set up in a high front plank over the chain so that you can reach forward to grab the chain. Beginners will do this from their knees while advanced exercisers will do the plank from their toes. If you are doing this from your toes, set your feet about hip-width apart. Then reach forward and grab the chain and pull it down toward your chest. You can either sit back toward your heels as you pull or you can maintain a strict plank for an anti-rotational pull variation. Once you pull down to your chest, reach up again with the same hand and pull again until you’ve pulled the chain all the way in. Alternate arms each round.

Lateral Plank Pulls -Set up in a high plank position with the chain going across you so you can pull it laterally. You can be in a plank position from your hands and knees (beginner) or hands and toes (advanced). Place your feet about hip-width apart. Reach under and across your body to grab the chain. Then pull it across, sitting back into the side you are pulling toward. Use your glutes to powerfully pull the chain under and through. You can also mix it up and do an anti-rotational pull where you stay in a strict plank as you pull across instead of sitting back as you pull. Pull until the chain has been totally pulled back in. Alternate sides each round.

Backward Plank Pulls – Set up in a high front plank over the chain with your feet toward the stretched out chain. Beginners will do this from their knees while advanced exercisers will do the plank from their toes. Set your feet or knees about hip-width apart over the chain. Sit your butt back toward your heels as you reach your hand back and through your legs to grab the chain. Then drive your hips forward as you pull the chain up toward your head. Once you pull as far as you can, sit back again and reach through with the same hand. Switch sides after each round. Pull the entire chain in until it is in a pile in front of your head.

The Full Body Plyo Workout

by Cori Lefkowith | Dec 12, 2013

WARM UP
Stretch and Roll Out:
Calves
Quads
Groin
Hips/Glutes
Back
Lats
Chest
Shoulders

WORKOUT

Set a timer for 15 minutes. Complete as many rounds as possible in that time.

CIRCUIT:
5-10 reps each side Alternating Side Lunge and Hop
5-10 reps each side Explosive Push Up Shuffle
5-10 reps each side Single Leg Deadlift Hop
5-10 reps Bobcats

COOL DOWN
Stretch and Roll Out:
Calves
Quads
Groin
Hips/Glutes
Back
Lats
Chest
Shoulders

NOTES:

Do not go to failure on any exercise so that you can move quickly from one exercise to another.

EXERCISE DESCRIPTIONS:

Alternating Side Lunge and Hop – Stand tall with your feet together. Step one foot out to the side nice and wide. Bend the knee of the leg you stepped out to the side, keeping the other leg straight. Sit your butt back and hinge forward slightly, keeping your back flat. Then drive back up off your outside heel to come back to standing. When you come back to standing, jump up toward the ceiling, reaching up overhead. Then lunge out to the other side before coming back center and jumping toward the ceiling. Keep alternating lunges until all reps are complete.

Explosive Push Up Shuffle – Place a kettlebell (or med ball) on its side with the handle facing away from you. Set up in a push up position from your knees or toes. Place one hand on the bell and the other hand on the ground. Perform a push up, dropping your chest close to the ground. Then quickly push back up and as you do jump your body over the bell, placing the other hand on top of the bell as you place the other hand on the ground. Perform another push up and then explosively shuffle back over. One rep is a push up on one side and then the other. Beginners will take out the push up and just explosively shuffle over the kettlebell or med ball or may want to simply shuffle over instead of “jumping” to shuffle over.

Single Leg Deadlift Hop – Stand on one leg with the knee soft. Hinge over, pushing your butt back and leaning your chest toward the ground. Swing the leg off the ground back toward the wall behind you. Keep your back flat as you hinge over. Hinge over quickly, bending the standing leg just a little. Then quickly drive back up to standing, bringing your chest up nice and tall. As you drive up, explode up off the ground and drive the back leg forward, bringing the knee up. Then land back on the same leg and hinge back over before jumping back up. As you hinge over and drive up, you may want to swing your arms as if running with the opposite arm and leg working together.

Bobcats – Perform 5-10 reps then rest and let your partner or the rest of your group go before repeating. If alone, give yourself about 20 seconds before repeating. The goal of bobcats is to get everything to move together. Choose the variation you can do quickly and with precision. To set up for bobcats, lift up onto your hands and toes with your knees bent and under your hips and your hands under your shoulders. Beginners will then quickly bend their elbows and drop their knees to the ground as if they are trying to explode up off the ground. The next level is donkey kicks, jumping the feet up and down on the ground. When that feels easy, stay on your hands and toes and next just lift and jump the hands together. To advance this move further, you will actually lift everything up off the ground and land with hands and feet hitting together. Bend your elbows and drop your knees to the ground, then explode up off the ground and quickly come back down. You don’t want your hands or feet to hit before the other. You want everything to hit quickly together. Move as fast as possible. The goal is to get your core moving quickly together. Choose the level you can not only do well but do quickly.

The Towel Cardio Workout

by Cori Lefkowith | Dec 12, 2013

WARM UP
Stretch and Roll Out:
Calves
Hamstrings
Quads
Groin
Hips/Glutes
Chest/Shoulders/Traps
Back/Lats

WORKOUT

Complete 5-8 rounds of the circuit below. Rest 1-3 minutes between rounds. Try to start the next round as soon as you are recovered enough to do the same amount of work you did the round before.

CIRCUIT:
30 seconds Towel Taz
15 seconds Rest
30 seconds Lunge Run
15 seconds Rest
30 seconds Fly to Push Up
15 seconds Rest
30 seconds Mt. Climbers
15 seconds Rest
30 seconds Glute Bridge to Curl
1-3 minutes Rest

COOL DOWN
Stretch and Roll Out:
Calves
Hamstrings
Quads
Groin
Hips/Glutes
Chest/Shoulders/Traps
Back/Lats

NOTES:

Do as many reps as you can in the 30 seconds. Do not stop moving during those 30 seconds even if it means regressing the exercise. Rest as much as needed between the rounds so that you are truly ready to work.

Most of the Towel Moves are shown with sliders which can also be used if you have them.

EXERCISE DESCRIPTIONS:

Towel Taz – Grab a bath towel,moving blanket, fleece blanket or whatever you have on hand. The bigger and heavier the towel, the harder the move will be. Grab a corner of the towel in each and and start shaking the towel as powerfully and as quickly as you can up and down while moving quickly around from side to side, in a circle, forwards, backwards and every which way. Move quickly, taking only a few steps in each direction as you shake the towel. Keep your chest up and do not round your back. You can shake the towel up and down and in and out. The quicker you move, the harder the move will be.

Lunge Run – Place a towel under each foot and step one foot forward. Sink down into a lunge, bending both knees. Pop up out of the lunge and slide the front foot back and the other foot forward. Sink down and then pop back up and switch stances again. It is almost like you are doing split squat jumps but without the jump. Keep alternating lunges until all reps are complete.
Fly to Push Up – This can be done from the knees or the toes. Start at the top of your push up with one hand on the towel. Then slide the hand out to the side and perform a push up. After the push up, slide the hand back into the starting position. Even though this is a wider push up, don’t let your elbows flare way out by your ears. Beginners can do this without the towel and just step the hand out, do a push up and then step the hand back in. Intermediates may use the towel and slide out, do a push up and then slide back in. Advanced may put a towel on both hands and slide one out, do a push up, then slide it back in. Once they slide that hand back in, slide the other out and do a push up then slide that one back in. Keep alternating flyes until all reps are complete if you do the advanced variation. All push up to fly variations can be done from the knees or the toes.

Mt. Climbers – Set up in a high plank from your hands and toes with a towel under each foot. Bring your right knee in toward your chest, sliding your foot in. Then slide the foot back out and bring your left knee in toward your chest. Go as fast as you can, alternating knee drives. Mountain Climbers should look like you are “running” with your hands on the ground. Beginners may not be able to use the towels. They may also need to go slower or even put their hands up on a low table or bar to perform incline mountain climbers.

Glute Bridge to Curl – Beginners may need to start with a single leg bridge and curl while more advanced exercisers may do the two-leg bridge and curl. A beginner may want to start with the towel under only one foot and slide out one leg at a time. To perform the two leg curl, place both feet on a towel about hip width apart. Start in the bridge position and slide your feet out. Keep your hips off the ground and your glutes engaged as you slide out. Then curl the heels back in, bringing the hips up again into a glute bridge. Do not let the hips sag toward the ground as you slide out or come back in.

Suspension Trainer Interval Workout

by Cori Lefkowith | Dec 8, 2013

WARM UP
Stretch and Roll Out:
Calves
Hamstrings
Quads
Groin
Hips/Glutes
Back/Lats
Chest/Shoulders

WORKOUT

Complete 5-10 rounds of the circuit below. Complete 10 reps of each exercise then rest for 10 seconds between exercises. After each round, rest for 1-2 minutes.

CIRCUIT:
10 reps each side Alternating Single Leg Lunge
10 seconds Rest
10 reps Row to Rotational Press
10 seconds Rest
10 reps Decline Push Ups
10 seconds Rest
10 reps Oblique Knee Tuck
10 seconds Rest
10 reps each side Hamstring Sprinters

COOL DOWN
Stretch and Roll Out:
Calves
Hamstrings
Quads
Groin
Hips/Glutes
Back/Lats
Chest/Shoulders

EXERCISE DESCRIPTIONS:
Alternating Single Leg Lunge – To do the Single Leg Lunge, hold a strap in each hand and step back so that there is tension in the straps. Then stand on one foot and bend the other knee bringing your foot up toward your butt. You want to drop the knee of the back leg down to the ground without touching your foot down. Sit your butt back and hinge over, dropping that back knee down to the ground. You want to make sure you are sitting back and driving through that standing heel. Do not rock forward and come up onto your toes. Also, make sure you don’t “swing” back on the straps. You want that knee to be over your ankle/foot. Touch your knee down then drive through your heel to come back up to standing. Squeeze your glutes at the top. Use the suspension trainer to help you balance and get back up, but do not turn this into an upper body exercise. Use your arms only as needed! Alternate sides until all reps are complete. Beginners may not be able to go all the way down and touch their knee to the ground. Start with the range of motion you can control while feeling your glutes work. Advanced exercisers may want to slow down the tempo to make this move harder or even hold only one suspension trainer strap.

Row to Rotational Press – To do the Row to Rotational Press, hold a strap in each hand and walk your feet forward so that your body is at an appropriate incline. The closer to parallel to the ground you are, the harder the move will be. Start at more of an incline than you would for the Inverted Row because of the press portion of this movement. Once you are set at an appropriate incline, place your arms outstretched in front of you with your hands together. Then row your hands in toward your chest, driving your elbows down and back. Do not shrug your shoulders as you row. Once you’ve brought your chest up to your hands, rotate and press your hands out to the right. Then bring them back to the center of your chest and lower back down, straightening your arms out in front of you. Make sure to keep your shoulders down the entire time. Do not let them shrug up by your ears. You want to make the big muscles of your back work. Throughout the entire movement, keep your body in a straight line. Do not let your hips sag toward the ground or your low back arch as your row and press. Alternate presses, rowing up and pressing to the right and then the left. As you fatigue, do not bounce or swing to get up. If you need to make the movement easier as you fatigue, walk your feet back so that you are more vertical.

Decline Push Ups – The Decline Suspension Trainer Push Up is a more challenging push up variation. To make it more challenging, you will raise your feet up higher and put your body at a bigger incline. To make the move easier, you will lower the foot straps down closer toward the ground so that your feet are in line with your body. This move is very core intensive so beginners may want to start with a push up from the ground first. To do the Decline Suspension Trainer Push Up, place your feet in the straps and walk your hands out so that you are in a plank position with your hands under your shoulders and your body in a nice straight line. Squeeze your glutes and quads and draw your belly button in toward your spine. Keep your feet together and your body in a nice straight line as you lower your chest down toward the ground. Do not let your elbows flare out toward your shoulders. You want to create an arrow shape with your arms and body as you lower down. Then press back up, making sure your body moves together as one unit. Do not let your hips sag or your butt rise up toward the ceiling. To make the move harder, make the suspension straps shorter so that the push up is even more of a decline push up. You can also walk your hands forward and pull the suspension trainers straps forward so that when you do the push up, the straps are trying to pull you backward. This Decline Suspension Trainer Push Up is an advanced move to begin with. Do not attempt this if you can’t easily complete a perfect push up from your toes on the ground. Instead do the Incline Suspension Trainer Push Up if this is too advanced.

Oblique Knee Tuck – Place your feet in the suspension trainer straps and your hands on the ground under your shoulders. Your body should be in a nice straight line. Then pull your feet in toward your body, tucking your knees in toward your chest. As you tuck, bring them slightly to one side. After you tuck your knees in, you will straighten your legs straight back out. Do not let your hips sag as you straighten back out or your butt go up in the air. Make sure that as you straighten back out you move back center. Keep your body in a nice straight line. Repeat, tucking your knees in to the other side and then driving them back out to the center. Beginners may do mountain climbers in the straps or even from the ground.

Hamstring Sprinters – Lie on your back with your heels in the straps and your legs out straight. Squeeze your glutes and drive through your upper back and heels to raise up into a straight leg glute bridge. Then bring one knee in toward your chest as you keep your hips up and your body in a straight line. Shoot that leg back out straight and bring in the other knee. Keep alternating legs, bring one knee at a time into your chest as if running. Move quickly while keeping your hips up. Do not let your hips sag down toward the ground. Beginners may need to start with either a glute bridge or the Hamstring Sprinters from towels on the ground.