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Exercises

Whole Body Cardio – 11 Advanced Exercises

These exercises will challenge your cardiorespiratory system and are a great way to warmup by getting the blood pumping through your veins. On top of that, they also require explosiveness and coordination of the whole body. Overall, performing those advanced cardio exercises indicates a great level of athleticism!

1- Archer squat floor slap

  • This exercise combines Twisting Arm Circles with Deep Archer Squat; refer to these two exercises for the form details.
  • Perform a Twisting Arm Circles and when one arm goes down to the side, bend the opposite leg.
  • The arms movement should stop abruptly when you reach the bottom of the Deep Archer Squat, with the bottom arm pointing towards the foot of the straight leg, and the other arm pointing upward in the opposite direction.
  • Then reverse the arms movement to do the other side and keep alternating.

2- Candle jump

  • Stand up.
  • Squat down, roll on your back, place your arms on the ground alongside your body and straighten your legs up to a vertical position.
  • Then bring the legs back down, roll towards the front and get on your feet at the end of the roll.
  • Extend your legs explosively to jump off the ground.

3- Crazy toy soldier (back)

  • Jump on alternate legs. The non-jumping leg is lifted to the back.
  • Lift the arm opposite to the lifted leg straight overhead.
  • Explosively switch from one position to the next.

4- Crazy toy soldier (front)

  • Jump on alternate legs. The non-jumping leg is lifted straight up in front of you.
  • Lift the arm opposite to the lifted leg straight overhead.
  • Explosively switch from one position to the next.

5- Crazy toy soldier (side)

  • Jump on alternate legs. The non-jumping leg is lifted straight to the side.
  • The arm on the same side as the lifted leg goes down to almost touch the foot.
  • The opposite arm goes straight overhead.
  • Explosively switch from one position to the next.

6- Jack burpee

  • Stand up.
  • Bend your legs and place your hands on the ground in front of your feet.
  • Push on your hands and jump into a Plank position.
  • Perform another jump to open your legs wide and then bring them back together again.
  • Bring your feet back in and extend your legs explosively to jump off the ground.
  • While you are in the air, open your legs wide to the sides and throw your arms up before landing.

7- Kip-up

  • Roll back on the ground until your legs are overhead and your palms are on the ground near your ears, with the fingers pointing down towards your shoulders.
  • Open explosively at the hips while pushing on your hands, to project your legs upward and forward.
  • You need to generate enough momentum to throw your body forward and land on your feet.
  • It helps to practice this movement on a slightly bouncy surface.

8- One-leg deadlift knee crunch

  • Stand on one leg and bend at the hips to lean forward until your torso becomes parallel to the ground, with your other leg extended to the back.
  • Come back to a vertical position and bring the back leg forward with the knee up, touching your knee lightly with the opposite elbow.

9- Press burpee

  • Start in a Plank position, with your hands holding dumbbells on the ground with a neutral grip.
  • Perform a Plank Squat Thrust by bending at the hips and knees, to jump your feet forward and land into a low squat position.
  • Start extending your knees, and lift the dumbbells off the ground, then all the way up overhead.
  • Lower the weights back down to your shoulders, then all the way to the ground while bending your knees.
  • Jump your feet back to the Plank position.

10- Tripod headstand forward roll

  • This is a way to exit the Tripod Headstand position.
  • Once you are in position, round your back and tuck your chin to your chest to form a ball with your upper body, bend your legs and do a Forward Roll.

Risks

  • This exercise puts a lot of pressure on the head. Make sure to warm-up your neck thoroughly before starting.
  • If you don’t round your back sufficiently, you might fall flat back on the ground.

11- Tuck jump burpee

  • Stand up.
  • Bend your legs and place your hands on the ground in front of your feet.
  • Push on your hands and jump into a Plank position.
  • Bring your feet back in, jump high above the ground and tuck your legs in while you are in the air, so that your feet go as high as possible, before landing back to the starting position.
  • Repeat.