2 Killer Cardio Workouts... With No Running!

If you “hate cardio” but know you really need it, this post is for you! These two do-anywhere workouts will get your heart pumping and your muscles shaking without a single bit of running, skipping, or other traditional cardio in sight. After all, the very definition of Cardio is, “anything that gets the heart rate UP!”. We hope you love them ;) 

Workout #1

A high repetition, 100% bodyweight workout that will demolish any weekend splurge. What you needNothing but your bod, a mat or towel and a timer. No equipment, no excuses! How it worksThere are 5 exercises in this workout (well, 6 if you count doing one of the moves on both your left and right sides!). After a warm-up, you’ll do the first exercise for 60 seconds, as intensely as you can, going for max repetitions with good form. Once your time is up, rest for a further 60s, take a breather and then launch into the next one, moving from one to the next in the same 60s ON, 60s OFF format. Beginners: stop after just one roundAdvanced: repeat the set another twice through, aiming to match or beat your previous reps each round. You might even want to drop the rest to 30 sec ;) 

The workout...

60 seconds: Air Squats – aim for 50+ reps60 seconds: Rest60 seconds: Push-ups – aim for 30+ reps (toes or knees)60 seconds: Rest60 seconds: Reverse Lunge-to-Knee-Drive on the RIGHT – aim for 40+ reps60 seconds: Rest60 seconds: Reverse Lunge-to-Knee-Drive on the LEFT – aim for 40+ reps60 seconds: Rest60 seconds: 10 x High Knees + 10 x Mountain Climbers – aim for 10+ rounds60 seconds: Rest60 seconds: Compound Crunches – no goal, just move with control  

Workout #2

A race-the-clock workout that will really get you huffing and puffing! What you needOne set of dumbbells; the BUF Girls all used between 6-8kg sets but it’s totally fine to go a bit lighter if you need, or heavier if you can! Why we love itA seriously challenging session, with a 150% satisfaction rating! Great for the more experienced exerciser and also a fabulous way to get bang for your buck, as this is a metabolic workout which will have you burning energy for hours after you’ve stopped sweating. How it worksThere are 3 exercises in this workout and your goal will be to complete 6 repetitions of each of them, all within 60 seconds. Any time left in the minute once you’re done is taken as rest. When the next minute ticks over, you’ll do it all again!This means if you complete all exercises in 40 secs, you get 20 secs rest. But finish at the 50 second mark and it’ll only be 10 secs rest before the next round begins. So make sure you move FAST to score maximum rest! Beginners: aim to get through 8 rounds/minutesAdvanced: Try for 15 rounds/minutes, which means you’ll have done 90 reps of all 3 exercises by the end, yeehaa! 

Your exercises (complete 6 reps of each within a minute):

1. Squat-to-Press
2. Chest-to-Floor Burpees
3. Plank Row (count every single ‘row’ movement as one rep)

 We hope you love these cardio-not-cardio workouts BUF Girls! Let us know how you go on social media; @bufgirls #bufgirls