31-Minute Zone Cardio Workout - [Burn, Sweat, High Intensity]

Hey, everybody, I'm Amy from Bodyfit by Amy. And this is your zone cardio workout. This is day two of your metcon challenge. This is also a great body weight cardio workout where I'm going to give you lots of different options to work to your fitness level and be where you are today. That's where those zones come in. You don't need any equipment for this workout, just a little bit of space to move. Are you ready? Let's do it. Go ahead and start moving your body. You can do a little march, a little jog, whatever feels good for you. We can get some rolls through the shoulders. We're going to try to let go of any tension or tightness, any stress you might be feeling from the day, from the week, from the month, whatever it is, let it all go and just be here with me today. We are hoping in this warm up we're going to keep it short. We just want to get the blood flowing, we want to get the muscles moving, get the body moving in the movement patterns we're going to be working with today. And of course bring the energy and that core temperature up. Let's take it to the front. Of course, as always, if you need more of a warm up, please get it on your own because we're gonna keep it pretty short today. Let's open up those arms right through here and then step into a little side lunge. So zone cardio. Maybe you have heard of the heart rate training zones or training zones. It's something that usual is used a lot in cardio training in sports. Specific tr, especially if you're a runner or cyclist, triathlete, swimmer, an athlete of any kind. Often you use zone training to figure out where that threshold is for you to be training optimally for what you are working for. Right. For the purposes of today, we are not worried about that actual number of your heart rate. We are just going to be thinking of zones. Now often let's take it side to side when we think of heart rate zones. Sometimes you'll see five zones. Right? You've probably seen that chart 1 through 5, color coordinated, sometimes 4. Sometimes they go very light to light to moderate, to vigorous, to maximal. Sometimes there's only four. For our purposes today, let's go flat back down and little rounded up. For our purposes, we're just going to keep it three zones, right? Zone one we're going to call light, zone two moderate and zone three is vigorous. So that's your high intensity. Every move that we do. Hold it here. Roll your Shoulders, stretch your back. We're gonna get a zone 1, 2, and 3. Of course, you always have the option to stay in zone one, stay in zone two or take all three, walk it in right here. I want you just to tap it back into that little tap back and then if it feels good for you, take it to that lunge. Now, I do want you to challenge yourself. If you're someone who feels like you want that zone three all the time, I want you to challenge yourself to think outside the box. What we know from the zone training, hold it here if you can, little stretch over. If you need a little balance, grab it, take it here, reach up, drop the knee, rotate through. Little world's greatest stretch. What we know from that zone training is we need to those lighter zones, go ahead, step it back or step it up. Switch it here, reach it up. That's where we're burning through that fat. Higher we get fat and carbs. And more importantly, that's where our body recovers. Bring it up through here and round it up. So there are so many benefits to all of those training zones. Again, for the everyday athlete like you and me, we don't need to think too hard on it, but I do want you to challenge yourself. If you're someone who thinks you have to be going hard all the time, but that's not really what it's about, that's not always effective for your body. So challenge yourself to go hard in that zone three, go moderate in that zone two, a little lighter in zone one. See how your heart rate changes, see how you're feeling. We're going to be talking about it throughout. All right, team, so quick sip of water if you need it. We are going to start. We have 30 seconds in each zone. 30 second recovery. Also. That 30 second recovery is super important. We're going to start with a little side step. We'll take it to a side squat, then we'll take it to a little jump down, starting with that side step first. 30 seconds, here we go. Did I mention that this is a no repeat workout? Yeah. And I'm telling you now, right? So get excited. We have three versions of the move and then we're moving on three circuits. Total quick breather to get some water in between. But of course, anytime that you need water, you take it. If your zone one is a little different, that's okay. If it's a little quicker, that's okay too. This is more of your light to moderate. Then we're going to take it moderate. I want you to Add a little squat, bring it up, right? You don't have to get super low. If that squat is not good for you, you can up the intensity in a different way, right? Maybe that is going a little quicker, right? Or a little half squat up to you, but we're still keeping it low impact. Feel that heart rate getting up. Now we're in that moderate zone where a lot of the magic happens. In 10 seconds, we're gonna do that little tap down. Jump it if you want. If the jump is not right for you, you just tap it down. Here we go. Looks like this hand up again. Jump is not right for you. You just up the intensity in a way that is good for you. I'm gonna remind you, this whole workout be where you are today. You do you. It's your workout. So if your higher intensity is low impact, that's okay. If your higher intensity is just the jump without the squat, that's okay, too. 10 seconds down. So I'm going to remind you also to earn that rest, right, you want this vigorous zone, relax, free to be to the point where you need that rest again. A lot of that magic happens in the recovery. Again, you can get water in between, but we'll have a longer water break in a minute. Next round, you got 15 seconds to recover. We're just gonna. I'm taking a diagonal so you can see me. Walk it up, walk it back. You can add that knee if you want. Then we'll take it to a run shuffle, and then we'll take it to a long jump. All right? Looks kind of silly, but do the best you can. Use the space you have. Here we go. Walk it up, walk it back. Just think of it as walk training. Right? Walking is a great exercise. If you want to add that little knee, you can. So good for you anytime. You can get those walks throughout your day. Also really great to get outside. Hamburger again, I'm just keeping it here at the diagonal so you can see me. All right, so we're gonna take it to a little run right through here. Run whatever that higher intensity is for you. You keep it at the walk, but you add that hop here. I know, kind of silly, but fun and breathe. If you don't have the space, you just keep it where you are. You're confined in space. That's okay, too. Next one, we're gonna do a long jump up and a shuffle back. Watch me one time right here. Jump, shuffle back, join me so you can keep one or two. Or you can just do a big step, squat shuffle Back step, squat, or walk it back, right? But if you can long jump, shuffle. A lot of these zone three are going to involve a little bit of higher impact, but you do not have to go there. You do what's good for you. Three, two, one. And breathe. Catch your breath. All right, team, it's gonna go fast. Now we're gonna take it. Think of this as your very light right where we get that heart rate coming down, that heart rate recovery. We're going to take it to a little tap behind. So tap behind, tap behind. Then we take it to a little skater up. The intensity. Then we're going skater bound. Try to keep that foot off the ground. Really cover the space, catch your breath. Zone one. Here we go. Tap behind. What's great about this, and this is why hit training works, why metabolic conditioning, this whole program, metcon works, because that heart rate does come back down, but it stays up, right? We're staying. Again, if we were in those five zones or four zones, this would probably be zone two, then zone three, then four, Right? But again, for our purposes today, we're keeping it 1, 2, and 3. Just to keep it simple. Here you go. So little skater, if you can make it a little hopper, make it a little hop if you need to take the hop out. But you can still get a little bit lower into the legs, a little bit more power. You can shoot that arm in front, cross that leg behind. Transverse plane. So we're getting that core working too. Up to you, whatever you need to do to get into that zone two. All right, getting up. And again, maybe this feels like your zone three. That's okay. You can keep this or you can take it back down or take it up. Skater bound. So for me to progress this, I'm trying to go a little further, really land into that hip, put the spot foot off the ground, and really get some power as I drive out side to side. That's why it's skater bound versus just skater right side to side, whatever that means for you. Get that heart rate up. Then we're gonna bring it down. You got that Recovery coming in 5, 4, 3, 2, and breathe. All right, this is our Last round of 30 seconds. Three rounds of 30, and then we're gonna grab some water. All right, first circuit, almost done. Standing climber. So think mountain climber standing. You can keep it standing the entire time. Then of course, we're gonna take it to that climber here, and then we're gonna run it. So 2 and 3 are on the ground, but if you want to Keep it up top, standing the entire time, totally fine. You can up your intensity in different ways. Here we go. Zone one, climber. Right through here. We think of those light zones of being able to have a little bit of that heart rate up sometimes. We would say like 50 to 60% of our maximum heart rate. Don't worry too much about that. If you have a heart rate tracker, great, great. But it's not something that I think is necessary to really be feeling those different types of cardio. You can keep it here. You can up your intensity, or join me on the mat. Here we go. Knees tap in if you want that core work, but the full plank is not right for you. Just take it. Knees tap back, and then we take it up. Take a bird dog. Totally up to you. We're engaging a little bit more core, so make sure you pull everything in, especially as that heart rate gets up. Drive the knee to the chest. Push up out of those hands. So really strong arms here. Not just let them go, but really strong right through here. Tight knees in, core engage. Take it. Here we go. It's a mountain climber, so remember, you can tap it in a little quicker pace. What I don't want is you to be trying to go as fast as you can from there. I want controlled movement. Shoulders right above the elbows right above the knees. Knees coming into the chest. If you want to take it up from the standing position, you can take it to that hop. Listen to my breath. That is what we want for that zone. Three or four, however you want to look at it. Getting a little bit breathless. Hard to talk. You got 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Breathe. Catch your breath. Team grab some water. We got a couple extra seconds on this one, and then we're going to that second circuit, right? That is what it looks like, right? We're gonna keep it short and simple. 30 seconds, zone one. 30 seconds, zone two. 30. 30 seconds, zone three. You pick where you need to be for you. You can keep it all at 1 or 1 and 2 or 3, or you can progress in those zones in a way that feels better for you and your body. That is what it is about. It is about showing up and moving. It's not about doing everything I'm doing. It's not about killing yourself every time. That's why I'm challenging you to think about those lower zones as well. You don't have to be going all out every single day, every minute of the workout. Not exactly effective and not really sustainable. Let's get ready for that second round. We're going to start with just a basic side lunge. Here we go. Join me. So you don't have to get super deep. Just shift your weight to the side. Maybe you had a hard leg workout yesterday. Maybe we all did. You don't have to get really low. I just want you to open up. Think of that stretch through here. Shift the weight, moving laterally. That lateral movement so important. Right through here. Down and up. If you want to. If you want more of that mobility, really stretch low into it, up to you, keeping it light. And then here we go. Here's what we're gonna add. A little knee. Bring it up. Knee. You can add the little jump with it or just the knee up to you, or keep it one and breathe. Back in the day when I would teach classes, we would have heart rate charts on the wall, maybe color coordinated, maybe by age. The problem with that is that everybody is different. Everybody is on their own journey. So you do what feels best for you. Here we go. We're gonna shuffle it. If that is good for you, take it to zone three. Quick shuffle. Still get low. We want it to be zone one. We talk about that RPE scale. Rate of perceived exertion. Zone one, we're keeping it four to five, maybe even six. Zone two, five, six or seven. Zone three, we're getting seven, eight, nine. Right around there. Again you do you. Three, two, one. Catch your breath, team. All right, how about a little lunge sequence? Lunge sequence. That can be whatever you need it to be. We're going to tap it back. So you can just do a tap back. Move those arms. If that's best for you, you can do a lunge. Bring it up. Then we are going to add a knee to it. Then we're getting low for that runner's lunge hop you do, you pick where you need to be. If your legs are not feeling it, just keep it. Tap back. But if you can get a little lower. Here we go. Right side only. My right leg is forward. So again you can go tap back. You pick your pace too. If you're going tap back, maybe you're going a little. A little quicker. If you want get low again, moving those arms. Because what we also want is mobility. Right shoulder and back mobility. Core engagement is not just legs. Right. Right through here and up. Are you ready to add a little knee? Wherever you are, whether that's low or high, let's bring it up with. Without a little jump. Little bird, are you feeling it? I know I am. Keep moving with me. Whatever that Is for you. Knee, tap, back, knee, lunge, or jump, knee, breathe. We're keeping it here for zone three. Now what I want in zone three again, taking it up on that exertion scale, whatever that is for you. Maybe that's just getting lower. Maybe that's jumping higher. Whatever you need. Here we go. Breathe. This one is a little bit of a burner, but I promise this is the only round that's like that for your legs. Again, if you'd rather just take it here, you're still going to get that burn. Or maybe it's just your knee. Whatever takes it up for you. 10 seconds. Wasn't counting on that burning so much, even though I knew it would. We got three, two, one. Shake it out. You all know I love a good lunge, but I promise we're not going to stay there long. But how about we get that other side? This is your recovery. Take your time. You're gonna go back to that light. Light to moderate, moderate to vigorous, vigorous to maximal. If we think of those zones in that way again, you do you. We just want progression. We want that heart pumping. We want in a way that's sustainable for you. It doesn't make you now want to come back. Let's lunge it back. Zip it up. Here we go. Take it down, bring it up. Now, this leg is tired, so really focus into that front leg. Down and up. Think stepping back on those train tracks. Either way. What do I mean? Not tightrope. Not out here. Hip distance apart. Moving those arms to get the mobility. Yes, team. And up, down, up. Are you ready? Add that knee. Here we go. So either drive the knee up or a little jump. Remember, you don't have to lunge with it. You don't have to jump with it. You do you. Maybe that is a lunge and a knee. Maybe this tap, back knee. Maybe it's a lunge knee jump or down back knee jump. You do. You breathe into it. We're getting into that runner's lunge. Front leg getting that burn. Heart rate, getting that work. Here we go. Yes, team. Remember, you could also just be here. Maybe you're here with or without a jump. Just driving the knee, keeping that front leg working. Maybe you're just doing a lunge without a jump. You do you. Let's get it done. Circuit two is almost over. Yes, you can. You got five, four, three, two, and breathe. All right, team, last one from here. All right. Similar to our other mountain climber, we're going to do a standing knee cross right through here. Then we're taking it in the plank, knee cross. Then we're knee cross climber, cross climber. All right, if you want to keep it up top, you can keep it up the entire time. Increase that intensity after this longer break. Getting water. Hands behind your head. Get that stretch. Here we go. Knee cross, knee cross. So it's a ramp up, right? So we start here. If you think about what runners do in races or cyclists or swimmers, when they train for sprints, they get up into those four and five zones. When they trade for those endurance rides, they stay down in those 1, 2, and 3. Right. When they train for hills, it's a mix. So all of that is what we're doing today, training our heart to be stronger. Take it down if you want. Here we go. Tap it across. So as we get tired, watch me. I want to make sure you're not here, right? Getting those hips up. Stay in that good plank position. Even if you have to really slow it down, that heart rate is going to stay up. Stay lifted in here. Tighten here. Tighten your back. Make sure you're breathing. If you're standing, keep it crossed and up that intensity in a different way. We're gonna take it to a cross climber. Three, two, one. Here we go again. I'm not going as fast as I can. I'm keeping good control, and that's what's getting my heart rate up, right? If I go as fast as I can, I might lose some of the core. So I'm gonna take those knees across quickly, but with good form. Yes, team. Every time I look at the clock, I think it's gonna be faster. Turns out 30 seconds goes the same amount every time. We got five, four, three, two, breathe. Oh, core is on fire. Yes, team. Little stretch right here if you want. And I want you to take this time to grab some water. And again, don't feel the need to keep yourself moving the entire time. Give yourself that recovery time. I'm gonna keep saying it. That's where the magic happens, right? That's where we regrain, regain that energy to go into this third circuit full force. Right? That's what we love about it. That's where our body is replenishing those energy systems, those storages that we need to, again, get the most out of what's coming up in this last circuit. Watch me here. We're going to start with just a regular knee raise. Then we're going to do 1, 2, 3, Heisman slow. Then we're going Heisman hop. Right, join me. Just your knees Here we go. Up, up, out to the side. Yes. Zone one or two, however you want to think about it. This is our last round. It's gonna go fast. I'm gonna tell you right now, there's no bonus because they all kind of feel like bonuses. Right? Right through here. Yes. Ten seconds, zone one. Then we're taking it, Heisman. So it's three, two, one. Land on that foot. Join me right here. Three, two, H. Three, two. You can also just march. One, two, three. And here's your Heisman. We're going to add on in about 15 seconds. But this is moderate, right? I can still talk to you. Maybe you can still talk back to me. Don't go by me, because that talk test that we use in workouts doesn't work for me because I've had a lot of years. Let's take a little hop right here. 1, 2, 3. You can also just drive that knee up. 1, 2, 3. I've had a lot of years of teaching classes. If this is tripping you up, just pick up your pace here. Right? I know. Maybe that knee was overkill. Let's just go quick. Heisman. What I was gonna say before I got really out of breath is that I've had a lot of years of teaching classes and leading workouts. 3, 2, 1. So often you guys ask me, how do you keep talking when your heart rate's up? It's just a learned skill. You can probably hear my voice. I'm feeling it just as much as you. Feels good, but feels hard. Hard. Because I'm working hard, right? All right, team, let's get it done. Double step, whatever space you got. One and two, one and two. That's level one. Level two, we're gonna hop it with that double step. Level three is our quick shuffle. Here we go. Double step, light zone one. Use this time to work on mobility. Can you step out wide with whatever space you have? If you have less space, take it right here. If you can, take it here. Right. Keeping it light, getting ready. The calm before the storm. Right. Also re. Energizes our brain. Here we go. So big shuffle, hop. If that's not right for you, I just want you to go bigger and more intensity on that step. But if you can shuffle hop, I like to move my arms with it so it prepares our brains to think. I just have to get through 30 seconds. First one's gonna be easy, then moderate. Then I save it all to go up on that last 30, because then I have that breather coming, and this is it. Here we go. Shuffle. 3, 2, 1. I like to move my arms if you want. If you're a kickboxing person, you could do that boxing. But you do, you, you stay in the level. That is good for you for 10 more seconds. Yes. Breathe. Three, two, one. Catch your breath. Bring it down. We are so close. Two more moves, three rounds of each, right? All right, so we're gonna tap it out. Tap it out. Then jack and jab or jack and jab, then full on jumping jacks. Going for it. Second to last move. Catch your breath. Get ready. Keep it low. Light zone one step out. Take it here, take it here. Maybe it's slower. Maybe that's where you are. You're gonna keep moving, but it needs to be a little slower. Maybe you have it in you to pick it up, but still keeping it light, right? So we have those different zones. Our body can work in different ways. And breathe. Yes. We're gonna take it to jack and jab in 10 seconds. You, you can keep it right here and add that jab or you can take it to a full jack and jab. You don't want to punch, Just reach. Here we go. Jack step forward. Jab up and here, up here, huh? Either one strong punch or reach. Punch or reach. Yes. Last 30s are Jacks. I want you to go for it forward. All right, Whatever that is for you. Low impact jack or high impact. Strong in those arms, strong in the legs. Strong in that tap out or that jump. Here we go. Right here. Here's what I don't want, right? Not as fast as you can go. Not flailing arms. Strong intentional arms. Strong intentional legs. Whether you're here to here or here. Yes, you do you last ten. Then we got one more move. This is it, team. Five, four, three, two, one. Breathe. Don't worry, we're stretch all those calves. I know, I'm feeling it too. All right, team, so this is is it. We're going to take it back. Alternating lunge. Instead of that regular lunge alternate. You can tap it back here for light. Reach those arms or get low with it. Then we're going to walk it back. If you want to take it to the plank, walk it back. Then we've got our pop up. You do you for this last round. Here we go. Tap back and reach or lunge back and reach. Think mobility. Big stretch up right. Even if you're tapping back, reach and reach. Right through here. Yes. There we go. Breathe. Big stretch. We're gonna walk it back in just a minute. If you want to keep it standing, you stay right where you are. Pick up your intensity if you want to join me. Here, take it here, down, walk back, walk it in, bring it up, take it down, walk back, walk it in, all the way up. You do not have to go fast with this. Even though we're getting the zone two, I want you to take your time. Think about that core being engaged. Left, right, left, right, all the way up, down, right, left, right, left. So you pick where you want to be, and we're gonna take it. Walk it back or pop it up. Right here, we're going back and up. You don't have to go all the way up unless you want to. If you want to take it all the way up or jump it up in a burpee, this is it, team. Whatever you need to do to get in that zone, three or four or five, whatever it is for you, you got 15 seconds. Let's make it good. Let's get that heart pumping, because then we're gonna cool it down, pop it back, pop it up. Strong plank position. All the way through. You're not just popping it back. You're going all the way back in a plank. Last one. And breathe. Tap behind. Yes. Now we think of it as reverse, right? Getting back down to zone two, back to zone one, and then we are cooling it down. Yes, team. You did it. Little hamstrings to bring them up. Open up those hips. You can take those arms out of it if you want, or reach back, little heels right through here. We're gonna get a quick stretch, so make sure you get more stretching on your own, especially those calves. That lower body, maybe it's working a little harder, but we'll get a stretch through our back as well. Let's take it right here. Little hamstring stretch. So hips to the back. Reach it here. Hand on the wall if you need it. Or here. And little arm scoop. To open up through that shoulder, pull the toe towards you. Reverse your direction, and then reach to it. Cross it over if you can. 3, 2, 1. Same thing. Other side. So we got hamstrings here. Sit back, pull the toe in. You can be here, you can be here. Whatever's good for you. Scoop through that arm, right? Then reverse your direction, Cross it over right here. A little stretch. Yes. Let's take those knees out, open up, stretch through your back while you push out gently on the inside of the legs. You did it, team. That was amazing. I hope you felt the difference. I hope if you're a cardio queen like I used to be where I felt like I had to be moving all the time and at that high heart raising all the time. I hope this showed you you don't need that all the time. Right? We were just talking about our zones in the body fit athletic club. Fingertips to the back, tilt that hip forward if you can. Bring that foot up. Little stretch right here. We were really breaking it down in terms of how athletes train, in terms of what that means for us and in terms of why that recovery, why our rest days, our active recovery days, and giving our body time to recover within a workout. Those recovery intervals are so important. The different systems, energy systems that are working in our body, what we're burning through, what we're working towards, how this works, depending on our goals, it's all relative to where you are. But the point is we want to be getting variety. We want to be working our body in different ways. We want to be training towards better endurance and stamina, better strength and mobility, and all of it you can find right here. Check out all the links in the description below. Don't forget, roll those shoulders to leave me a comment to like this video and of course subscribe to my YouTube channel so I can keep making these workouts for you. One big deep breath in and out. You did it. That was your zone cardio workout. Great job, everybody. Fore.