Welcome to Week 2 of theSELF Better Together Challenge!
Todayscardioendurance workout is all about building stamina so you could work harder for longer periods of time.
Cardio gets a bad rap frequently, because, well, it can feel challenging.
Katie Thompson
But building cardiovascular strength actually has several benefitseven if you never want to run a single race.
In short: Cardio exercise is good for you.
The best way to build cardio endurance is to first establish a good cardio baseline.
That means you start slowliterally.
Use thetalk testto assess how you feel.
If you’re able to easily carry on a conversation, youre probably not working hard enough.
But if you cant get a word out because youre breathing so hard, thats too much.
The good news is that the more cardio you do, the easier it gets.
And not every workout should be super challenging.
As with all workouts, warming up properly is especially important when doing cardio workouts.
Try thisfive-minute routinefirst, then dive in below.
The cardio endurance workout below is for Day 8 of theSELF Better Together Challenge.
Check out the full month of workouts righthere.
Or go to the workout calendarhere.
If you havent signed up to receive daily emails, do thathere.
Do each move below for your selected period of time.
At the end of each circuit, rest for 60 seconds.
Do the entire circuit 35 times.
Forearm Plank Hold
Bicycle Crunch
Stand with your feet wider than hip-width apart and your arms at your sides.
Spring up, raise arms overhead, and land lightly, shifting weight to the left side.
Tap fingertips to the left.
Continue to jump and land on alternating sides.
Jump your feet forward and land them lightly outside your hands.
Continue to move as quickly as possible.
Tuck your tailbone and engage your core, butt, and quads.
This is the starting position.
Using your core, rock your hips to the right and let them fall toward the floor.
Your hips do not actually have to tap the floor.
Continue in this way, rocking your hips side to side.
Extend your legs behind you, feet hip-width apart.
Tuck your tailbone and engage your core, butt, and quads.
Resist the urge to simply collapse your chest to the floor.
Work to bring knees to the floor with control, then lift them again.
Place your hands behind your head, elbows bent and pointing out to the sides.
Use your abs to raise your shoulders off the floor.
Twist to bring your right elbow to your left knee, while simultaneously straightening your right leg.
Then twist to bring your left elbow to your right knee, simultaneously straightening your left leg.
