Top 10 Bodyweight Exercises for Cardio

Bodyweight cardio is a great way to replace your traditional cardio workouts. However, some exercises work better then others when developing your bodyweight cardio workout.

Here are my top 10 choices:

Reverse Lunge

• Stand with your feet shoulder width apart. Keep your hands by your sides. Contract your abs and keep your back straight.
• Step backwards with your left leg, and bend your right knee. Lower your body to the floor until your right knee touches the ground.
• Return to starting position.

Inchworm

• Start off with a modified pushup position with your hands on the floor in front of your shoulders, as opposed to under your shoulders.
• Now walk your legs forward while keeping your back straight and legs as straight as possible.
• Keep going as far as you can until you feel your back rounding. From this position, walk your hands forward back to original modified pushup position.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XiRkg5E6aY

Run in Place

• This is exactly what it sounds like: stand in one place and pretend your jogging or running.
• Make sure to perform the forward and backward arm motion along with the stepping motion with your legs.

Mountain Climber

• Get down in to pushup position. Bring your right leg off the ground, and bring your right knee towards your chest.
• Return to starting position and repeat with the left leg. This counts as one repetition.

Total Body Extension

• Stand with your feet shoulder width apart. Keep your hands to your sides. Now push your hips back, and bring your arms back behind your body.
• Keep pushing your hips back and bend your knees until your thighs are parallel to the floor.
• Reverse the movement, and straighten out your body as you swing your arms forward and up over your head.
• Pause slightly, feeling the stretch, then return to starting position.

Calf Jumps

• These are similar to squat jumps, except for the fact that you start at the balls of your feet.
• Do not bend you knees. But instead, just jump from this position as high as possible. Land on the balls of your feet and repeat.

Deep Step Up

• Stand facing a bench or a chair. Place one foot on top of the bench. From this position, squat down as if performing a lunge.
• Return to starting position. Perform all repetitions for one side before switching sides.

Reaching Lunge

• Pretend there is an object in front of you on the floor than you need to get. But you can only get this object by standing in the place you are on one foot.
• So to execute this movement, simply stand on one leg, and reach foreward. That is one repetition.
• If it helps, you can place an actual object on the floor in front of you.

Decline Pushup

• Place your hands on the floor, and feet on a bench. Lower your body down until your chest is just a few inches off the floor.
• Push back up and repeat. Make sure to keep your abs tight and back straight.

Regular Pushup

• Instead of placing your feet on a bench, keep your feet on the floor. Lower your body down until your chest is just a few inches off the floor.
• Push back up and repeat. Make sure to keep your abs tight and back straight.

Use these exercise to help you get back into shape during this hot summer!

Tags: bodyweight cardio, bodyweight exercises, pushups, squats, top 10