Quick At-home Cardio Workouts

I absolutely LOVE exercising and try my best to have a varied workout routine. I don't actually have a gym membership but still workout 4-6 days a week for FREE! I love to mix things up and do a variety of exercise including circuits, HIIT, boxing, strength, running, biking, swimming, pilates, yoga and walking!I find that i am much more passionate and motivated about exercise when i am mixing things up! It makes things a lot more interesting and guarantees that you won't get sick of doing the same thing over and over.

Even if you do have a gym membership, it is sometimes a lot easier to do a quick workout at home if you are short on time or can't be bothered going outside and to the gym! So i thought i would share two of my current favourite workouts that i have been doing in the mornings!

Hillsprints:

All you need for this is a hill and a flat surface to do some exercises! I just use my driveway and it definitely gets my heart-rate up!

Basically what you do is write out a set of exercises (I do 10-15) and in between each exercise you sprint as fast/hard as you can up the hill, jog back down and complete your next exercises and repeat until you are finished. I like to mix up my movies by doing some cardio, body resistance and weights!

Circuit Workout:

For this one you will just need a mat (or some kind of soft surface), a timer and somewhere that you have written out your different exercises. You can also use any equipment you have.

I usually do 4 circuits with 4 different exercises. I repeat each circuit 3 times and do each exercise for 30 seconds non-stop and have a 30 second break in-between each round. Then at the end of each circuit i have a minute break before i move onto the next.

It looks something like this:

Circuit One:

- burpees

- leg raises

- mountain climbers

- in and out squat pulses

30 second break

Repeat 3 times

1 minute break

Circuit Two:

- plank jacks

- reverse crunches

- reverse lunge jumps

- commandos

30 second break

Repeat 3 times

Top tips:

- Start with a cardio move to get your heart rate up and then have a toning move afterwards to really work your muscles!

- If you are like me and your arms get quite tired, make sure to not put arm exercises in a row. Mix it up my doing something on your back or standing.

- Don't be discouraged if you can't finish a set! It can be hard to write out exercises because sometimes you might be giving yourself too difficult a challenge. Sometimes it may not look like much in writing but it is a lot harder when you are actually doing it. Just do what you can and be happy that you got your body moving!

- Play some loud music to get you motivated! It can be boring just listening to the sound of your heavy breathing haha so create a workout playlist with all your favourite songs.

You can choose whatever exercises you like/suit you best but i just thought i would share a few of the ones that i like to do:

1. Burpees

2. Mountain climbers/cross mountain climbers

3. Upward toe taps

4. Squats/jump squats/pulses etc.

5. Lunges/reverse lunges/jump lunges/side lunge + star jumps etc.

6. Hip taps

7. Plank jacks

8. Shoulder taps

9. Commandos

10. Reverse crunches

11. Donkey kicks

12. Reptiles

13. Ab bikes

14. Kettle bell swings

15. Skaters

A few pieces of equipment that i love:

- Sliders

These are actually so much fun and i love using them with classic moves such as mountain climbers, reverse lunges and plank jacks!

- Bosu ball

This is such a unique piece of equipment to use while exercising and is great fun

- Step

You can do a range of different exercises using a step that target all areas of the body

- Weights (dumbbells, medicine ball etc.)

These are also fun to try and incorporate in different moves such as burpees or just your classic moves

- Skipping rope

This is such a good one to get your heart rate up !

You don't have to have a gym membership to keep active. Just getting out a going for a walk or going for a swim is an awesome way to keep active and clear your mind! As exercise is also a great for mental health but that's another topic i could write a whole blog post on!

I hope this has given you some inspiration/ideas and takes any pressure off feeling like you need to be at the gym all of the time! Make sure to let me know if you try either of these out on instagram at @shannons.plate

Shannon :))