Stress-Busting Cardio Workout You Can do at Home

How is everyone hanging in there? After 3 weeks of being restricted at home with social distancing in full effect, what I’ve noticed is there are good days and bad days. The good days are when I get out for a walk with the kids and for a solo run, when I come up with something inspired to cook from the oddest of ingredients I find hidden in cupboards, when I put on some favorite music and dance while I’m cooking, when everyone is in a good mood. The bad days don’t look so different on the surface – there’s not much change in everyday routine when you are so limited in your movement – but it’s when all the anxiety comes charging in. It’s thinking about when this will end, and what will work and life even be like when things do get back to “normal”? It’s feeling helpless.

I think part of what makes this so difficult is that it went from zero to one hundred very quickly. On Friday, March 13th, I was running on a treadmill, watching the Vermont governor address the state and say he wasn’t closing schools. Four days later, schools were closed, my work was closed, my partner’s work was closed, and we were thrust into a home-schooling, always-home no-man’s land.

What helps? Exercise. Of course it does! My career is based on how exercise and moving your body is a wonder drug. But you can get into a rut with walking, or running, especially when you are limited to roads and trails close to home. Following a training plan for running has helped me, because it gives me structure and goals. But the easy/recovery run days tend to give me a little too much thinking time and not enough stress-relief.

That’s where my short burst cardio comes into play. These cardio segments are something I always incorporated into one of my most popular classes – sometimes we would split them throughout the entire hour, and sometimes we would do it all at once with short breaks. It’s 9 minutes total, but broken up into 3 circuits of 3 minutes’ work each. Each exercise is modifiable to make it low-impact if necessary! And you will sweat and you will lose your breath and even if you hate it while you do it, you will feel SO good afterward. Check out the video, then see detailed descriptions for each circuit below if you need them!

3 CIRCUITS, 3 MINUTES EACH

FIRST CIRCUIT: 3 exercises, 1 minute each

Squat Shuffle Jump – Get down low in a wide stance, step forward with each foot, back with each foot, then jump up, coming back down to low stance. Modification: Come up to a calf raise rather than a jump.
Squat Jump In – Deep wide squat, pushing hips back and arms swinging back, then spring up and jump in (light landing on balls of feet, coming out of your jump into a wide squat again. Modification: Step in with alternating legs, rather than jumping in.
Lateral Shuffle with Two Squats – Get down low, shuffle for a count of three to one side, do two squats, then shuffle back, two squats. Modification: The shuffle is not too high-impact, but if you prefer to avoid it, then step to one side, squat, step to the other side, squat.

SECOND CIRCUIT: 4 exercises, 45 seconds each

Skaters – Leap side to side, crossing one leg behind the support leg, reaching across your body. Modification: Step in the middle rather than making it a leap side-to-side.
Fast Feet Jump In – Get down low in a wide stance, fast feet for a count of three, then jump up and in, coming back down from the jump into the wide stance. Modification: Come up into a calf raise or just stand and raise arms high instead of jumping up.
Reverse Lunge to Front Kick – Do a reverse lunge, step together, then raise opposite knee and kick out…that kicking leg reaches back to reverse lunge. Modification: Raise knee rather than kicking.
Long Jump Shuffle – Swing arms back as you come into a squat, then spring forward from the balls of your feet into a long jump forward. Land lightly on the balls of your feet, then shuffle back to your start position. Modification: Alternating lunges or long steps forward before shuffling back.

THIRD CIRCUIT: 6 exercises, 30 seconds each

Burpees – Hands to floor, jump feet back into a plank, jump feet forward to hands, jump up. Modification: You can step into and out of plank instead of jumping. You can skip the jump at the end and just stand. You can also modify by elevating the move, with hands on a chair or bench.
Fast Feet 180 – Get down low in a wide stance, fast feet for a count of three, then spring up out of the stance, turning 180 degrees as you do. Try to reverse the direction of the jump each time. Modification: Step out on a diagonal instead of jumping 180.
Scissor Jumps – This is a jumping jack on the sagittal plane, with legs and arms making a scissor motion forward and backward. Modification: Step forward and backward rather than jumping.
Squats – With hands behind head and feet either hip-width, or a little wider, push your hips back into a squat and stand up. Try to keep your elbows pulling back the whole time to engage your lats. Modification: Only come as far down into your squat as feels comfortable.
Jumping Jacks – Jump out with your feet as your arms come up either to shoulder height, or over your head. Modification: Step out to each side with alternating legs, rather than jumping.
Froggers – Come down to the floor in a deep, wide squat with hands on the floor. Jump back to a plank, jump forward to the wide squat, then raise your hands up off the floor. (This is essentially half a burpee). Modification: You can step backward and forward rather than jumping into and out of the plank.

Next time you’re looking for a short, effective cardio workout you can do at home, try these circuits for an energy boost! Remember to modify any movements you need to and just keep moving!