02: Cardio & Abs Pyramid (NO EQUIPMENT) - 25 Minute Workout | HARDCORE II

Hey everybody, I'm Amy from Bodyfit by Amy. And this is your cardio and abs pyramid workout. This is an all body weight, cardio and strength workout where we'll go pyramid style. So up the pyramid in time, then back down. And we're going to be alternating between some cardio based moves and some ab based moves. All of it. I will give you options. So work to your fitness level. Are you ready? Let's do it. Let's start just by getting your body moving. We don't need too much of a warm up for this. We just want to get a little mobility. Let's roll those shoulders, get our body's core temperature up, our energy up, our muscles warm and get moving in the ways that we're going to move. But we're not adding any weights today. We're keeping this all body weight. And if you want, I'm going to give you options to keep this entire workout standing. There is going to be some core in most of the circuits where we go to the mat, but it is all up to you. Let's take it out to a little side lunge right here. If for whatever reason you need or want to keep it all standing today, I'll give you the standing core version. Otherwise you have the option to take it down. What we are working with today is cardio and abs. So just like it sounds, going up and down the pyramid. So we'll have two exercises per pyramid. Let's take those arms up and then a hinge. So drive those hips to the back to get a big stretch right through here. So we have a cardio based move and a core based move that will be alternating and we're gonna go up and down that pyramid. So let's take it flat back down and then round it up. We're going 15 seconds of work followed by 15 seconds of rest, then 30 seconds of work with the next exercise followed by 15 seconds of rest, Then 45, 45, 30 and 15. So hold it here. You'll get that pattern once we get going. But essentially we're going up 15, 30, 45, around 45, 30, 15. Each exercise gets one of those intervals. Let's roll through those hips, little squat right here. Half squat, doesn't matter right here. So we're getting it done with two exercises. And what we're gonna do is we're gonna make this a little bit of our zone cardio. Let's tap it back right here. So when we have those short intervals, those 15 and 30, we're gonna take it really go for it. On those 15 seconds, cardio and core, drop it. And then if you want, you can hold this here if you want to drop it down. World's greatest stretch here. So on those 15 and 30 second intervals, you can up the intensity, especially the 15 second, and then that 45 will make it more of that conditioning. Step it up. Same thing again. You can hold it here if that's best for you, or take it down right here. So again, you will have options to work to your fitness level, but we're also going to have options to be working in those different cardio zones. Go ahead and take it back into that plank if that's right for you. Otherwise, on, on your knees, just a little forward and back, getting the core fired up a little. Sit back into that child's pose and then back up either to your knees or your toes. So 45 seconds is kind of long for a hit or a sprint interval. So we're going to make that more conditioning. We'll take down the impact a bit, but I promise your heart rate will still stay up. And then on the higher ones, we'll take it up, walk it back, and of course, I will remind you, slowly roll it up throughout this entire workout to be where you are today. It's your workout. You do you. I want you to work to a level that's challenging for you, but also doable for you. So you don't have to be at the same pace as me or anybody else. If you need more than those 15 second rest in between, by all means, take it. We'll get about a minute in between our pyramids and then I'll show you your next two moves. You can grab some water at that time, catch your breath, and then we'll go into the next round. All right, so march in here. Watch me. Your first round, we're working the sides. We're gonna go side shuffle. So for that 15 second, if you can do a quick feet shuffle, go for it. Otherwise a big double step. Then when we get as we slow it down, we'll go double step. Then we're going to take it side knees. So we'll split our time. 15 and 15, 20. And then 15 seconds, we'll go here to here. I'll talk you through it as we go. Let's start with that side shuffle. It's 15 seconds. It's quick. Let's go for it. So if you can get that intensity up, we're starting strong here. If you need to just double step, low impact, but higher intensity in A way that's good for you, right? This first pyramid. Relax. 15 seconds to breathe is all standing. So if you need a little balance on the wall, take it. We're gonna go 15 seconds here, 15 seconds here. We're gonna split our time until we get to the last one. All right, 30 seconds, team. Here we go. 15. You can keep it slow and controlled. That's what we're gonna do in our top pyramid. But if you can, we're pulling it. Think about core. We're keeping the heart rate up because this is a cardio workout, but we're less worried about that here. Other side. Take it up. I think what you're going to find is that no matter what intensity you take each individual interval, your heart rate's going to stay up because short rest periods and the pyramid format. And relax. All right, team, so now we're at the top of the pyramid. 45 seconds. So if you want double step or a little double step here, take your intensity to sort of that medium range cardio conditioning. Because it's a little longer, but still you do you. Let's do it again. Because it's a longer interval, it's 45 seconds. We don't want to try to go all the way for that sprint or even that high intensity hit. We want to keep it more in this conditioning range. So maybe you've heard about green zone Cardio or Zone 2 cardio. I've been doing a lot of zone cardio workouts. We want those peaks and valleys, those highs and lows. Right. It's not about going as hard as we can, as fast as we can with everything that we do that's not as effective, and it just makes us more tired. Right. If we can vary those intensities, our body's going to get the benefit in so many ways. And breathe. All right, so now we're back to the side knees, but we're at that 40. We're going to stay at that 45 till we work our way down. So 20 seconds here. I want you to really think about pulling in for the core. Again, balance if you need to. 20 seconds. Other side. 22 and a half, I guess. Here we go. Really think about that. Squeeze that side knee. You don't have to actually touch the elbow to knee if you can. Great. But it's not just this, Right. It's an actual side crunch. Pull it in. Yes, you can. Breathe and get ready to switch. Here we go. Other side. Pull it in right here. Side obliques and then lots of core for balance. Even if you're holding on for balance, we're having to stabilize right here. So think about nice tight core, then side crunch. Right, Here we go. 3, 2, 1. All right, now we're working our way down the pyramid. So simple, right? You got 30 seconds of that side shuffle. Your pick if you want to go quick feet here, or if you want to do that double step, whatever is best for you. Something in between that high and that low. Here we go. So side step, double side step with some intensity. Get that heart pumping. Or quick, quick, quick, tap. Quick, quick, quick. Yes. Here we go, team. Appreciate this first one, because then we're going to add some up and down from mat to standing. Three, two, one. And breathe. All right, last one, team. This is 15 seconds. I want you to go for it as a strength, as a sprint interval. And if you can side to side, you can go one and then the other if you want to jump it or bring it up. Let's do it. Here we go. Yes, you can. So close, team. Side to side. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Catch your breath, team. Join me for some water, right? So see the difference. When we split it up, we have those bookends, those 15 seconds. Bottom of the pyramid. Cheers, y'. All. Where we really get the heart rate up for 15 seconds. Those mid level, and then 45, where we get that conditioning. It really gives us a nice good balance when we feel good for both. All right, tap it out. Watch me. You're gonna do a version of jumping jacks for your first round. I want high intensity, whatever that is. You can also just take it here. Then we're gonna take it to a plank knee cross here. But if that is not right for you, you can do a standing knee cross. All right, Are we ready? 15 seconds. Jax, right here, you don't have to do a full jumping jack. You can do a low impact jack, but bring that intensity, right? This is your high one. Then we slow them down and we ramp our way back up. Three, two, one. I know. I feel like we didn't get enough for us before that, right? Okay, so if you want to keep it standing, it's a plank knee cross, standing core. If you can join me on the mat. We're not running it yet. We're just bringing them across. 30 seconds, here we go. And you can keep that foot on the ground where you're tapping like I'm doing, or you can keep it off the ground. The thing is, you're gonna feel that heart rate, right? Because we're still using a lot of energy to be up strong in that high plank. We're bringing the knees across for the core, so a lot of things still working, so you actually don't have to be running every interval to be feeling it, right? 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Take your time. You got 15 seconds to make your way back up. If that really feels too quick to be down and up, you can do some standing, some on the mat. It's up to you. All right, we're back to those jacks. This time, I do want tap out one arm, one leg, just like that. Here we go. 45 seconds. And if you want, you can add a little hop step like I'm doing, or you can keep it totally low impact right here. But again, we're in that zone. Two or three or green zone cardio, where our heart rate is up. We're still getting a little out of breath, but we can still talk, right? You can still carry on a conversation. You know, you're working hard, but not so hard that you feel like you need to stop before the interval's over. 15 seconds. Strong arms here. We're not displaying them around nice and tight, so we get some upper and lower working as well. 3, 2, 1. Catch your breath. All right, so back to that plank. Knee cross again. You can keep it standing, you can take it low. It's 45 seconds, so I really want you to take your time. Strong through the arms, strong in the core. Tighten the legs. Let's do it. Here we go. Right here. Yes. You can do a little twist of your hips as you're going across, but we're trying to stay nice and tight when we're in that center level, right? Stay lifted. Little tuck of the pelvis. And again, strong up through those arms. If you feel like you're starting to shift back or that your hips are dropping down, give yourself A second readjust. 15 seconds. Strong in that core cardio and abs. Heart rate's gonna get down just a little, so we can really go for it on our next round of jacks. Yes. Three, two, one. Stretch it back slowly. Make your way back up. All right, and again. If that's too much up and down, you can stay up for these last two or whatever you need to do your pick. Full jacks or tap out jacks. But we got 30 seconds. Let's do it. Here we go. Or maybe you want to do a combination of the two. Maybe you want to do four and four. I think that's what I'm gonna do. Tap four, three, two. Full jacks, four up to you. Nice and light. Strong arms. Five seconds. Finish it out strong. Three, two, one. And breathe. All right, team, we're at that last 15 seconds of the second pyramid. So you know it's coming. It's a climber. You can do a higher standing one, or you can do a quicker one down on the mat, but we got 15 seconds. Here we go. Wherever you are with this climber, I want you to give it what you've got. Strong core up. The intensity in a way that's good for you. Standing or mat. We got three, two, one. Relax. Everybody take a little stretch. Grab some water if you need it. I'm gonna bring it up, but we're gonna stay down on the mat for this whole next step pyramid. So if you want to stay down, stay down. We'll give you a few more seconds. So at the halfway point of this workout. Cheers, y'. All. All right, how is that heart rate? I know mine is getting up there in those higher zones. I adjust my microphone. All right, team, so meet me on the mat. A few more seconds to breathe on this one. Here's what we've got. We're going to do a version of a popup. I want to show you your standing version first. If you need to keep this all standing, your pop up is just a squat and a reach, whatever that is for you. Squat and reach, and then your bicycle is just going to be here to here. Standing bicycle, and you can find ways to up that intensity as you need to. If you're here, your pop up, you guys, this is our regular pop up. You can jump it and walk it back, or you can walk it in and jump it back, or you can jump it both ways or walk it in. I'm gonna recommend that you up the intensity as we've been talking about as we go and as we come back down, then we get our bicycle slow and controlled the whole time until we get a little power bicycle. We're still going to keep it controlled for 15, but we're going to tighten it up a little. Okay, that is what we're working with, team. So join me for that pop up. You're in that plank position again. You can walk it up, you can jump it up and jump it back. It's only 15 seconds, so I'm going to try to jump with both, or you can do that standing squat if that's better for you. All right, I know I gave you a longer break. Let's get it done. Let's go for it. Here we go. 15 seconds. Pop it up, pop it back, pop it up. And this is our last thing in the plank. Oh, is that right? No, maybe not. We'll see what we have in store for the. For that last pyramid. And relax. Slowly roll over onto your back. Here we go. Right here, team. We got 30 seconds. Catch your breath. Tuck that pelvis. You can also just do a little toe tap. Here we go. So you can do that standing bicycle, or if you need to modify, you can put one foot on the ground here or just do a little march. So many options. But. But I want you to try to catch your breath. Focus on the breathing. Right here and here. Five, four. Nice and strong. Three, two, one. Hug those knees in. Yes. All right, team, so we're. We've got 45 seconds of that pop up. I'm gonna walk it up and walk it back the whole time. It's up to you if you want to keep that or jump it. Here we go. Walk it up, hold it, walk it back. So I want you to think of this as your mobility, right? Nice and wide with those legs here. Here. Your heart rate's still gonna get up, but we're not having to jump. All right, we're here. Yes. Maybe you're feeling your legs from whatever workout you did yesterday. Maybe you want to jump it back in between. Up to you and here. Up and here. Yes, you can. Five seconds. Three, two, one. Cheated myself out of that last pop back. That's okay. All right, we got 40 seconds of that bicycle. Here's what I want. I want you to pulse for two. Slowly switch pulse for two. I know you're feeling those hip flexors, but let's get that good positioning. Three, two, one. Pulse for two. It's 45 seconds. Now, I want you tired, but I don't want you to go through the motions. I want you to really think that. Core, deep core, lift up through that pelvic floor, rotating through the obliques, right? Lifting with the spine to really contract all the way through those abs, right? It's easy when we're tired just to go here, right? But really think your core, everything is contracting and pulling in to bring those muscles together to be stronger, to be tighter. 10 seconds. Yes. I just looked at my programming. Your last round is all standing, so don't worry. Relax, team. All right, so here is what we've got. We got that pop up, your pick. We got 30 seconds. You decide if you want to jump it up, walk it up, or do the squat. Here we go. I'm gonna jump it up and walk it back. Here's my in between. Jump it up, walk it back. Right here. Jump it up, walk it back, huh? Yes, team, you can pick. Maybe you want to jump them up both because you feel good finishing out strong. You know you got a power bicycle coming here. Last one. Three, two, one. Little hip flexor stretch here, right? Oh. Feel it. All right, 15 seconds. This is your power bicycle. Now, we're not flailing all over the place, but we're going to tighten it up, we're going to make it smaller, and it's going to be a tight power here. Still want you to think about your core work. It's very rare that I want you to speed up your core work that. But this time I do speed it up. Tighten it up. Small rotation. Knees coming in. Three, two, one. Hug them in. Yes. Team, go ahead and bring it up on your knees if that feels good for you. Stretch out those hip flexors. Right? Maybe I'm just feeling it because of a workout yesterday, but that was a lot to do. Those two, back to back. Grab some water. Last pyramid, team. This is it. Grab some water. Cheers, y'. All. All standing, all cardio and abs. Let's get it done. Starting with your classic skater. We got 15 seconds. Step, cross behind. Then we're gonna do a cross knee in the same way we did our side knees. All right, where we'll go half and half. 15, 15, 20, 20. Instead of here, we're going here. All right, Lots of core, lots of cardio. We'll go in those zones, starting with that high zone. Let's do it. Skater, here we go. So whatever works for you with the skater. Maybe you're going side to side. You're still tapping behind, but you get the intensity getting a little lower. Maybe you're adding more of that jump that bound. Three, two, one, breathe. All right, we got that side or that cross knee. So here, one side only. Strong arms, strong abs. We're gonna go 15 and 15 for 30. 3, 2, 1. Let's do it right here. Yes, you can. If you want to add some intensity on this one, you can, but feel that core working you. Yes. Other side. 15. Mid level, but airing on a little higher intensity because we are almost done. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. All right, 45 seconds of a skater. Here's what I want, guys. Let's take it. Rainbow. Rainbow. So we get a little mobility out of it. You're still going to get the cardio, but big arms tap behind. Big arms tap behind. Green zone. Here we go. 45 seconds, and then we got 45, then we're back down and we are done again. I'll go ahead and tell you, no bonus move. We are done with this pyramid. That's why we love pyramids, right? Kind of like Tabata. They move really quickly. I feel like they do. And again, notice I'm not going crazy with this skater like I did in that 15 second round, but I'm still feeling that heart rate. That is the design. Five seconds to go. Big arms, cross behind. Three, two, one, breathe. All right, team, 45 seconds. We're going cross knee. I want you to think about the core working hard. So we got 22, 22 or 20. And 20. All right, zip up that core. Strong arms. Here we go. You can take it slow if you want. And again, if you need that balance, that's okay, too. Take it across right here. Yes, you can get ready to switch. Here we go. Yes. Team, 15 seconds. Make it good. Strong core right here. Yes. So close. Close. Five, four, three, two, breathe. All right, last skater. It's 30 seconds. You pick. What is your in between? From this to this. I'm gonna go quicker. I'm gonna try to add those rainbows. Arms, here we go. 30 seconds. So that's my in between is I'm picking up my pace, but I'm still getting mobility. Arms, right? Maybe for you it's here, breathing here. But, you know, after this 30, we got 15 strong knees, and then we're done. 10 to go. 3. You do you your workout. Be where you are today. And breathe. All right, team, this is it. 15 seconds, and I want you to go for it. Cross, cross, cross, cross. Whatever you've got for these 15 with those knees, give it to me because this is it. 3, 2, 1. Jump it or step it. Slower, fast. As long as you're bringing that intensity, that is challenging for you. Three, two, one. Yes. Oh, man. You guys, it's rare I get up there to Zone 5, but we did it with this workout. Don't worry if you don't have a watch. Just go by how you feel that heart rate. Get up. That's all that matters. Maybe you needed to take it a little slower, and you were pretty steady. Doesn't matter. Maybe you kept it low impact the whole time and it was low. Doesn't matter. You know what matters? You showed up. You are here today. Listen, I'm giving you these cues to go up and down. Same thing when we do strength workouts. Sit back into that hamstring stretch. Cueing you go heavy on this. Get lower on this to build strength, to build endurance, to build power. But at the end of the day, the only thing that matters is that you were here, that you showed up, that you're moving. So that may look different day to day, that may look different season to season of your life. Doesn't matter. You're here. You showed up. That is the most important thing. Let's take those arms up. So please get some more stretching on your own. We're going to keep it short and sweet today so we can get you in and out all month with this challenge. We're trying to keep short workouts that you can get in during a busy time, during a stressful time. Bookmark this one. Maybe it's when you want to save. I don't know about you guys, but we only had two circuits that we actually went down to the mat for more of that traditional core. We had those planks. We had our bicycles. But I felt my core the entire time, and I hope you did, too. I also felt my heart rate the entire time. So make sure that you leave me a comment. Leave me a like, let me know how you felt with this workout. How you're feeling now. Energized. And also a little bit tired, I hope. And please come back for more. Check out all the links in the description. Subscribe to the YouTube channel if you haven't already. That helps me out so much. Please do. And of course, make sure that you join us, the Body Fit Athletic Club. Thank you so much for being here today. Let's get one big, deep breath in and out. You did it. That was your cardio and abs pyramid workout. Great job, everybody.