35 Minute Cardio Core Pyramid Workout for Strength, Cardio & Core

Hey, everybody. I'm Amy from Bodyfit by Amy. And this is your cardio core pyramid workout. This is day number eight of your holiday hit challenge. We are going to get some heart pumping cardio alternating with some core strengthening exercises. And we are going to do it in that pyramid format. Going up in time and down in time. It's gonna go by quickly. Your abs are going to be burning and your heart is going to be pumping. Are you ready? Let's do. Okay, let's start. Just getting warmed up. You can march it, you can jog it, whatever feels good for you. Let's roll those shoulders to the back and to the front. We will keep the warm up short because we're going to keep this workout short. So make sure if you need more of a warm up that you get it on your own. We're gonna get a quick, dynamic warm up as movement prep for the exercises that we're going to do. But if you need more, feel free to check out my extended warm up video as well as my extended cool down video. If you need a little bit extra, let's open up the arms and chest. Step out wide, leaning into it here. Here we go. Breathe. So the way it is going to work is we are going up the pyramid and down the pyramid in time. That is the way these pyramid intervals work. Take it here up and down. We're gonna stick to 15 seconds followed 30 seconds, followed by 45. Then we're at the top of the pyramid. We've got 45 seconds. Back down 30 and 15. You'll get 15 seconds. Let's reach it down and reach it up. 15 seconds of a breather in between each of those. And each pyramid will only have two moves. Let's walk it out. If it feels good for you, walk out into that inchworm. If you want to stay upright, you can as well take it here to here. Each one. One of those pyramids will have two moves, one cardio based, one core based. But of course, hopefully it will all keep your core working and all get your heart rate up. Let's tap it out and reach across so here to here. So hopefully it'll all feel like cardio and core. And once we get through, we're just going to alternate those two exercises with our pyramid. And then we have a minute in between where you can grab some water. You can keep doing the cardio move that we just did, or you can take a real break and I'll explain your next two moves. So that's how it's gonna go Today, it's gonna move quickly between those pyramids, between those two moves and those circuits. So stay with me. I will give you lots of different options. We are going to be up and down between the cardio and the core. So you've got 15 seconds to get there. Full 15 seconds. I know in some of the workouts, sometimes people say they feel like it's tough to get down and up in between. I'll give you some standing options for a few of them. But use those 15 seconds. Take your time going from down to up, and if that's too much for you, I'll give you a standing option as well. You just want to have as much variety. And within these moves, let's go back to those hamstrings. As we go up and down in the pyramid, I will give you some options for a few little variations. Same move, but some variations if you want to mix it up. Otherwise, you stick to the very first thing we did. All right, so you stay here with these hamstrings. Watch me while you keep going with this. I'm going to show you our first two moves. Classic jumping jack. Low impact version, you can take it here. High impact version, it's your jack. Then I'll give you some options to mix it up as we go through. Then down on our back, we're going to a starfish. So the moves kind of mimic each other. So we're going to start with this. Just alternating one at a time. All right? Then I'll give you some options to take it up a little bit. If you don't want to go down on your back, you can take a starfish here with standing. All right, so those are your options. Low impact or high. Remember to be where you are today. I want you to work to your level. Level. Challenge yourself in a way that works for you. If you showed up, you're successful. Here we go, 15 seconds of jacks. So you're here or you're here. Whatever is good for you. This is our first pyramid. We're just alternating between those two moves. 3, 2, 1. You got 15 seconds to breathe. 15 seconds to take it down on your mat. Take your time. Stay standing if you want to. Otherwise take it nice and wide. Big inhale, pull that core in. We got 30 seconds. Here we go. So 30 of the starfish. So I want you to think of this as a little bit of a warm up. Big stretch through those fingertips, through the toes. But of course, your lift is coming from pulling that core in tight. Right? Imagine your hips start coming Together towards each other. Your ribs coming towards each other. Navel to spine. And you're lifting from the core. 3, 2, 1. Slowly bring it up. You got 15 seconds to bring it up. We're at the top of that pyramid. 45 seconds. We're back with that low impact jack or that high impact jack. Start with that and then I'll give you a couple options. Here we go. 45 seconds. So you're here or here. Breathe. If you wanna add a little power to it, you can take it low to high. Low to high. You're adding a little squat to it. If you want to get a little extra legs, you can also do that with the low impact. Tap low to high or just keep your regular jacks. That works too. Again, I'm just gonna give you a few little variations just to keep your brain busy. If you want it otherwise, you do, you be where you are today. Five seconds to go. Breathe. Three, two, one. Relax. We're staying at the top of that pyramid with 45 seconds. Take it down. Here's what we're gonna do this time, guys. Take it nice and wide if you can. Pull everything in. Lift the shoulders, lift those legs. Here we go. So you're keeping it off the ground or keep one side off the ground? Maybe you're keeping your upper body off the ground, or maybe you're keeping those feet off the ground but dropping it down. If you feel like you're pulling too much on your back, I want you to start really low. All the way up. Again, movement is coming from the center. Even though we're getting that nice mobility, that stretch through our arms and our legs, we're originating the movement, initiating the movement in the center. 5, 4, 3, 2. Relax. Roll over to that side. We're going down the pyramid now. 30 seconds of those jacks. Last time I'm gonna give you an option. Low impact or high. Ready? Here we go. So here or here. And this time, if you want to really push it on those last 15, one jack, one star. One jack, one star. If you're low impact. Up. Up, right? Yes. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. 15 seconds is all we need. And we're back down with that core. Whatever you got, Any of those options will do. Pull everything in. Here we go. 15 off the ground, if you can. We're all the way down. Yes. Breathe. Last three, two, one. Hug those knees in. Little roll side to side. Right? Go ahead and roll over to the side. Grab a quick sip of water, Tap it out. All right, team. So you can keep it with Those jacks or low impact? Jacks. Or you can just take a real breather. But watch me as we talk through our next set of moves. So real jacks or real breather? Whatever you got. All right, so we're gonna take it with a little tap down. So it's low impact is here. It's a little squat, right? So we're getting a little legs or jump it out. Jump it out. Think tap out, tap down. Halfway through, we'll add it on a transverse for a little variety. Or you can just keep it regular, low impact or high. Then we're taking it down to a plank hip dip. So your modification, if you're on the side, is to go here if you're staying standing. Otherwise, I want you to be on your elbows or your knees. And we're going to drop our hips center. Drop our hips center. So we're staying in that plank. Again. Modification up top, lateral side. Decide if you don't want to go down. Totally fine. Everybody breathe for 15 seconds, then we're going into it. We got that tap down, we got that plank. Hip dip. 15 seconds. 30, 45, then back down. 40, 30, 15. 15 seconds in between. Starting in 3, 2. Tap down. 15. So drop the hips, not your back. So this is what we don't want here or here. We want to keep that chest open and drop in the hips. So we get a little leg burn. That's okay. We love that. Three, two, and one. Catch your breath. Slowly. Make your way down. Stay standing if you want. On those elbows. We got 30 seconds. Pull everything in. Tuck that pelvis, but stay lifted. Here we go. Holding here, then drop up and drop. We're here in the center. Keep everything up. Yes. You got 15 to go. Good. So we're getting the obliques while we hold that plank, right? Yes. 3, 2, 1. Take your time. Bring it up top. 45 seconds at the top with that tack down, we're gonna take it. Transverse if you want. So open out wide on the diagonal. Tap it down, step it in, or tap it down, jump it in. If you want to keep regular, you can do that, too. Here we go. So same motion. We're just opening on the diagonal for a little variety. And toes out. Low impact, you're here. High impact, you're jumping right up. Yes, Good. Down, up. There we go. Up. 15 seconds. Whether you're regular or transverse, finishing strong. I know the legs are burning. 3, 2, 1. Last one. Relax. Staying at the top. We got 45 seconds side to side or down in that plank. Whatever you Got pull everything in, settle your breath. Ready? Here we go. Hold that plank. Drop it down, bring it center. Down, center. If you want to add a little extra, you can bring it center. Little pike. Down and down. Center, little lift. Imagine there's a string pulling the belly button up and through. Magnets on your hip bones, pulling them together. Also those ribs. Everything is tight. Squeeze in the glutes. Squeeze in your legs, but make sure you're breathing. You got five seconds. Four, three, two, and relax. Stretch it back. Stretch on those quads. Right, Bring it up. We're back down our pyramid. We got 30 seconds. With our tap down, you can go transverse. You can go regular. Here we go. Here or here or transverse. 30 to go. This is the last time with this move. You can step it, you can jump it. 10 seconds. Keep breathing. You got this. 3, 2, and 1. Yes. Last 15. We're gonna let it drop. We're gonna lift it. Let it drop and lift and breathe. Let's take it here. Ready? Here we go. So drop and pike, pike. Breathe. Yes. And down and up. Last one. Relax. Stretch it back. All right, team. So we're gonna get a little bit of bonus mobility right after this. We got 30 seconds. Stay here. You got your bird dog. Reach it up. If you're standing, I just want you to reach and reach. Here we go. Join me. 30 seconds. We're gonna add a little mobility in between. If you'd rather be here, here. Whatever is good mobility. Combat heart rate, keep it going if you want that challenge. You can lift up in between. Get a little extra core, a little extra upper. 5, 4, 3, 2, stretch. Good. Grab a quick sip. All right, we got one minute to breathe. We're gonna tag some mobility on the end of a few of these. All right, guys, if you want to keep that tap down or if you want to jog it out, whatever you got, while you watch me. If you want to keep moving or keep resting. We've got a skater. So side to side, three times, power knee. Side, side, side, power knee. All right, don't worry. I'm going to talk you through it. If you want to just keep the skater, just to keep it simple, that works, too. Then we're going to a bicycle hold. So we're going down. We're gonna go three, two, one. Hold and push. Or hold and push. Three, two, hold and push. Or elbow to knee. If you want to keep it standing, you're just gonna go hold. Got it? All right, join me here. 15 seconds, skater. Here we go. Three, two, one. Power knee. It's either a jump or a step. And up. 3, 2, 1. Let's get one more. I know, a little over time. Good. All right, so don't worry too much about that. Again. If you want to keep it just your skater, that works, too. Catch your breath. Pull everything in. Ready? Here we go. Three, two, hold. And push. 30 seconds. So I want you to still keep everything slow and controlled. And then when you get to that, push either your hand or your elbow, you're pushing against each other, right? Three, two, hold. They're pushing into each other. Three, two. Last one. Yes. And relax. Hug them in. Bring yourself up. All right, guys, so we got it. 1, 2, 3, knee. Skater, skater, skater, power knee. See if you can get a little lower, a little quicker. Here we go. Skater, skater, skater, power knee. Other side. 3, 2, 1. 3, 2, 1. Yes. Really bring it up there. Even if you're going low impact, I still want you to get low to high. Step and up, right? 15 seconds. Up. 3, 2. Maybe you're going faster than me. That's okay. Last one. Three, two, one. Three. Bring it down. We got 45 seconds of that. Bring it here. Zip it up. 45. Take it. Three, two, hold. And push. Or three, two, hold and push. Three, two. If you're standing, you're doing the exact same thing from a standing position. Can you keep those shoulders lifted the whole time? If you can, you'll get a little extra. If you need to drop them down in between, that's okay, too. Just make sure we're pulling everything in towards each other. And then that movement is controlled. Three, two, hold. And push. Three, two, hold. Last one. Yes. Relax. Breathe. Bring it up. All right, guys, so last 30 seconds with our cardio. How about we just take it straight up? Skaters, get as quick as you can. Forget about the knees. Here we go. So 30. You got it. Whether you're low impact or whether you're high, can you get a little lower? Really stick into those hips, right? Yes. 15 seconds. Last chance in the cardio interval in this pyramid. Breathe. Yes. Three, two, one, and breathe. All right, we got 15 with that bicycle standing or all the way down? Finish it out. Bring it up. Here we go. Three, two, hold. I know it's hard to kind of switch gears from one to the next, but you really got to be thinking about the core. Engaging. Yes. Three, two, hold. Relax. Good, guys. Bring it up. Let's get some mobility. Watch me. High plank or knees? We're gonna step it out. Bring it in, step it out, bring it in. If you need to stay on your your knees. It's here to here. Join me. Just step it to get that hip mobility. But if we can keep the core engaged and up. We're only doing 30. Remember, we're sneaking in some mobility right before we get a minute between our circuits so we get that little extra time. 10 seconds to go. Open up those hips and hip flexors. You got it. Breathe. Three, two, one. Relax. Quick sip, guys. All right, let's keep it moving with these pyramids. If you want to keep the skater while I talk you through our next two moves, keep it going. If you want a real rest, take a rest. Heisman shuffle. So we're still moving laterally. 1, 2, 3. 1, 2, 3. I really want you to use the space you have, low impact or high. We'll add a few little extras in that 45 second interval. Then we are taking it to a plank knee hold. So similar to our bicycles, we're gonna go three, two, hold, hold. Three, two, hold. If you want to take it here, you can go sides for something different, right? Three, two, hold. If you need to stay standing, otherwise we're taking it across. All right, Here we go. Heisman 15. 1, 2, 3 is the magic number, right? We're step, step, hit, Step, step, hit, run, run, hit. Really think like a football player. Last one, relax. So that's the Heisman Trophy here in the U. S. College football. That's what that positioning is. Go ahead and bring it up. You can stay standing and take it to the side. Otherwise we're taking it across. Here we go. 3, 2, hold. Try to touch if you can. 3, 2, hold. If you can't actually touch it, what I want you to to do is turn your body up. Keep it going. So watch. My turn. Three, two little twists. Three, two, twist, huh? Up last one. Three, two, hold. Relax. Good. Bring it up. We're at the top of the pyramid already. 45 seconds, we're shuffling. 1, 2, 3. 3, 2, 1. Bring that knee up if you can power it up. Here we go. One, two. Yes. Whatever space you've got. So if you've got extra space like me, I really want you to cover the space with your side Heismans. Otherwise you can keep it small if you don't have a ton of space. 1, 2, 3. 1, 2, 3. Really drive it up. Yes, yes. 10 seconds. Can you get a little quicker? And again, really stick the landing into those hips. Last one. All right, guys, so this time let's take it on the outside. Either way, if you're standing or if you're planking. Knees. Come to the outside obliques. Catch your breath. Zip up in the core. Here we go. Three, two, hold. Three, two, hold. If you want to make it a little more of a hot step, you can. If you want to, just keep it hold. Three, two, hold. Same thing from down here, except you're in a plank. You got a team. 20 seconds. I know it feels like a lot, but it's gonna go by quickly. Let's get the core in the center obliques out here. Three, two, hold. Yes. Ten to go. Last one. You got it. Stretch it back. All right, we're back down the pyramid. One more time. 30 seconds. Here's what we're gonna add. Three, two, touch. Three, two, touch. Ready? Here we go. 30 seconds. Three, two. So just like a little tap down, just like we did. I know it gets a little of your feet. Ten seconds to go. Three, two, one. Last one, and relax. Good. All right, guys, whatever you want. Side or cross. 3, 2, 1, hold from standing. 3, 2, 1, hold from your plank. Let's get it done, guys. Here we go. 3, 2. If you want to run it, you. You can. Yes. Five seconds. Lift. Last one. Relax. Stretch it out. Good. Bring it up. All right, let's get some mobility from the top. Little side lunge and reach. Side lunge. Join me. 30 seconds. It's your cardio mobility in between. You can keep it nice and slow, or you can shovel it. I know a lot of lateral movement, right? But we are towards the end of this workout. We're gonna finish it strong, take it side to side. Breathe. Keep it going. 10 seconds. Yes. Good. Relax. Grab a sip of water, guys. All right, we got our last time through. All right, we're taking our knees across everything we do. Guys, we're gonna split the time. It's gonna be a little trickier, right? So we're gonna get 10 and 10 on that first round, which means you only have 10 seconds. If you guys want to keep with that side lunge, if you want to keep moving while I explain, go for it. 10 and 10. 10. Knee across 10, knee across 10. Side. Side plank for 15, side plank for 15. Then we bring it up. We're splitting it 20 and 20. 20 in your side plank and 20. Then we'll take it down. We'll add a few things in between. Hopefully that makes sense. We're just splitting the time on those intervals right and left. I'll call it out, so you just stay with me. Everything has 15 seconds in between, except for your first round, because we're going 10. Here we go. 10 seconds. Pull it up. Low impact or high, whatever you got, because this is your last pyramid. Pull it in. Other side. Switch it. I know it's quick. Three, two, one. Take it down. This one's gonna move fast, but you can do it. We're going 15 seconds, then 15 seconds. Zip up that core. You can be on your knees or on your toes. Bring it up. 15. Yes. We're just holding on this first one, so drop that knee if you want. Yes. Three, two. Swing those legs around. Other side. Here we go. 15, right? You can do it on that knee if you want to. This is our last little bit, so let's finish it out strong. 4, 3, 2. Relax. Bring it up. All right, so we got 20, 20 seconds each side, or 45 second round. We'll give ourselves a couple seconds to switch in between, Power it up with the knee or knee jump. One side. Here we go. 20 seconds. What do you got? Low impact. You're here. You can even hold on to the wall or balance if you want. You can power it up with the jump. You'll get a little extra leg burn, right? Yes. Three, two, one. Catch your breath. Take it. Other side. 20, huh? I know, team, but remember, this is your last round. We're gonna grab those side planks next. We're gonna add a little extra to them. Yes. Five seconds. Four, three, two, one. Catch your breath. Bring it down. 20 seconds on one side, 20 seconds on the other. We're going to add a little dip with our hips. Twist if you want. Lift it up. Here we go. So we got 20 down and up. And if you want, you can cross knee can be down, too. Up and lift. Yes, up all the way through. 3, 2, 1. Swing those legs around to that other side. 20 seconds. Here we go. You can just drop the hip or you can cross it down and calm that heart rate. We got one more of each. Breathe. Five seconds. Yes. And relax. Good, team. Bring it up. On your feet. Here we go. 15 seconds. Right on your knee. 15 seconds on your left. Then we're gonna add a 15. 15. We're mixing it up on that last round. Ready? Here we go. All we got is 15, so make it good. You've got power either way. Low impact or with a little jump, it's up to you, but finish it strong for that cardio. Three, two, one. Other side. Even if you're low impact, I want to see that power. Give it your best, your last cardio interval. 3, 2, 1. And relax. All right, on this last one, we're gonna go 15 seconds on the right, 15 seconds on the left. Just holding. Unless you want to add that hip dip or that twist up to you. Catch your breath. Here we go. Fifteen just here, four here. And either one. Yes. Let's finish out this pyramid. Breathe. Good. Switch your sides. Swing those legs around. Let's get the same thing over here. Last 15. Lift it up and hold. Or if you want, take it down and up. Down and up. Yes. Breathe. Three, two. Oh, no. We already got it. Right. Sorry. I made that one. A little bit longer. All right, team, you got this. How about one last little bonus move that combines core and cardio? If you can stay down on your elbows, and we're gonna pop it out in that plank jack. If you want to stay up and just plank jack here or here, right? So either one of those, we got our last 45 seconds. Starting now on the ground or up top 45, we got cor core, we got cardio. We're finishing out here. Out and in. Keep that core nice and tight and lifted on that jack. You can be stepping out, you can be jumping out either way if you're up or down, but knees are soft, and you're landing soft. So this is cardio and core together for our last 15 seconds. And then, I promise, we're stretching it out for good. So stay lifted, stay pulled in, stay strong. Remember why you're here for. Three, two, one. And relax. Oh. Catch your breath. Right on those knees. Stretch it out good. I want you to take it into a child's pose if that's good for you. Otherwise, you can stay up and stretch your back. If you want to stay on the ground, roll through cat to cow so we can release in that back. Otherwise, you can keep it standing here. Roll it through. Good work today. Thank you for showing up for this workout. I am sweating. I know about you guys. Go ahead. Roll back onto your feet. If you're not already there, roll back halfway. Either come up or come down to here. Pedal those those feet so you stretch out those hamstrings, everything in the back. Slowly roll it up. Take those knees out on the inside. Be sure to like this video and subscribe. Let me know if you liked this format. If you want to see more pyramid, more cardio, core, more. Also have cardio abs and some other cardio core, dumbbells, kettlebells. So check those out. Walk it in, round it up. Big stretch over. And of course, if you're looking for more support and accountability, check out the link in the description below. Join me in the BodyFit Athletic Club. It's a really great group. Get access to me and to Vivian, our body fit dietitian nutritionist. You get a nutrition plan. You get new workout schedules every week now, new challenges, live Q&As. So much extra information and support. So join us there or check out everything else on my website. Ebooks, programs, nutrition guide. Make sure you're signed up to get my free monthly workout calendar. And of course, don't forget to subscribe. When you subscribe, that helps me be able to make completely free workouts for you here on YouTube. So hit that subscribe button, turn on the notifications so you always know what is coming up, what's coming out. Roll those shoulders back. Thank you for showing up today, for moving with me. One big deep breath in and out. You did it. That was your cardio core pyramid workout. Great job, everybody. Sa.