There’s something refreshing about stripping back your workout, getting rid of all the equipment you might normally use and just hammering out four straightforward moves as fast as you can. It’s the kind of bodyweight workout that fitness app Freeletics does well, which is why we asked its experts for this cardio session you can use to get fit anywhere, anytime.
The workout involves doing four of the best bodyweight exercises back to back, and it’s structured in a reverse ladder format so that you reduce the amount of reps you do each round. You rest when you need to, but remember the aim is to finish the session as quickly as you can.
If this session hits the spot, try one of these Freeletics workouts next.
Bodyweight Cardio Workout
Complete four rounds of the following four exercises. Do 40 reps of each in the first round, 30 reps in the second, 20 in the third and 10 to finish off. Record your time for the entire session, then try to beat it next time you do the workout.
Because you should be working at pace from the off, it’s essential that you run through some warm-up exercises before starting the workout. This warm-up routine will do the job if you don’t have your own drill.
1 Crunch
Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet on the floor, and your arms extended behind your head, hands on the floor. Bring your arms forwards over your head and raise your shoulders off the floor to go into the crunch, touching your hands to your knees. Reverse back to the start. Count one rep when your hands touch your knees.
A crunch has a smaller range of motion than a sit-up, so make sure only your shoulders come off the ground and your lower back stays pressed firmly into the floor.
2 Reverse lunge
From standing, step back with one foot, keeping your front foot flat on the floor, and bend both knees to lower into a lunge. Make sure your back knee lightly touches the ground, below your hip. Count one rep when you return to a standing position. Alternate sides with each rep. One side counts as one rep, so perform 40 reps total in the first round, not 40 each side.
3 Scissor kick
Lie on your back with your legs straight and arms at your sides. Lift your head, keeping your shoulder blades on the ground. Lift your feet, keeping your legs straight and your lower back pressed into the floor. Keep your feet lifted and cross one foot over while lowering the other. Alternate sides. Count one rep when one foot is above the other, so one side counts as one repetition.
4 Squat
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, toes pointed out slightly and your back straight. Bend your knees and push your hips back, lowering until your hips are below your knees. Keep your centre of gravity over your heels and push through your heels to return to standing.
