Welcome to Week 4—the final week—of the SELF Better Together Challenge! Today we’re kicking things off with a full-body cardio workout, and we’ve got some good news and some bad news along with it. The good news? Today we’ll be introducing an infamous move: burpees. The bad news? Today we’ll be introducing burpees. LOL.
Love them or hate them, burpees are sure to up the ante on any workout. They’re meant to be hard no matter your fitness level, as the goal is to do them as quickly as possible so your heart rate will skyrocket. On the plus side, their ability to make your heart pump so quickly makes burpees an extremely efficient and effective cardio exercise. And, they work pretty much your entire body, as SELF previously explained.
A burpee is a single move that incorporates jumping, squatting, planking, and, if you want to make it extra spicy, doing a push-up. Like many other exercises, burpees become easier the more you practice them. You’ll also feel more mentally prepared for the challenge once you get used to facing them head on. If you know you hate burpees, or you’ve never done one before and now you’re a tad nervous to try, that’s okay. You can always give them a shot today, see how you feel, and, if you choose, never do a single burpee again.
It can feel good to return to moves we’ve previously felt uncomfortable doing, or were too scared to try, and see if we can approach them with a new and different mindset. Trying new things and allowing for second chances is integral to living an expansive life, anyway. Why not start with a little round of burpees?
So without further ado, enjoy this full-body cardio workout. We’ll see you on the other side!
The full-body cardio workout below is for Day 22 of the SELF Better Together Challenge. Check out the full month of workouts right here. Or go to the workout calendar here. If you haven’t signed up to receive daily emails, do that here.
WORKOUT DIRECTIONS
Do each move below for your selected interval of work and rest. At the end of all the moves, rest for 60 seconds. That’s 1 circuit. Do the circuit 3–5 times. Then try the countdown finisher.
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Option 1: 30 seconds of work, 30 seconds of rest
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Option 2: 40 seconds of work, 20 seconds of rest
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Option 3: 50 seconds of work, 10 seconds of rest
EXERCISES
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Jump Rope Shuffle
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Glute Bridge March
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Russian Twist
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Lateral Lunge Shift
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Burpee
COUNTDOWN FINISHER
Start a timer for 5 minutes. Do each move below for the indicated number of reps, as quickly as possible, with no rest. After you finish all the moves, hold a forearm plank until the timer runs out. Note: Each side equals 1 rep.
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Skater x 50 reps
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Jumping Jack x 40 reps
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Squat x 30 reps
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Russian Twist x 20 reps
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Squat Thrust x 10 reps
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Forearm Plank Hold
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Pinterest
Remi Pyrdol1 Jump Rope Shuffle
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Stand with your feet hip-width apart and hands holding an imaginary rope.
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Mime swinging the rope with your wrists while you jump both feet up. Try to hop as quickly as possible, going for speed more than height.
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Pinterest
Katie Thompson2 Glute Bridge March
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Lie faceup with your knees bent, feet flat on the floor, and heels a few inches away from your butt so that your fingertips graze your heels when arms are at your sides.
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Squeeze your glutes, engage your core, and lift your hips, keeping your knees close together (don’t let your legs splay wide as you lift).
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Hold in the lifted position and march your right leg, then your left leg, without dropping your hips.
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Once all reps are completed, place both feet back on the floor and slowly lower your hips to return to your starting position.
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Pinterest
Katie Thompson3 Russian Twist
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Sit tall with knees bent and feet flexed, so heels rest on the floor. Keep your back as flat as possible, chest up, and core engaged.
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If you’re using a weight, hold one weight with both hands close to your chest. If you’re not using a weight, hold hands in prayer at chest height.
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Rotate your torso and arms to the right, bringing your hands down by your side. (Your hands do not have to touch the floor.) Keep your legs and hips as still as possible, and do not arch or round your spine as you twist.
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Repeat on the other side. Move as quickly as possible, rotating side to side, while maintaining good form.
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Make it harder: Lift feet off the floor, so shins are parallel to the floor and you balance on your sit bones throughout the exercise.
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Pinterest
Katie Thompson4 Lateral Lunge Shift
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Stand with your feet much wider than hip-width, engage your core, and place hands on your hips or clasp them at chest height.
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Lean your hips to the right, bending your right knee, hinging at the hip, and sending your butt back to sink into a lateral lunge on the right side. Keep your left leg perfectly straight.
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Without moving your feet, push through your glutes to return to your center starting position.
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Now lean your hips to the left, bending your left knee, sending your butt back, and sinking into a lateral lunge on the left side.
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Return to center and continue to alternate sides.
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Pinterest
Katie Thompson5 Burpee
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Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and arms by your sides.
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Squat and reach forward to place your hands on the floor, shoulder-width apart.
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Jump your legs straight out behind you into a high plank with your hands stacked underneath your shoulders.
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Bend your elbows to lower your chest all the way to the floor, then straighten your arms to return to a high plank.
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Jump your feet toward your hands.
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Spring up, reaching your arms overhead.
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Land lightly on your feet and immediately drop down into your next rep.
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Katie Thompson 6 Skater
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Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Lift your right leg and jump to the right. Let your left leg straighten and follow.
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As you land on your right foot, swing your left foot behind you and tap the floor with your left toes. Swing your left hand in front of your body as your right arm swings behind you, naturally.
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Swing your left leg back to the left and jump, landing lightly on your left foot and allowing your right foot to swing behind you. Swing your right arm in front, left arm behind.
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Continue to alternate sides, moving as quickly as possible.
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Katie Thompson7 Jumping Jack
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You’re likely very familiar with this exercise, but just in case: Stand with your feet together, core engaged, and hands at your sides.
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Jump your feet wider than hip-width apart and bring your arms up to clap your hands overhead.
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Jump your feet back together and bring your arms to your sides to return to starting position.
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Continue in this way, moving as quickly as you can.
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Pinterest
Katie Thompson8 Squat
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Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart and core engaged.
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Send your hips back and bend both knees to drop into a squat, allowing your knees to bend to at least 90 degrees, so both thighs are parallel to the floor.
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Return to starting position by squeezing your glutes to stand.
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Make it harder: You can hold a dumbbell at your chest or a dumbbell in each hand.
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Katie Thompson9 Squat Thrust
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Think of this move as a modified burpee without the jump or push-up. Stand with your feet hip-width apart, core engaged, and hands at sides.
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Squat and place your hands on the floor, making sure they are between your feet (not outside them).
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Jump your feet back to come into a high plank position and pause.
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Jump your feet forward so they land outside your hands, and stand, squeezing your core as you come up.
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Make it easier: You can modify this move by skipping the jump into high plank and instead stepping your feet back one at a time into a high plank.
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Make it harder: Add a vertical jump as you stand.
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Pinterest
Katie Thompson10 Forearm Plank Hold
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Place your forearms on the floor, elbows directly underneath your shoulders, hands facing forward so that your arms are parallel. Extend your legs behind you, feet hip-width apart. Tuck your tailbone and engage your core, butt, and quads.
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Hold.
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Make it easier: If it’s difficult to hold the plank for the full time period, gently allow your knees to come to the floor, take a few deep breaths, then lift them again. Resist the urge to simply collapse your chest to the floor. Work to bring knees to the floor with control, then lift them again.
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