Bob Harper’s Ultimate Cardio Body

Ultimate Cardio Body by Bob Harper is another intense metabolic weight training workout. Bob does make an effort to hit every muscle group so it can also be viewed as a full body cardio + strength workout. What can I say about this workout except it is another super tough Bob Harper torture session. He pushes you (and his crew) to the limit. This time it is Joe (odd that it always seems to be the men who cannot hack Bob’s workouts) who fails repeatedly during the workout. It is a tough workout and I won’t lie, there were a few times when he made us hold a squat isometrically for 10 thousand seconds that I had to stand up briefly due to the excessive pain in my lower body (I always get right back into the squat again tho!).

Unlike Bob’s Inside Out Method workouts, this (and his Total Body Transformation) have a different set. It is very white and bright. There is a timer in the right hand corner so you can keep track of how long you have until the torture ends. The timer also shows the name of each exercise you are doing, and gives you progress notifications as you progress through the workout. For instance, when you’ve completed a quarter of the workout, you hear a little bell and it tells you you have completed 25% of the workout.

There are two workouts on this DVD and, oddly, neither of them are called Ultimate Cardio Body. So I guess that is the collective title. The workouts are Extreme Cardio Challenge and Glute Challenge. Extreme Cardio Challenge is the main workout and it is 62 minutes long. Glute Challenge is a lower body workout that is 13 minutes long. We will start with the main workout.

Extreme Cardio Challenge is 62 minutes long; 4 minute warm up, 53:30 training time and 2:30 cool down/stretch. All you need for this workout is a set of dumbbells. The crew only had one set of dumbbells, but I needed several sets–12 pound dumbbells, 8 pound dumbbells and 5 pound dumbbells.

Exercises:

Grab one dumbbell

Alternating front lunges passing the dumbbell from hand to hand under the front leg as it lunges

Alternating front lunged holding the dumbbell overhead in both hands

Suitcase swings with squat (this is a kettle bell move); you will do a lot of reps with the dumbbell in one hand, then you will begin to pass it back and forth

Center weight squat–this is just squats while holding one dumbbell in front of you in both hands

Center weight squat with hop

Hold squat isometrically, first with dumbbell in front of you then with dumbbell overhead

Grab the other dumbbell

Clean and press

Overhead press only

Hold dumbbells overhead and do high knee march

Continue to hold the dumbbells overhead and alternate front kicks

Overhead press only

Alternating front lunges (still holding both dumbbells)

Split lunges (jump lunges while still holding dumbbells)

Bicep curls

Front punches (arms still in bicep curls position) still holding dumbbells

Hold arms in front of you isometrically (dumbbells still in hands)

Alternating front lunges

Split lunges

Wide bicep curls

Wide punches (you are still holding dumbbells)

Hold in wide curl/punch position isometriclly

Put dumbbells down

High knee marches

High knee run

High knee marches

High knee run

10 push ups

Step overs–taking knees up and over in an arc

Step unders–step squatting side to side while lowering upper body as if ducking under something

High knee marches

High knee runs

10 push ups

Step overs

Step unders

Jumping jacks

Speed skaters

Grab both dumbbells

Alternating rows

Lateral raises

Weighted squats

Weighted plyo squats

Hold squat isometrically

Alternating shoulder press

Alternating chest press (punching dumbbells in front of you)

Weighted squats

Weighted plyo squats

Hold squat isometrically

Alternating front raise

Hold isometrically in front raise, then move arm to the side (lateral) and continue to hold isometrcially

Put weights down

Ass burners (leaning forward slightly, weight on one leg, bring other leg in and out)

Sumo squats

Sumo squat isometric hold–arms first held overhead then held out to side

Runners lunge push ups (bring knee to elbow when doing push ups)

Mountain climbers

High knee march

Run in place

Runner lunge push ups

Hold in high plank

Mountain climbers

Grab both dumbbells

Tricep kickbacks

Tricep overhead extensions

Put dumbbells down

Single leg balance

Single leg hops

Jumping (both feet)

Single leg side hops (hopping side to side)

Jumping (both feet)

Run in place

Sprint

Jumping

Hold in squat with prisoner arms (hands behind head, elbows to side)

Standing oblique crunches (arms still behind head, raising knee to opposite elbow)

Cool down and stretch

Glute Challenge is 13 minutes; no warm up, 11 minute training time, two minute stretch

Front lunges

Reverse lunges

Side lunges

Front-side-reverse lunges

Ass burners

Single leg hamstring curls

Single leg squat

Repeat all of these exercises on other leg

Training portion ends with chair pose

Stretch