4-Week Cardio Workout Program

Active Recovery

Active recovery is a type of exercise that is low-intensity and meant to follow a harder or heavy workout. Rather than remaining sedentary, active recovery is meant to get you moving, without over-training. Examples of active recovery activities include walking, hiking, and yoga.

Dynamic Mobility

This is a form of stretching, but you are not holding a specific posture. Instead, you are constantly moving. Examples of dynamic mobility include arm circles and shoulder rolls. Dynamic mobility should be completed before a workout instead of static stretching.

HIIT

High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is a cardio workout that is designed to elevate your heart rate for a short period of time with bursts of exercise, followed by a short rest (hence the name interval training). HIIT is extremely intense, which is why it is only around 30 minutes. Traditional HIIT is typically formatted with 20 seconds of exercise, followed by 10 seconds or rest, or 45 seconds of exercise, followed by 15 seconds of rest.

LISS

Low-Intensity Steady State (LISS) is a low-intensity cardio workout. Because it is completed at such a low intensity, these exercise can be performed for 30-60 minutes or more. Examples of LISS activities include walking and light jogging.

Reps

Reps is short for repetitions. This is the number of times you will complete a specific exercise within 1 set. For example, 3×6 on push-ups means you will complete 3 sets of 6 pushups.

Rest (days)

Rest days are days where you will not complete a formal exercise routine. Instead, you should practice active recovery, meaning you are not completely sedentary, but you are also not training.

Rest Time

The time period you should between sets of an exercise.

Set

A group of a specific number of repetitions. For example, 3×8 on pulls-ups means you will complete 3 sets of 8 pullups.

Static Stretching

This is what you think of when you think of traditional stretching. You will be holding a specific stretch for an extended period of time. Static stretching should not be performed before an exercise, but rather after.

Warm Up

Before every workout, you should spend 5-10 minutes warming up. This means you are getting your body moving and blood flowing. This is a good time to practice dynamic mobility and/or foam rolling (myofascial release).

Examples of warm-up exercises are below:

• • Jog in place
  • Jumping jacks
  • Arm circles
  • Shoulder rolls
  • Hip circles (invisible hula hoop)
  • Knee circles
  • Ankle circles
  • Side to side twists
  • Toe taps
  • Kicks
  • Bodyweight squats
  • Bodyweight lunges

Don’t know where to start? Here is a Youtube video you can follow along with: workout warmup video.

Cool Down

After every workout you should practice a 5-10 minute cool-down routine. This will help you slowly and safely lower your heart rate. This is a good time to practice static stretching. Examples of cool-down exercises are below:

• • Low runners lunge
  • Sit and reach
  • Toe touch
  • Standing quad stretch
  • Calf stretch
  • Straddle stretch
  • Overhead triceps stretch
  • Spinal twist
  • Splits
  • Pigeon pose
  • Butterfly pose

Don’t know where to start? Here is a Youtube video you can follow along with: workout cooldown video.