WORKOUT

Focus & Ben­e­fits: This rou­tine focus­es on an express ver­sion of low-impact steady state (LISS) car­dio. Instead of peaks and val­leys in heart rate that we get with HIIT, we’ll focus on a steady climb and main­te­nance of heart rate for an extend­ed peri­od of time. LISS comes with a range of ben­e­fits for both begin­ner and advanced exer­cis­ers: improved sta­mi­na and endurance, less wear and tear on your joints (thank you low-impact!), avoids overtraining/​aids in recov­ery, and bet­ter allows the body to use fat as fuel.

Equip­ment: Mat

Tips & Help­ful Infor­ma­tion: This was a high­ly request­ed rou­tine! Use it as a work break, active recov­ery day, or any­time you’re in need of mov­ing your body in an invit­ing way. We stay stand­ing the whole time, focus­ing on big ranges of motion to ener­gize you from head to toe.

Due to the nature of this rou­tine there is no warm up, we will ease into the exer­cis­es. If you’re feel­ing par­tic­u­lar­ly stiff before start­ing, take a few min­utes before we begin to light­ly stretch out and warm up those areas.

Pace your­self to keep a steady heart rate. The idea is to stay low­er inten­si­ty and find a pace you can main­tain with­out stop­ping for a rest. A good way to judge this is to ensure you can con­tin­ue car­ry­ing a light con­ver­sa­tion. You’ll notice that there are 10-sec­ond rest breaks between each exer­cise. Treat this as a tran­si­tion where you keep your body mov­ing and imme­di­ate­ly engage with, and get into the next exercise.

Dif­fi­cul­ty & Mod­i­fi­ca­tions Explained: Although some of these exer­cis­es have their flair, they have foun­da­tion­al move­ment pat­terns. The impact and inten­si­ty are also kept low, mak­ing this a lev­el 2 routine.

Clos­ing Note: What oth­er express or short­er rou­tines are you crav­ing to see? Share in the comments!

Rec­om­men­da­tion: Are you dig­ging this steady state car­dio? Here are some oth­er rou­tines you might also enjoy:

• Taba­ta and Steady-State Cardio
• Steady-State Total Body Endurance and Core 
• Steady-State Car­dio with Bal­ance and Mobil­i­ty Work
• Steady-State Car­dio with Mobil­i­ty Breaks

Work­out w/​Warm Up: 16 exer­cis­es, 40 sec­onds active / 10 sec­onds rest (13 minutes)
Step Out Jacks
Alt Toe Touches
Alt Shal­low Reverse Lunges w/​Arms Up
Lat­er­al Squat Steps
Lat­er­al Step + Cross Punch
Alt Side Lunges w/​Reach
Squat + Opp. Heel Touch
Knee Dri­ve Twist (One Side)
Knee Dri­ve Twist (Oth­er Side)
Side Lunge + Cross Leg Lift (One Side)
Side Lunge + Cross Leg Lift (Oth­er Side)
Squat + For­ward Fold
Strad­dle Stance Alt Toe Touches
Nar­row Squat + Calf Raise w/​Arms
Reverse Lunge + Side Point Twist (One Side)
Reverse Lunge + Side Point Twist (Oth­er Side)

Cool Down: 7 exer­cis­es, 45 sec­onds each (5 minutes)
Hip Flex­or + Shoul­der Stretch (One Side)
Hip Flex­or + Shoul­der Stretch (Oth­er Side)
Reach Up Side Bends
Cos­sack Stretch (One Side)
Cos­sack Stretch (Oth­er Side)
For­ward Fold Pedals
Upper Body Open­er + Ankle Rolls