Exercise

Fit2B Pumping Part II: Cardio Workouts

August 7, 2014 by Bethany 1 Comment

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Last week I reviewed the first half of the Cardio Pathway. You don’t have to try and do these all in one week, but you can if you wish. I find that three or four days a week works well or alternate short and long cardio.

Tabata Ball Workout

This is one of only a couple of workouts that I call Best Bang for Your Buck. This is a complete workout that covers all the major body areas. While I wouldn’t call it a traditional cardio, it will get your heart rate up. This is neither the shortest nor the longest workout available, and that’s part of why I love it. It’s right in that sweet spot of just under 30 minutes that make it totally attainable for me most days. I don’t have a weighted ball so I usually use a single dumb bell but I like it another that it might make it worth a purchase

Insane

I didn’t get to finish the entire workout, because there was a problem with the video. That being said, for a workout that is only 17 minutes (I think I got through about 15 of it) it is quite intense. There are a few movements that are not really tummy safe, but Bethany provided suggested modifications for those. I love that this is another outside workout. I understand how difficult those must be to film, but I really enjoy them. I especially enjoyed the modified planks. OK, no I still hate planks. But I appreciated her instructions on how to properly modify them. One of the reasons I’ve been nervous to take the contemporary dance class I tried last fall again is that we did a ton of planks and I got tired of worrying about wrecking my core. I splinted and sometimes did incline planes instead, but I wish I’d known how to do this sooner.

Tabata

I think the concept of Tabata is growing on me. This was the first Tabata workout I had ever done, when I first tried it. Since then I’ve tried the other workouts on the site as well. This is still a good one. This one is perhaps a little easier. Not quite so high powered and there are no props, which can both be a plus if you are still trying to heal a diastasis. That being said Tabata is a little dull for me and I feel it more in this one than the other Tabata workouts. But Beth really does try to keep our attention and even distract us at times which I totally appreciate.

Kelly Dean’s Total Body Toning

I first tried this as part of Fit2B Advancing and then again a year later as a tummy safe transition from The Tummy Team. Then I came back to it when I was doing the Pathway to Amazing Arms. This time I decided to see if it was a good cardio workout. This is one of the most well rounded routines I’ve done on the site. It definitely gets your heart rate up. This is one of my favorite workouts on a day when I don’t have time to do more than one. This one is cardio and upper body and it doesn’t even require any additional equipment. Perfect one stop shop.

Jump Change

This is a high impact workout and I was a little hesitant to try it because it looked like it might hurt my knees. I don’t usually have knee problems, but when you spent as many years dancing on bad floors and spend much of your day kneeling and getting up and down off of the floor at home, some pain seems inevitable. Honestly I just find it a tad dull, and noisy with all the jumping. Maybe my body just isn’t quite ready for it yet. It’s definitely a high intensity cardio but it feels so disjointed. Plus, on our wood floors in our little house, it’s prone to waking my children which is huge problem. I do appreciate Beth giving a proper cool down at the end though. Definitely not one of my favorites but if you are looking for high intensity cardio, this is definitely that.

TummySafe Kickboxing

So I saw that this was only 23 minutes I was kind of bummed. But I was soon glad that it wasn’t longer. This isn’t the first time I’d tried it, but it has been a while. Seriously challenging. I remembered not being crazy about it before, but now I can’t remember why. It isn’t quite long enough to be a long cardio (30 minutes plus by my definition) or short enough to be a short one (15-20 minutes) but I still like it. It will get your heart rate up, and even do some light upper body work without using weights.

Kelly’s Core Cardio

I haven’t done this workout since I last reviewed all of Kelly Dean’s Fit2B workouts after I had just finished up ab rehab with the Tummy Team. It’s unusual to say the least but I like that it’s a bit longer than any of Bethany’s aerobics work outs. The phantom hula hoop movements are very aerobic and will work a lot of different muscles if you perform them properly. Plus, its away a pleasure to see Kelly Dean again. (I, personally think that she should link up all of her Fit2B workouts with The Tummy Team.)

So where do we go from here? Next week I’ll be featuring the first in a month long series of suggested Fit2B weekly routines. Until then, happy pumping.