Cardio Workouts At Home Men's Health

Cardio Workouts At Home Men's Health

Cardio Workouts For Men At Home

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At some point in the last 20 years, the term “cardio” became synonymous with light jogging. Jogging leads to 5-hour marathon times, adult participation medals, and “running” injuries from a body locked down from sitting all day. Instead of chasing that Triple Crown of mediocrity, busy guys should approach a 15-minute power cardio workout by aiming to improve power, speed, and endurance.

We’re going to take this workout outside, where many guys waste a lot of time jogging. (Or, worse yet, staring at a smartphone at their kid’s sports practice, where there’s a perfectly good training area around that soccer field or baseball diamond.)

By getting in the fresh air, you’ll find you can shake off the stressors of modern life, and push yourself hard without letting annoying people at the gym get in your way. You’ll also do some resistance training as well, which is essential for building lean muscle and improving your basal metabolic rate. A higher metabolism translates to more calorie-burning—and that’s how you burn more fat.

In this 15-minute workout for busy guys, we’re going to redefine cardio by pushing through six exercises to make the most of your time.

You’ll notice that one of the exercises is a half-mile run. If you can’t make it outside—because of weather or space constraints—you can replace running with an equivalent bout of high-intensity cardio, like rowing.

Pete Williams is a NASM-certified personal trainer and the author or co-author of a number of books on performance and training.

1. Knee Hug

Why It Works: This simple move stretches the hamstring and glute of your front leg as well as the hip flexor or your back leg. 

How to Do It: Lift your right knee to your chest and grab below the knee with your hands. Pull your right knee to your chest while squeezing your left glute. Return to the starting position and repeat on the left side. Continue alternating sides.

2. Forward Lunge to Instep

Why It Works: Prominent performance guru and Core Performance author Mark Verstegen dubbed this move “the world’s greatest stretch” 20 years ago, and with good reason: It effectively stretches and actively warms up every part of the body. If you only do just one move prior to a workout, it’s tough to beat this one.

How to Do It: Start by stepping forward into a lunge with your left foot. Place your right forearm to the ground and your left elbow to the inside of your left foot, and hold the stretch for two seconds. Then place your left hand outside your foot and push your hips up, pointing your front toes up. Return to standing position and repeat by stepping out with your right foot. Continue alternating sides.

3. Squat Jumps

Why It Works: The simple squat jump works the hips, knees and ankles—the so-called triple flexion response that creates power in your jump—while also providing a cardio effect. If you can develop triple flexion, it will help with your running form.

How to Do It: Stand with feet just outside the shoulders and hands behind your head. Squat, keeping your knees behind your toes. After holding this position for two seconds, jump vertically. Pull your toes to your shins in midair to prepare for landing. Be sure to land softly, with the hips back and down. Consider measuring your reps by trying to jump to a target, like the backboard of a basketball hoop.

4. Half-Mile Run

Why It Works: Most guys want to look and perform like sprinters, not marathoners. So we’ll work harder, faster. Think of this run in terms of sprinting, not a long, slow slog. 

How to Do It: In the first round of the circuit, treat this like an active warmup—60% of your top speed, faster than a jog. The second time around, take it to 80%. You can do this around a track, up your street and back, or, if you’re at a kid’s sports practice, a couple laps around two adjacent soccer fields or baseball diamonds. (Use a GPS-enabled watch to measure if you’re gadget guy. Otherwise, just estimate.)

5. Lateral Bound

Why It Works: The simple side-to-side jump builds lateral power in your legs and challenges your hamstrings while boosting your heart rate. Bounding also provides a bit of an active break after the run. This is much more effective than being that guy running in place at the crosswalk.

How to Do It: Stand on your right leg, with your left foot off the ground. Squat slightly on your right leg and use your leg and glute to jump laterally (to the left). Land on the opposite leg, maintaining balance. Hold for three seconds. Repeat to the other side.

6. Burpee

Why It Works: This total-body exercise gives you all the benefits of pushups while also challenging your cardiovascular system and ratcheting up the intensity of your workout. If this workout ever feels too “easy”—and we doubt that it will—try doubling the number of burpees and watch what happens.

How to Do It: From wherever your run ends—assuming you’re not standing in or near traffic—squat, place your hands on the ground, and “jump” your feet out into a push-up position. Perform a pushup and then jump your feet to your hands. Then jump as high as you can, throwing your hands over your head.