This workout serves as Day 4 of our Muscle & Power with Brian + Tasha 10-Day Challenge but can be used as a standalone workout anytime!
Related Short: Strength vs Power - What’s the Difference?
Focus & Benefits: The goal of this mostly bodyweight-only endurance cardio routine is to challenge your physical and mental stamina! For this reason, the working intervals of the two main circuits increase in duration on the second round and the circuits contain multicomponent, full-body exercises with a variety of tempo shifts (yes, some power elements have been sprinkled in!). We flow through a combination of low and moderate impact exercises to keep the heartrate moderately high without the huge spikes that typically come from adding big hops/jumps so that we can maintain our efforts over longer durations of time. Your ability to sustain increasingly higher levels of effort over increasingly longer durations positively impacts your abilities to build strength, increase power (move with both speed and optimal muscle force production), and move competently while engaged in daily life activities.
Equipment: You don’t need any equipment for the cardio portion of this workout (other than the optional mat for the prone/plank position exercises throughout the circuits). A mat and one light-to-medium weight are needed for the weighted core finisher.
Tips & Helpful Information: Find a tempo/pacing for each exercise that feels manageable – if asked to continue moving beyond the working interval you physically could (even if you don’t want to).
Difficulty & Modifications Explained: This routine is rated as a level 4 because of the overall energy demands (long-duration work intervals) and multicomponent exercises. To decrease the overall difficulty, reduce your range of motion, pacing, omit the hopping elements, and/or focus on a single movement element during any of the exercises.
Closing Notes: You’ll close out the first week of Muscle & Power with Brain + Tasha with another total body strength workout from Brian. If you’re following this 10-day challenge, you might be feeling a bit challenged and taxed by now, but that’s ok! As you complete future iterations of this challenge and/or similarly focused and formatted programming, your body will acclimate to higher training loads with better training responses.
If you enjoy this workout, check out its “sister” workout, Bodyweight Cardio Endurance with Weighted Core Finisher, Day 4 of my Powerful with Tasha 10-Day Challenge.
WORKOUT
Warm-Up: 30 sec per exercise, no rest between exercises (4:00)
-Alt. Hip Openers
-Butt Kickers
-Reverse Lunge with Double Torso Rotation + Knee Drive - R
-Reverse Lunge with Double Torso Rotation + Knee Drive - L
-Squat-to-Plank Step Back
-Full Plank: Alt. Hand Taps
-Jump Rope
-Laterally Stepping Blastoff Squat
***30 sec off***
Circuit Format - 2 rounds:
-Round 1 = 45 sec on / 15 sec off
-Round 2 = 60 sec on / 15 sec off
(30 sec off between rounds)
Endurance Circuit #1: (~11:30)
-Double-Pulse In-and-Out Squat Jumps
-3-Sec Fast Feet + 3 Kick-Thru Lunge Hops - R
-Squat Thrust + Blastoff/Prowler Push-Up
-3-Sec Fast Feet + 3 Kick-Thru Lunge Hops - L
-Lateral Shuffle + Cross & Side Kick (opposite limbs)
***Water Break #1***
Endurance Circuit #2: (~11:30)
-3 Skater Hops + 1 Blastoff Squat with Overhead Arm Swings
-Rocking Horse (front kick + back kick + front kick + touchdown) + 4 Tapping Jacks – R
-Inchworm + 4 Plank Jacks
-Rocking Horse (front kick + back kick + front kick + touchdown) + 4 Tapping Jacks – L
-Twisting Mountain Climbers (mid-tempo)
***Water Break #2***
My Weight (Not a recommendation, just a reference):
-10lbs. (4.5 kg) / 15lbs. (6.8 kg)
Weighted Core Finisher - 1 Weight: 45 sec on / 15 sec off / 2 rounds (~6:00)
-Weighted Jackknife Crunches (hold weight close to chest)
-Oblique Twists (option: heels up)
-Full Plank: Weight Drag
Cool-Down: approx. 30 sec per stretch (approx. 4:00)
-Long Body Extended Stretch (arms overhead)
-Lying Hamstrings Stretch (supine) - R
-Lying Hamstrings Stretch (supine) - L
-Seated Figure 4 + Chest Opener Stretch - R
-Seated Figure 4 + Chest Opener Stretch - L
-Crossbody Shoulder Stretch - R
-Crossbody Shoulder Stretch - L
-Tree/Self Hug Stretch (rounded spine)