30 Min Constant Cardio Workout is another non-EPIC workout from Caroline Girvan. This is a steady state cardio workout—low impact, no jumping. I got a great cardio burn from this workout. This is also a no repeat workout which keeps it interesting and fun. This workout is made up of all kinds of exercises–body weight strength, conditioning moves and metabolic weight training using light dumbbells. And you are moving non-stop. The only break you get is when you are getting into position for the next exercise. According to my FitBit I burned 338 calories in 32 minutes This doesn’t have a warm up so I used Heather Robertson‘s Killer Kettlebell Tabata Workout to warm myself up and to also round out my hour of exercise this morning. This workout has a very short stretch so I finished it off with a 5 Minute Cool Down Stretch from growwithjo.
Each exercise in this workout is done for 45 seconds, no rests/recoveries, just one exercise after the other. There is a timer in the upper left hand corner of the screen, counting down each 45 seconds. When there is approximately 4 seconds left of the exercise, a video appears in the upper right hand corner of the screen, previewing the next exercise. There is also a little bar at the bottom of the screen that counts down the entire workout time as a percentage.
30 Min Constant Cardio Workout is 32:13 minutes ; 55 second intro, no warm up and 1 minute stretch. Equipment: lighter dumbbells and a fitness mat. Caroline is using 4kg/8.8 pound dumbbells. I used 5-10 pound dumbbells. The weights listed below are what I used.
- Plank to hover (start in straight arm plank, walk feet in under body so you are in bear pose (knees are hovering a few inches off the floor) then walk feet back out to plank)
- Predator jacks (alternating step out wide squats, open arms to sides in a T when in squat and close arms in front of you when standing/changing sides)
- Kick thrus (in straight arm plank, kick one leg under body, rotating torso and raising opposite hand off floor, alternate sides)
- Snatch (stand with legs wide, holding one DB in one hand, squat, reaching DB to floor and as you stand, raise DB as if in an upright row and continue raising into an overhead press) (one 10# DB)
- Repeat #4 on other arm
- Reverse crab foot reach (in crab, tap hand to opposite foot, alternate sides)
- Squat step outs (step out squats, alternate sides)
- Single leg dog to tuck (in downward facing dog, raise one leg to ceiling into 3 legged dog then bring knee under body as you flow into plank)
- Repeat #8 on other leg
- Cossack squat (alternating side lunges but the straight leg is rotated so heel is on floor and toe is raised to ceiling when you are in lunge)
- Squat to press (with a DB in each hand, held in front of chest with palms facing you, squat and when you stand, do an Arnold press) (10# DBs)
- Step out jacks (low impact jacks)
- Static/stationary lunges
- Repeat #13 on other leg
- Jab punch (w/ a DB in each hand, alternating front punches) (5# DBs)
- No jumping push up burpee (walk feet out to plank, do one push up, walk feet back into hands and stand)
- Dive bomber push ups
- Straight arm side planks (alternate sides)
- Sprawl (start standing, squat and place hands on floor, walk feet back to plank, lower body to floor, push body up to plank, walk feet back into hands and stand)
- Rotational punches (w/ a DB in each hand, alternating side punches, pivoting to side when punching) (5# DBs)
- Single leg front kick
- Repeat #21 on other leg
- Lunge pivots (alternating stationary lunges, pivoting to change sides)
- Alternating curtsy lunge
- Skier (with one DB in each hand, do a narrow squat, swinging DBs down past hips when in squat and swinging DBs up in front of you when standing) (8# DBs)
- Reverse crab stretch (in crab, lift hips and reach one arm across body over opposite shoulder, then lower glutes to floor)
- Repeat #26 on other side of body
- Marches (alternating straight leg front kicks, reach opposite hand to toe when leg is raised)
- Upper cuts (w/ a DB in each hand, do alternating upper cuts) (8# DBs)
- Squats (w/ DBs held at shoulders, squat at a brisk pace) (10# DBs)
- Plank alt foot reach (start in straight arm plank, push back into pike while tapping one hand to opposite foot, alternate sides returning to plank between each side)
- Alternating reverse lunge
- Sumo 1/2 rep squats (lower to bottom of sumo squat but only raise halfway)
- Walk out to push ups (start standing, hinge forward and walk hands out to plank, do one push up, walk hands back to feet and stand)
- Push up with alt arm lift (do one push up and at top of push up, raise one arm straight in front of you, alternate arms with a push up between each arm lift)
- Diagonal step squat (remaining in wide squat the entire interval, step one foot forward and back)
- Repeat #36 on other leg
- Windmills (stand with legs wide, arms extended to sides in a T, side bend, reaching same side arm down to foot and other arm to ceiling keeping legs straight, alternate sides)
- Alternating reverse lunges with a lat raise (while in lunge do a straight arm side raise) (5# DBs)
For more info on Caroline Girvan’s workouts and other (free) streaming workouts I’ve sampled and reviewed, check out my Streaming page.
My daughter says she can install an ad blocker but this is on our Samsung TV so not sure if that’s possible? Ugh, I’m so dumb about that kind of stuff. 🙄🤨
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General, not germicidal. 🙄 Stupid autocorrect! 🤨
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I did this one a few weeks ago. I really liked it for the simple fact that time flew by! Tons of fun, too!
I think we have a kinship of sorts. Your suggestions are so spot-on. I’m guessing we have similar goals and aspirations. ☺️ FYI, because of your suggestions, I’m trying to include SaraBeth’s yoga after som of my workouts. I get soooo tight in the hips and chest and I need relief from that.
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What are your goals and aspirations? Mine have changed a lot over the years. I gave up on ever looking like my favorite trainers years ago. I am not genetically gifted plus I like to eat. But I do want to be strong and age well. And I love to lift weights. I always have. I lost a lot of strength during cancer treatment (2018/19) and I thought I would never regain it. I also thought I didn’t care as long as I could still keep myself strong and exercise. Then I discovered Caroline and I am suddenly motivated to lift heavier dumbbells again. I didn’t think I needed anything heavier than 45 pound dumbbells since I have an entire barbell set that I can use to go heavier if my dumbbells aren’t enough. But because of Caroline’s workouts I plan to purchase a 50, a 55 and a 60 pound dumbbell. At least to have on hand, right? (o;
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We are indeed similar in many ways! I’ve always been athletic but a fall in the shower 25 years ago wrecked my back. Had to have 2 fusions in lower back but gave me a new lease on life. A friend told me about Cathe in 2004 and that’s when the love affair began. I did her exclusively until April when I first tried Heather and then Caroline. I’m embarrassed to say this, but I didn’t really know there was a world beyond Cathe before I took my Heather/Caroline plunge. I still feel guilty in a way, like I’m betraying her. (😥) I’ve been reading your blog for years to reference some of the older Cathe stuff when I was planning my rotations. I’m still not sure what made me take the plunge … I guess I was tired and kind of beat up from doing her for so long and needed something more “user friendly” now that I’m older? 😉 Like you, I love to eat but I also love to exercise. I don’t want to turn 60 and be frail and out of shape. I’m 51 now. When I dyed my hair (pre-pandemic) people always took me for 10 hrs younger. I’m au natural now so probably look more my age but still have a youthful appearance and vibrancy. I want to keep that! 😁
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Oh no! Back problems are horrible. In my 20s I had severe back problems. I was in the Air Force back then so you’d assume I was in shape but after my second daughter was born I only worked out sporadically. It also seemed like every time I would start exercising my back would go out. It was so frustrating. Then I discovered The Firm. Sure enough–my back went out. Unlike all of the other times though, I didn’t quit. I modified. And I have never looked back. Once I got past that back problem and began exercising and lifting weights nearly daily, I did not have a single back problem for over a decade. I attribute that to exercise–especially strength training, which is why I will not stop no matter what! I turned 50 this year and unfortunately in the past 5 or so years the back problems returned but nothing like they were before I started working out every day. And when my back does start giving me problems, I just workout through it (modified of course) and it heals quickly. But try recommending what worked for me for anyone else–they won’t even consider it. I don’t understand why. I truly feel exercise can heal almost anything. Except cancer of course….
I’ve never done solely Cathe unless I was doing her workouts as a program (Xtrain/STS), but she has always been a staple in my workout calendars. When I did start doing other trainers a lot, I would start missing her workouts and have to get my Cathe fix. I do not feel that way at all anymore. The last time I did a Cathe workout was February of this year and I only feel guilty because of the massive amount of money I have invested in her workouts! All sitting there on shelves (or Cathe Live downloads on my computer) gathering dust. But I don’t really care. Heather, Naomi Joy and Caroline motivate me like Cathe and other trainers used to. We should enjoy our workouts! And I think we need things like this every so often. I remember when The Firm was all I would do. I LOVED it. Then Beach Body workouts–especially Chalene Johnson. Then Cathe and KCM. And now it’s Heather/Naomi/Caroline for me. Who knows who my next obsession will be in a few years? As long as it keeps us healthy and strong!
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I feel like we are sistas from another mista! 😁
Hey, you mentioned a few days ago that you were looking to try workouts that don’t use weights. I found a workout from Caroline that is a back and bicep that uses the booty band. I am also doing another one from Heather for abs and glutes that uses the band. I can let you know if they are worth a look. Is there a germicidal post I can use, or just respond here?
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Just posed here–Wordpress emails me every comment in case I miss it when in the dashboard. I am very interested in anything back and glute related. I love working my posterior chain!
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Oh, FYI … I did Caroline’s booty band glute workout this morning using the same pink band she uses in her video. Definitely made a difference, though I still did not reach failure at any point. I think there’s a black band in the package. I’m going to see if it’s tougher and if so I’ll do the video again.
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I did Heather’s abs and booty band workout (about 43 min) as well as SaraBeth’s feel good yoga. I don’t think you will like the booty band workout for a few reasons. First, she doesn’t include a warmup which I thought was odd for the length of the workout. Second, the moves in both abs and glutes sections were routine, so it was kind of boring. And third, the abs section is half the workout and I know you aren’t big on abs. I thought the workout got the job done but it wasn’t fun.
The yoga workout was great! This was the first one I did from SaraBeth’s series (thanks to your suggestion ☺️). It was fun and relaxing but OMG do I need to work on my balance and movement!
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Thanks for the heads up! Definitely doesn’t sound like something I would be interested in.
Although I do love to stretch and do mobility work it is never my go to. I have to schedule it and force myself to do it. It’s weird because its so important especially as you age. And it always feels good when I do it. I don’t know why I’m not more motivated to do long flexibility workouts. That’s why I love it when trainers include great stretches at the end of their workouts. You get a great workout plus some important flexibility workout.
YouTube has really changed everything for me. If a trainer doesn’t include a good stretch? No big deal–YouTube is full of great stretches to tack onto the end of a workout. Cathe Live workouts used to drive me crazy. She had such short shitty stretches and when I wanted more I had to turn on my DVD player and use a stretch from one of her DVDs. Sometimes even though I knew I needed it I just didn’t take that extra step and do it. YouTube makes everything flow so easily. No effort except on the weekend when I set up my playlists for the week.
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Do you subscribe to youtube? I haven’t yet but I find the ads in the middle of my workouts so annoying that I’m thinking of doing it. And yes, stretching/yoga is something I, too, need to do more of because it feels good and gives me some of my flexibility back. I did a whole month of sundays with Cathe’s yoga/mobility when it came out but stopped after January. Dumb. 🤨
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Yes, I subscribe. Don’t use an adblocker! That is depriving the trainers $. If you subscribe they get $ when you watch their workouts plus you get no ads but if you aren’t a subscriber the ads are how they make $. I subscribe to several streaming sites but I am canceling all of them once they expire. For the time being YouTube is all I need. I pay for most of them for a year in advance (except YouTube) and the only other one I use anymore is Bellicon Home. But YouTube gets way more use than Bellicon. I am not even renewing Bellicon when it finally expires.
I like Cathe’s new yoga and flexibility workouts, too. I did them a lot for a while, too, but I stopped as well. I still do 20-30 minutes of yoga/mobility every weekend. Now it is mostly SaraBethYoga. I do some Yoga Ranger, too. I am planning to do Caroline’s 1 Hour Stretch & Strength at the end of this month. I really like her 20 minute flexibility workout. I wish Naomi Joy would do some yoga workouts set to music. She has some excellent short ones that she created recently but her long ones that she did when she first started her channel at the beginning of the pandemic have no music. I’m a snot. As soon as I realize there is no music my interest fizzles.
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Ohh … that reminded me to ask … I see you do a lot of rebounder workouts. Can you do those inside?
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Yes, I have a home gym so I just move my rebounder out of the way when I am doing non-rebounder workouts but even if I didn’t, my rebounder’s legs fold so you can lean it up against the wall and get it out of the way. Rebounding is the best fitness discovery I have made in years. I use Naomi’s workouts almost every day. I do Bellicon and SanFran Fitness rebounder workouts, too, but Naomi has created the best rebounder workouts out there. She is my go to.
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May I ask which rebounder you have? I take it that it’s low impact? Sorry for all the posts. I just love what you are doing for the rest of us workout freaks. ☺️
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No problem! I am actually working on my blog right now, so I see your posts as soon as you reply. I have a Bellicon. I started out with a cheap spring bound rebounder, just to see if I liked it. I LOVED it. So I upgraded to a Bellicon. There is a huge difference between a spring bound and a bungee bound rebounder so I definitely recommend bungees. There are cheaper bungee rebounders than Bellicon. Jumpsport is a popular one and so is Leaps and Rebounds. And yes, it is low impact. I have a friend who has bad arthritis. She got one and said it still hurt her knees. I do not have arthritis and I still jump on the floor in non-rebounder workouts that have impact. But jumping on a rebounder is just as intense as jumping on the floor if you do it correctly but it is so much more fun. And I can tell a huge difference in the impact. When I have been primarily doing rebounder workouts then I do a workout where I’m doing squat jumps or jumping jacks on the floor–I feel like I am crashing into the floor. It’s weird because I never noticed things like that before I started rebounding.
I have a rebounder page that gives more info about rebounding including links to articles about the health benefits of rebounding: https://2lazy4gym.com/rebounder-workouts/
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