Try these four cardio moves as a quick workout, or tack them onto any other routine. They're all exercises you can do anywhere—at the gym, outside, or at home—to work the legs, core, improve balance, and increase your heart rate. To rev up the intensity and tone your arms, you can do the routine while holding two-pound weights.
To start, stand with your feet together. Extend your arms forward, shoulder-width apart and at shoulder height. Bend your legs into a deep squat, keeping your arms parallel to the ground. Then, jump as high as possible and land in a wide squat, as low as you can with your legs apart and bent. Finish by jumping your feet back together to return to the starting position. As you jump, land on the balls of your feet and finish by lowering the heels to the ground. Repeat for one minute.
Begin standing with your legs slightly wider than your hips. Keep your knees soft and arms bent, with your hands in fists up near your chin. With the majority of your weight on your right foot, turn your left foot inward, lifting the heel but keeping your toes on the ground, as you twist at the torso and punch your left arm across your body.
Bring your arm back as you shift all of your weight to your left foot, raise your bent arms up to your head, then lift the right knee as high as you can (crunching to work the abs) and bring your elbows in and hands toward your knee. Drop the leg and repeat from the twist/punch. Do this for one minute, then switch sides and repeat.
Get into a standing lunge position with your left leg forward and right leg back. Sink low into a lunge, bringing your right knee toward the ground as you raise your right arm up. Make sure your front knee doesn't extend beyond your toes. Keep your core tight and jump up while you switch legs and land low with your right leg in front and left arm up. Repeat for one minute.
From a standing position, lunge to the right, bending the right leg keeping the left leg straight out to the side. Look straight ahead and place your left hand on the floor; keep the chest open. When you exhale, put your weight onto your right heel and push up. Lift the left leg up with the knee bent as you raise your right arm straight toward the sky. Bring your leg down and get back into the starting lunge position, right leg bent, left leg extended straight. Repeat, lifting and lowering for one minute, then switch sides.
Kit Rich is Los Angeles-based fitness trainer with endless exercise and nutritional know-how. Hollywood's hottest stars are addicted to Kit's unique, multi-disciplined approach that combines cardio, yoga, Pilates, and weight training. Kit's clients are immediately taken by her funny and honest approach to health and fitness. She treats her clients as she treats herself, "with a hard challenge, sensibility, sensitively, and a good laugh." Follow Kit on Twitter @kitrichfitness.
Kit Rich is Los Angeles-based fitness trainer with endless exercise and nutritional know-how. Hollywood's hottest stars are addicted to Kit's unique, multi-disciplined approach that combines cardio, yoga, Pilates, and weight training. Kit's clients are immediately taken by her funny and honest approach to health and fitness. She treats her clients as she treats herself, "with a hard challenge, sensibility, sensitively, and a good laugh." Follow Kit on Twitter @kitrichfitness.
