Ah... the fall. The days are getting shorter. There's a crisp bite in the air that says that summer's over. We all need to make sure we don't slow down too much as the sun sets earlier. It seems that it gets harder to get up early or stay up later to get those workouts in when the weather gets cooler. You have to resist the inclination to want to hibernate a little.
This super-charged cardio workout is designed to be performed outside, because all you're going to need is space. Just follow these simple intervals:
1. Run or walk for 4 minutes. Don't worry too much abut distance--we are measuring this by time. Think heel-to-toe rolling through the foot, but stay light with your steps. Get a strong natural arm movement going.
2. Stay in place and do 40 jumping jacks. Again, stay light on your feet and move those arms.
3. Step shuffle. Take 4 big lateral (sideways) steps to the left then 4 big steps to the left. Repeat 4 times. Do it fast.
4. Do 4 burpees or squat thrusts. Remember these from gym class? Squat to the floor, place your hands just outside your shoulders, jump back to a push-up position, then jump your feet back between your hands and stand up. Stay focused on your core throughout, and breathe.
5. Do 40 knee pops. They are exactly what they sound like! Pop up one knee and then the other so that each knee comes to waist height. One knee comes up as the other comes down, so it's a pretty constant movement.
6. Run/walk for 4 minutes. Start all over again and the repeat the whole cycle.
You can repeat this entire circuit 4 times. Challenge yourself to run faster each time you return to the running portion. Also remember that the non-running intervals are not breaks--they are just challenging you in a different way!
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