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Get your heart rate up and your core leaned out with this blend of bodyweight cardio exercises that target the abdominals without a single crunch. You wont need a single piece of equipment for this one. There are 8 standing abs exercises and you will be doing each for 50 seconds each. You will have 10 seconds transition time/rest in between each, where you get a preview of the upcoming exercise. Cardio is an enormous factor in getting defined abs or a flat belly. That’s why this workout is an ideal component in any fat burning plan – particularly for those who need a low impact cardio option. These are all exercises that get the heart rate up while engaging those core muscles (all without having to do a single crunch). Workout Structure 8 Standing ab exercises 50 Seconds each 9 Minutes total Printable Routine Ceiling Circles – Stand straight up and raise your arms up above your head. Now draw circles; alternating clockwise and counterclockwise, on the ceiling above your head. High Knee Jacks – A low impact cardio exercise that is also very effective at engaging the abdominals. Make windmills with your arms (similar to a jumping jack motion) while you do slow and controlled high knees. It’s important that you maintain control over your body while you do this motion; doing this movement wildly and without focus will lessen the demand on the abdominals. Single Leg Running Man Kicks – Use just one leg to do a “running man” type motion (a forward kick, and then step back) just one leg at a time. Because you have to balance on that one supporting leg, your entire core will be engaged while you complete the motion. As an added benefit, the kicks of the active leg also work the abdominals and the thighs, as well as drive up the caloric burn of this routine. You will do half of the reps with one side leading and then switch; listen for our cue. Standing Oblique Crunches – Stand straight up, and place hands behind head (as you would if you were just about to do a regular mat crunch). Raise one bent knee to the outside of the body, while lowering the elbow on the same side of the body to “meet” the raised knee in the middle. You will feel this especially in your obliques, but the rest of your core will also have to pitch in in order to maintain balance. Boxer Leans – This one looks completely goofy (at least you are in your own living room) but it’s a great crunchless workout to really burn out the ab muscles. Stand straight up and “lean” backwards and to one side until you feel your abs contract; lean backwards and to the opposite side, and then go back to the other side for a double lean. So it looks like this; lean (switch sides), lean (switch sides), double lean. 2 Knee Double Kicks – Drive 2 knees up (both left & right) and then do 2 forward kicks on the same foot. Repeat; alternating which foot is doing the 2 forward kicks each time. 2 Side Reaches + Corkscrew Toe Touches – Stand straight up, arms extended at shoulder height, and lean from side to side (keep hips as static as possible to make it purely ab work). Then lean down to touch your hand to the foot of the opposite side of the body. Come back up, and then repeat the toe touch on opposite sides of the body. Standing Crisscross Crunch – Just like you would do a crisscross crunch on the mat; standing straight up, bring one elbow down to meet the opposite knee at about hip level. Alternate back and forth through the entire interval. How many calories does this crunch free abs workout burn? We estimate that this routine burns between 3-6 calories a minute, or 27-54 total. You could always do this routine more than once in a day to drive up your overall expenditure, or mix and match this routine with some of our more intense cardio workouts for even better results.

Lately on Fitness Blender we have had a number of people asking for longer workouts as well as Pilates routines so we though we would answer your requests with this long 30+ minute Pilates routine that will have your legs burning by the time you are done. This routine has been designed to be done straight through without any breaks (aside from quick water break in the middle) to build muscle endurance as well as muscle tone in your legs and core, giving you long and lean muscles that are strong and defined. With this workout we intentionally filmed in just one shot to make it as close as possible to how I taught my Pilates classes. I have given short pauses between exercises and level changes to allow you to rest if needed, though to get the most out of this routine try and use them sparingly or only when you have to relax to move to a new position. There are individual exercises where you will be following along with me as well as exercises where I progressively increase the difficulty by modifying the motion. You can choose whether or not to follow along with me or stay at a lower difficulty level, though the first time through you may want to stick to the easiest version to see how your body handles the full routine before making it harder for yourself. As you get comfortable with the routine, feel free to start on the harder modifications from the beginning of each exercise. As with any Pilates workout, core contraction and breathing are key, so take your time to learn the breathing patterns as they can greatly enhance the calorie burn as well as the core toning effect. Also remember that all of these motions should be done slowly and fluidly. The muscle activation required to move slowly and under control requires more coordination and burns far more calories than the same motion done quickly, with an uncontrolled swinging. With that said, if you make sure you are using a slow controlled motion and you go through the same progression I do then you can expect to burn anywhere from 6 to 10 calories per minute, that is a total of 198 to 330 calories burned with this 30 minute routine. I know that this is nowhere near the calorie burn many of our HIIT routines have but Pilates is not a heavy hitter when it comes to burning calories. However this routine is invaluable for when you need a challenging workout but you can’t or shouldn’t do any more high impact workouts. Pilates for Lean Legs and a Toned Core Group One – Pelvic Tilt / Imprint – Single Leg Toe Taps Level 1 – Single Leg Toe Taps Level 2 – Double Leg Toe Taps – Scissor Kicks x 2 – Leg Extensions – Double Pulse Scissor Kicks – Leg Extension – Leg Drop – Full Body Stretch Group Two – Side Leg Raises Progression R – Shell Stretch – Side Leg Raises Progression L – Shell Stretch – Kneeling Leg Raise Progression R – Shell Stretch – Kneeling Leg Raise Progression L – Shell Stretch Group Three – Shoulder Bridge – Single Leg Shoulder Bridge R – Single Leg Shoulder Bridge L – Single Leg Hamstring Stretch R – Small Leg Circles R – Single Leg Hamstring Stretch L – Small Leg Circles L – Inside Thigh Raise/Pulse L – Inside Thigh Raise/Pulse R Stretches and Cool Down – Hamstring Torso Stretch L & R – Butterfly Stretch – Hip Socket Stretch – Straight Leg Hang – Hip Flexor Stretch L & R – Shell Stretch

If you came across this video because you are looking to tone and strengthen your inner thighs then you are definitely in the right place. Unlike most thigh routines this routine intensively focuses on the inner thigh with every exercise using multiple assisting muscle groups in the process, so not only will you tone and shape your inner thigh but you will also get some residual toning throughout the body. This routine is intended to be used only 3 to 4 times per week, using it more than this is not recommended because it is so focused on just one muscle group. Coupling this workout with cardio, abs or upper body routines is a great way to burn extra calories, and help increase fat loss if needed. The following is a transcript from the video of each exercise and what they target. 5 Min Inner Thigh Workout: Tap Dancer: (Left) This exercise is done standing and focuses on the inner thigh and the hip flexor as you lift your knee and rotate your thigh to get the inner thigh to engage. Tap Dancer: (Right) Inside Thigh Raise Pulse: (Right) Lying on your left side you lift your left leg as high as you can, using short pulses at the top of the range of motion; this focuses completely on the inner thigh. You have some muscle working to stabilize your hips but no other motions. Inside Thigh Raise: (Right) This exercise is identical to the previous exercise with the exception of the motion of the leg. Instead of a short pulse you use as much range of motion as you can without touching the ground. Inside Thigh Raise Pulse: (Left) Inside Thigh Raise: (Left) Scissor Kicks: Laying on your back with your legs anywhere from 45 to 90 off the ground, kick you legs out wide then cross them over top of each other making sure to alternate which foot is on top each time. This targets not only the inner thigh but also the Quadriceps (top of the thigh), hip flexors (front of hip joint), outside thigh, and abdominals. Supine Leg Drops: (Left) Lying on your back keep your right leg straight up over your hip and drop your left leg off to the left side of your body as low as you can without touching the ground. This exercise used similar muscles to the scissor kicks but also engages the obliques and shoulders for stabilization. Supine Leg Drops: (Right) The question that always gets asked; Can you tell me how to get an inner thigh gap? Are these inner thigh gap exercises? Here’s my take on this one; it might not be what you are looking for/hoping to hear, but it’s the truth. An inner thigh gap is often seen on very lean individuals, but it also has something to do with the width of your hips compared to the length of your femoral head. In the case of the latter, there’s not a whole lot that you can do to change how far apart your thighs are from one another (it has to do with bone structure). Not everyone who has that space between their thighs is unhealthily thin and many people’s bodies have it naturally and they don’t think twice about it. With that said, there is a strong association with disordered thinking (eating disorders, body dysmorphia, etc) and striving for a thigh gap. The short and sweet of my opinion on this matter is that there is absolutely no health benefit from having a thigh gap, so it is not a fitness goal that you benefit from setting your sights on. It doesn’t make you stronger. It doesn’t make your heart beat more powerfully, it doesn’t make you run faster, and it doesn’t make you healthier. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to tone up the inner thighs, and the exercises in the video above work, but if I could convince just one Fitness Blender viewer to switch their focus from this meaningless, empty goal that breeds potentially detrimental thoughts, to one that is more focused on a strong and healthy body, then this was a rant worth ranting.

This crunch free abs routine is a great blend of light cardio & core toning moves that wont have your neck or back aching. It’s a great place for beginners to start. None of these exercises require any equipment at all, and they require minimal space, making this a workout that you could easily do in a hotel room, dorm room, or office. There are nine different standing abs exercises in this routine. We are going to be doing each for a total of 50 seconds, for a routine that comes in at just around ten minutes total. There is a very short rest period in between each move (roughly 10 seconds). The exercises in this routine are low impact enough that you don’t really need a warm up before you start this video. In fact, this Standing Abs Workout could serve as light warm up cardio to get your body ready for a more difficult routine. Crunch Free Abs Exercises – 50 Seconds of each Double Chop Knee Pulls – Starting with both arms overhead, pull down and across the body, twice, before resetting & repeating on the opposite side. This one is for the abdominals, obliques, hip flexors, shoulders and quads. Torso Twist Jabs – Go into a shallow squat, and twist at the torso to push each fist out diagonally across your body. Maintain the bend in your knees during the entire interval, going deeper if you want to make it more challenging. Glutes, hamstrings, quads, obliques, chest, rhomboid & biceps are the focus of this one. Standing Toe Touches – Just like it sounds; keep a straight back and lift one leg straight out in front of your body, bringing the opposite hand down to touch that toe. Lower the leg, bring the arm back up above your head, and then repeat with the opposite limbs. Make sure that you don’t use any jerking motions or momentum to get any additional range of motion out of the kick; it is okay if you can’t get your leg very high. You will feel this in your abs, obliques, hip flexors, and quads. 4 Twist Knee Ups – Four torso rotations with a diagonal knee up on the fifth twist, maintaining a shallow knee bend the entire time. Think of it in this rhythm; twist, twist, twist, twist, knee up. This is an awesome obliques exercise. Hip flexors and thighs also have to pitch in. Crossover Toe Touches – Extend arms straight out from your shoulders, and in a smooth & controlled motion, twist at the torso & bend to touch the toes of the opposite foot. Come back up, and repeat on the opposite side. The target of this standing abs exercise is your lower back, abdominals, and obliques. Side Squat + Knee + Side Squat – With hands behind your head, squat to one side. When you push up from that squat, bring one knee up to the opposite elbow, before dropping back into a side squat, and then repeating the entire sequence on the entire side. Glutes, thighs, obliques, hip flexors and abs are the used during this motion. Slow-Mo Rotations – Extend arms straight out from shoulders, slowly and deliberately twisting at the torso as far as is possible in each direction. The more focus you put into the rotations, the better it targets your obliques. Tap Jacks – In a movement similar to a slow motion jumping jack, step side to side while tapping one foot behind you. Really focus on deliberate motions & you will feel this in your core and especially obliques. Side Bends – Extend your arms straight out and slowly bend from side to side. You will feel this especially in your obliques. How many calories does this Fitness Blender routine burn? We estimate that this 10 minute workout video burns between 5-7 calories a minute, or 50-70 total. We are constantly working to bring you guys new workout videos. Remember to follow us on Facebook in order to find out about our newest workout videos as they are pushed live!

This quick Kickboxing Workout takes a fun and intense cardio routine and breaks it up with a little extra core work. When pushing all out during the kickboxing sections you easily ramp up your heart rate, coming close to your anaerobic threshold. Just before you get there we give you a break from the cardio to catch your breath while doing a core exercise. We do this twice through this short workout to target the core muscles just a little bit more on top of the extensive twisting and flexing the core has to do while throwing your punches and kicks. Though this workout does burn a lot of calories in a short amount of time, roughly 8-14 calories/minute, it is best not to rely on just this workout for your full daily routine, but rather do it twice throughout a day or couple it with another high intensity workout (or two) to get a full workout for the day. For those of you who are trying to lose weight, try doing this and/or our other short high intensity workouts 3-4 times a day, 5 days per week as multiple small workouts throughout a day burns more calories overall as compared to doing just one long workout. For this routine we are using just a few basic kickboxing exercises. Here’s a brief description of each. • Jab: Punch straight forward with leading arm. • Cross: Punch straight forward with trailing arm. • Upper Cut: Start low and punch up in a hook motion using either hand. • Hook: Start high and punch from the side to the center in a hook motion using either hand. • Shin Block: Pull knee up slightly off to side and bring elbow down to knee so that you form a straight line from ankle to wrist. • Knee: Reach forward at head level and pull an imaginary object down at the same time as driving the knee of your trailing leg up in between your hands. • Front Kick: With either leg (generally the trailing leg) kick forward anywhere from shin to stomach height (higher is harder). This is how each move is put together in this routine along with the core exercises. Printable Kickboxing Cardio Workout Note: For each of the exercises, we do two slow motion demonstrations before we move onto the full speed repetitions. Kickboxing workout: 2 Slow-mo demo reps + 10 full speed cycles on each side of the body. Core component: 10 Reps 1. Jab + Cross + Upper Cut + Upper Cut (Switch and repeat repetitions on the opposite side) 2. Shin Block (Front) + Shin Block (R) + Jab + Hook (repeat on both sides of the body) Abdominal Exercise: 10 Side Hip Raises (repeat on both sides of the body) 3. Jab + Cross + Knee + Knee + Jab + Cross (switch and repeat) 4. Front Kick (R) + Jab + Cross + Upper Cut + Upper Cut + Knee (switch and repeat) Abdominal Exercise: 10 Single Arm Jack Knife Crunches (on each arm) This routine is great way to boost your metabolism, calorie burn, and energy levels when you are short on time, space, and equipment. Aside from being a routine that you can easily double up on and do 2-3 times more in a single day, this workout also pairs well with strength training workouts. Make sure that you drink plenty of water and do at least a brief stretch for your midsection when you finish this workout. If you do not frequently do kickboxing workouts, you should expect to feel sore the following day in your core – especially around your ribcage, as well as your shoulders, and arms.

This brutal 35 minute bodyweight workout is not only a great routine for anyone short on equipment but it is also awesome for building functional strength. Building control over your own body is by far the ultimate test of fitness but many people get lost in the hype of cardio or bulging muscles. Most never even realize that what makes everyday life easier and more enjoyable is not related to how far you can run or how much you can bench press but how well you can control your own body. Building strength in relation to your own bodyweight is just part of an equation that also includes flexibility and balance, and this routine has them all covered. This is a functional workout that uses very little equipment but still manages to be incredibly difficult. Build the mastery of your own body that can only be achieved by stepping away from the cardio and weight machines and really testing every muscle in your body. In this routine you will be required to use muscles in combinations that no piece of equipment can come close to. It will teach your nervous and muscular systems, to coordinate hundreds of small supporting muscles and large exertion muscles simultaneously just as they are required to do in everyday life situations. With this brutal 35 minute bodyweight workout you won’t just be burning calories at an extremely high rate, you will also be training your body to perform more efficiently and effectively making every thing you do seem effortless. We estimate that this challenging routine burns between 8-12 calories a minute, or roughly 280 – 420 total. Workout Structure 4 Groups 3 Bodyweight Exercises per Group 3 Sets of Each This group of 12 exercises will make you sore in places you didn’t even know had muscles. But be careful, this is not for those new to exercise. You need a good base before you attempt this routine and even those who have been working out for years should start with only one set of each exercise to gauge how your body will react the next day. After all a little bit sore is good but, so sore that you can’t move the next day is not what you want. If you don’t have access to equipment for a pull up, do dumbbell pullovers instead. Make sure that you warm up and cool down before starting into this routine.

Part of true fitness is not only that you have good cardiovascular endurance and that you are strong but also that your body is capable of doing many different motions with ease and is capable of moving from one motion to another with only a small learning curve. Being truly fit is knowing what your body is capable of before you even attempt it and having trained your body to the point where it can become accustomed to a new exercise/motion in a very short amount of time. That is what this routine is about; challenging your body in as many different ways as possible in quick succession. With this type of routine your brain will get just as much of a workout as your body, challenging your coordination as well as your ability to adapt quickly. This is not only a way to train for, what is in our opinion, true fitness, but it is also an invaluable training style for those in physically demanding jobs as well as those who enjoy demanding sports, where either situation is defined by never knowing what you may ask your body to do next. This type of routine is meant to be done straight through with only the allotted break. Do not split this routine in half and do it at different parts of the day as it will defeat the purpose of this workout, which is to intensely stimulate your motor skill pathways. With that said, if you are just beginning this workout and cannot make it all the way through at one time then feel free to split the workout up as you need to but with the goal of completing it straight through as soon as you can. This routine is best done only once to twice a week, coupling it with other workouts that have a similar structure (one set of multiple different exercises rather than just a few exercises that you repeat). You don’t want to do this routine too many times as the more often you do it the more accustomed you will be come to the exercises and the order in which they show up. If you do want to use this routine more than once to twice a week then our suggestion is that you switch the routine up as much as possible, that is to say, every other time you do this routine, do the second group of exercises first or run the whole routine in reverse (start with the last exercise and work to the front). Equipment: None Boot Camp Strategy: Total Body Toning Circuit Training Structure: 40 Seconds on, 20 seconds off, for a total of 1 minute per exercise. Do the entire sequence only once through. 1. Squat Jacks 2. Plank Extensions (do the hardest version you can) 3. Standing Side Leg Raises (alternating left and right) 4. Calf Raises (off step if possible) 5. Crisscross Crunches 6. Back Bow Crossovers 7. Windshield Wipers (hardest version you can) BREAK (30 Seconds – 1 Minute) Try to keep moving during the break if you can. Jog/Run in place, do high knees, Jumping jacks, etc. 8. Crossover Lunges 9. Jumping Jacks 10. Ice Skaters (keep leg as high as possible) 11. Lateral jumps 12. Pilates Toe Taps (double leg if you can keep back on ground) 13. Ventral Hops 14. Reverse Crunches (try not to swing legs) 15. Push Up Planks (alternate lead hand every repetition) Calorie Burn Info We estimate that this workout burns 96 – 157 calories total.

This no equipment cardio workout serves to tone & burn a great deal of calories in minimal time. Workout Structure: 45 Seconds of a bodyweight cardio exercise, followed by 45 seconds of a bodyweight toning exercise. You will have 15 seconds to catch your breath and transition between cardio & toning exercises. If you want to burn even more fat, we recommend doing this video 2-3 times through. Or you could browse our hundreds of full length workout videos and select 2-3 other workout videos that are 10 minutes in length, in order to create your own custom full length routine that exclusively meets your own fitness goals. Exercises in this video: Up and Out Jacks – This is similar to the traditional jumping jack with just a slight modification; every other jump your hands will come up in front of your body & over your head, instead of over your head via the usual lateral motion. This is the go-to cardio move that we use in this workout video between each of the toning moves. Push Ups – Do the hardest version that you can (from your toes to make it harder; knees to make it less challenging). If you can, do full push ups for as long as you can before you switch to the easier version. Squats – Stoke up your calorie burning furnace by engaging the large muscles of the glutes, hamstrings, and quadriceps. If you want to make this 45 second interval harder, do plyometric jump squats. Toe Touch Crunches – Tone the abdominals and let your heart rate slow a bit (due to lying down) before jumping right back into the cardio Up and Out Jacks. Plank – These feel a bit harder when you sandwich them in between cardio intervals. Do your best to keep your butt down while you’re in the plank position (no cheating) and go into a half plank if you get too tired. Flutter Kicks – Tone the upper and lower abdominals and thighs with this awesome core exercise. Make sure that you cool down and stretch thoroughly before you wrap up your workout session completely; you don’t want to get your heart pounding and then head straight towards the couch. Ease yourself back down & do stretch those warmed muscles that you just worked. If your cardiocascular fitness is a bit rusty, you may feel like you need to stop and rest at some point during this Cardio Boot Camp video. There’s no problem at all with needing to stop and take a breather, just make sure that you keep the hiatus as brief as possible. The good news, if your endurance is low, is that the cardio threshold is one of the quickest aspects of fitness to respond to working out and regular exercise. If you start doing this video or other ones like it on a regular basis, you’re going to very quickly start noticing a difference in your stamina. Don’t let your brain or your muscles get bored; search our free full length workout videos for many, many other kinds of training focuses and styles. Mixing up your workouts regularly is key to seeing improvements in strength and endurance.

Fitness Health Track weaves a cruel and effective combination of both core exercises and challenging bodyweight cardio exercises. Not only does this workout boost your cardiovascular endurance, it’s also the perfect blend of calorie burning, body toning exercises to create the ideal workout to lose belly fat. Workout Structure There are two rounds of seven different exercises in this abs & cardio routine. You will do each exercise for 40 seconds. That sounds easy enough, but in between each exercise, you are going to be doing a short bout of cardio; 10 Burpees in between each exercise in the first round and 20 Jumping Jacks in between each move in the second round. The combination will have you toning and sweating up a storm at the same time. Here’s a more in depth breakdown of the exercises: • Basic Crunches – You will feel this traditional go-to abdominal move right in the center of your belly, as well as your upper and lower abs. • Oblique Crunches + Side Leg Raises – These are great for your obliques and your outer thighs. If you need an easier version than is shown in the video, you can always modify the move by reaching towards your feet with your top arm instead of hanging it over and above your head. • Reverse Crunches + Leg Lifts – Because of the dual motion, this is a great upper and lower ab toning exercise. • Superman Back Bows – Don’t neglect your lower back; a good core workout is comprehensive in that it wears out all complimentary muscle groups. You can tone your glutes with this one as well, if you focus on keeping your legs slightly lifted off of the ground during the movement. • Knee Tuck Crunches – The entire abdominal panel and thighs must engage to pull off this movement. You can adjust this to be easier or more difficult, depending on how far you lean back each time you extend your legs straight. • Crisscross Crunches – This one is great for the obliques but the entire core has to pitch in to pull it off. • Reclined Oblique Twists – Thighs, obliques, upper and lower abs all get worked over during this exercise. You can make it easier by lifting just one leg off of the ground at a time, and easier still by leaving both feet flat on the ground while you reach up and across your body. Do I need a warm up for this workout? Yes; this video does not include a warm up so make sure that you warm up before you jump into this routine – 5-10 minutes of cardio should do. You will also want to cool down and stretch when you are finished. How many calories does this burn? We estimate that this routine burns between 7 and 11 calories a minute. That’s 196-308 calories in 28 minutes. These figures are for a 130 lb woman and a 180 lb man – if you weigh more than that, you may get a high caloric burn from this routine. This is a very high rate of energy expenditure for an abdominal routine – largely because of the short burst of cardio that essentially make this a high intensity interval training workout (HIIT). Everyone is always looking to find workout routines that magically melt away belly fat but the truth is that you just need to work up a good sweat on a regular basis and eat clean and in moderation. No diet pill, meal replacement shake, powder, or cream is ever going to give you as good a result as regular exercise and healthy eating will. And the best part is that doing it the natural way is only going to vastly improve your overall wellbeing, and it’s something that you can feel proud about. Fitness Health Track’s Abs and Cardio Blend routine is a great way to both firm up the core muscles and burn a good deal of calories at the same time, but it’s important to remember that unless you also incorporate diet changes, those muscles will stay hidden under that extra belly fat.

This workout video enables you to burn a very high number of calories in minimal time – just twenty minutes. The best part about this at home HIIT workout is that the benefits extend far beyond that third of an hour where you are actually exercising. High intensity interval training is popular because it actually ends up revving up your metabolism so that you burn calories at an elevated rate for hours after your sweat session is finished. HIIT exercises are those that require merciless, full-blown effort. They are exercises that are so demanding on your cardiovascular system that just a few rounds of twenty second intervals make you feel like you’ve been running for the last hour. A HIIT workout is extremely effective for fat and/or weight loss, because of the metabolic disturbance that it causes. When you rattle your body’s systems with such an intense output of exertion, it takes time for it to reregulate itself and return to it’s normal rate of energy expenditure. What this means is that even though you only busted your butt for a short time, your body will keep burning fuel as though you are still working out. Workout Structure 5 Minute Cardio Warm Up • 60 Seconds Butt Kickers • 60 Seconds Stutter Steps • 60 Seconds Lateral Jumps • 30 Seconds Arm Crossover Swings • 30 Seconds Torso Twists • 60 Seconds Up & Out Jacks 10 Minute HIIT Workout There are only two exercises to this portion of the HIIT program; Sidewinder Mountain Climbers, and Toe Touch Jacks. In each round, you will be doing twenty seconds “On”, and 10 seconds “Off”, twice, for each exercise. There are two groups of each exercise per round. Make sense? It sounds a lot more complicated than it is; just follow along with the HIIT video and you will come out just fine. You will do two four-minute rounds of butt busting high intensity exercise, with a full two minutes Active Rest in between. The Active Rest is just that – active. Don’t let yourself sit down, and don’t lie down. Instead, do whatever kind of movement your energy stores allow. For example, if you are feeling beat, just pace around the room or march in place slowly. If on the other hand you feel as though you have plenty of energy left, do jumping jacks, lateral jumps, or even jumping lunges, if you really want to push yourself and kick up the fat burn. 5 Minutes Cool Down & Stretch; 60 Seconds of each • Butt Kickers • Slow Butt Kickers with Arm Swings in Front • Crossover Toe Touch Stretches • Standing Quad Stretches • Wall Chest Stretches How many calories does this high intensity interval workout burn? Depending on your intensity (actual exertion of effort), weight, height, and gender, you can expect to burn between 8 and 15 calories a minute doing this Fitness Blender routine. That’s a whooping 168 – 315 calories for just twenty minutes of effort. That estimation doesn’t even take into account the elevated calorie burn that you will have for the next 24-48 hours. High intensity interval training is a great option for when you are too busy for a full workout. The best way to use HIIT is in combination with regular endurance cardio. For example, on the days of the week when you don’t have a full hour to exercise, do a quick routine like this one. When you have a little extra space in your schedule, do 30-60 minutes of lower impact, sustained cardio such as light jogging, the elliptical, swimming, or even walking. Make sure that you drink plenty of water after this workout so that you don’t end up dehydrated. Also remember to be kind to your body nutritionally after a workout like this one – the last thing you want to do after making your body work so hard is to eat junk food!

Building large muscles is a common goal, for may men (and some women) that tends to evoke images of professional body builders squatting stacks of plates, and curling dumbbells that resemble car engines. However for 90% of us who want to build mass and strength you don’t need to look further than your own body to provide the weight needed to build the size that you want. Building size is all about being able to tear your muscle fiber; teaching your body that it needs to get bigger and stronger to avoid injury. Traditionally people use external weight such as dumbbells, olympic bars and plates, as well as weight machines, to help isolate and tare those muscles. However, all the weight you need is in your body, even if you are a thin person you still have all the weight you need, the trick is just to leverage that bodyweight against the muscle you are trying to build. That is where this routine comes in. This Bodyweight Upper Body Mass Routine is specifically designed with motions that target every major muscle group in the upper body and then some. The real benefit of this routine is not only that it easily builds size and strength but that it also builds functional strength (the ability to control your own body and direct its strength in an efficient coordinated effort) that is truly the definition of physical ability. Use this routine as you would any typical mass building workout. Complete this workout two to three times per week but, be sure to give yourself plenty of time to heal between rounds. Make sure you never do mass building routines with really sore muscles as this will just reinjure muscle fibers that have not yet healed and slow over all muscle building progress. This workout is best done in combination with a lower body workout alternating every other day and should be done in conjunction with a 10-15 min cardio warm up before and after. Increase the length of your cardio afterward if you are trying to cut down on body fat. The following is a brief description of each exercise. Single Leg Push Up: This challenging version of a push up challenges almost every muscle in your body as well as targeting your chest in a way that easily builds strength and size. Supine Push Up: This upper back exercise builds the rhomboids rear deltoid and trapezius especially when done with a fully extended arm. Pike Push Up: This half step down from a full military push up helps challenge strength but also flexibility and body control. Pull Up: This exercise has been done for centuries to build strong back and arm muscles and is a great example of a mass building strength exercise. Underhand Hanging Row: Though you need some equipment for this it is a great way to train you biceps and rhomboids. Tricep Dip: This is another example of a body weight exercise that has been used for centuries to build and strengthen the triceps muscles. Side Push Up: This motion looks easy but is anything but, as it focuses heavily on the chest and does a great job in building size along the center of you chest. Bar Pull Down Extension: This is another good move to challenge the lats as well as the chest, shoulder and core muscles.

So what if the closest you’ve come to kickboxing is a slap fight in the 4th grade. This is a great workout that only takes a few times through to get the motions down and feel right at home. Of course at home with this workout means sweating like a pig and struggling to catch your breath but it is completely worth it considering the massive amount of calories it burns (see below for calorie estimates). True kickboxing has been around for hundreds of years and is a brutal sport that requires amazing cardiovascular endurance and speed to win. Though this video is not intended to train you for a fight it does take the spirit and physical demands of kickboxing and channel it into a challenging and fun cardiovascular workout that will help you burn calories like a prize winning kickboxer. When going through this routine there are a few things that will help keep you injury free and keep your calorie burn up. First, be sure to stay on the balls of your feet and continuously shift your weight from leg to leg. Next, never punch or kick to a full extension, always keep joints “soft” by pulling your punches and kicks back just before reaching a full extension. This not only protects your joints from the risk of injury from hyperextension but it also increases the amount of calories you burn as well. Also, keep your core tight and move as quickly as you can both pushing and pulling the motion. The harder you contract your core and the faster you move with the maximum amount of force you can control can close to double the number of calories you burn during this workout routine. Calorie Burn Estimations We estimate that this cardio kickboxing workout burns between 10-15 calories per minute, or roughly 270 – 405 total. The following is a quick description of the motions used in this workout video, just keep in mind that the motions performed here are for an aerobic workout only and not for use in competitive kickboxing. Punches – Jab (straight punch with hand on lead side of the body) – Cross (straight punch from the trailing arm/rear arm) – Hook (a hooking motion is done with either arm making a high swinging motion from the side generally aimed at the head) – Uppercut (a hooking motion that starts low and comes up, generally aimed at the opponents face) Kicks and Leg Motions – Shin Block (bring knee up and elbows down in a crunching motion keeping hands in front of face, knee should meet and touch elbow of same side) – Knee (drive rear knee up at same time as pulling “opponent” down into the lifting knee) – Front Kick (drive knee up then extend leg straight forward, can be done with front or back leg) – High Kick ( Hop rear leg to front leg position while simultaneously kicking the front foot up rotating your leg and hips to face sideways) Stance Switch (quickly hop and shift feet, switching which foot is in front) This is a direct transcript of the routine and the motions used in this routine. Feel free to use this for your personal use only. Cardio Kickboxing Workout Warm Up 30 – Arm Swing 30 – Arm Circle 30 – Torso Circles 30 – Torso Rotation 30 – High Knee March 60 – Standing Side Crunch 60 – Standing Crisscross Crunch 60 – Up and Out 120 – Jumping jacks / Jump Rope Round One (Start with left leg forward) – Jab + Cross x 10 (switch stance and repeat) – Jab + Cross + Jab x 10 (switch stance and repeat) – Jab + Cross + Jab + Ducking Stance Change x 10 (5 on each side) – Jab + Cross + Uppercut + Uppercut x 10 (switch stance and repeat) – Hook + Uppercut + Uppercut + Hook x 10 (switch Stance and repeat) – Jab + Hook + Hook + Uppercut + Ducking Stance Change x 10 (5 on each side) Round Two (Start with left leg forward) – Shin Block (F) + Jab + Cross + Shin Block (R) x 10 (switch stance and repeat) – Knee + Knee + Jab + Cross x 10 (switch stance and repeat) – Knee + Front Kick (F) + Front Kick (R) x 10 (switch stance and repeat) – High Kick + Knee + Shin Block (F) + Shin Block (R) + Ducking Stance Change x 10 – Front Kick (F) + Jab + Cross + Front Kick (R) x 10 (switch stance and repeat) – High Kick + High Kick + Uppercut + Uppercut + Knee x 10 (switch stance and repeat) Cool Down