20 MIN Cardio AMRAP Workout

20 Min Cardio AMRAP Workout is another intense cardio workout from Heather Robertson. Her other AMRAP Cardio workout is longer than this one. I actually liked this one better. They were both intense, but this one contained a few lower impact/easier moves to give you a bit of recovery during the 5 non-stop minutes of intensity. But this one was still intense. In fact, by Circuit 4 my form for some of the exercises was getting a little sloppy. I was trying to keep up with Heather so I just slowed down and my form improved. I was able to keep up with her the first 3 circuits. I burned 240 calories and spent a total of 11 minutes in my peak heart rate. So I got a great cardio workout!

AMRAP stands for As Many Rounds As Possible. This workout consists of 4 five minute circuits. Each circuit contains 4 exercises. Each exercise is done for 8 reps. You (and Heather, of course) will repeat one circuit (or Round) as many times as possible within the 5 minutes allotted for it. Before the circuit or round begins, the 4 exercises in the circuit are listed onscreen while Heather previews them. When the circuit/round starts, there is a timer in the upper right hand corner of the screen, counting down the 5 minutes. You follow along with Heather as she does the exercises, keeping pace with her if you are able. Otherwise you will have to work at your own pace. Luckily, the list of exercises remains on screen the entire 5 minutes, so you don’t have to worry about losing track of the exercises if you cannot keep up with Heather’s pace.

20 Min Cardio AMRAP Workout is 29:54 minutes; 40 second intro, 3 minute warm up and 3:30 minute stretch. Equipment: fitness mat. This is not a low impact workout.

Circuit 1:

1. Straight up jacks, 8 reps (jumping jack legs, hands are stacked and arms are straight, raise arms overhead when legs are wide and lower arms in front of you when legs are together)
2. Jump squats, 8 reps
3. High knee twist, 8 reps (high knee run, bring both hands to thigh as it raises)
4. Plank jack taps, 8 reps (plank jacks, tap hand to opposite shoulder, alternate hands in time with legs jacking)
5. Repeat #1-4 as many times as possible within 5 minutes

30 second rest

Circuit 2:

1. Pop squats, 8 reps (squat jack, reaching one hand to floor when in squat)
2. Butt kick run, 8 reps
3. Plank ankle reach, 8 reps (start in plank, push back into down dog while reaching hand to opposite ankle, return to plank then repeat on opposite side)
4. Side leaps, 8 reps (in partial squat, leap to side the length of your mat)
5. Repeat #1-4 as many times as possible within 5 minutes

30 second rest

Circuit 3:

1. Knee drive, 8 reps (single knee pulls, arms reach overhead to opposite side, bring hands down to knee as it raises)
2. Repeat #1 on other side of body
3. Mountain climbers, 8 reps
4. Crouching jacks, 8 reps (jumping jack but when feet come together, lower into a narrow squat, reaching hands to ankles)
5. Repeat #1-4 as many times as possible within 5 minutes

30 second rest

Circuit 4:

1. Cross punch, 8 reps (alternating arms)
2. Crab twist, 8 reps (in crab, raise one knee, place opposite hand behind head and bring elbow to knee as it raises, alternate sides)
3. Pop lunge, 8 reps (jump back into lunge then jump feet together, alternate legs)
4. Skater hops, 8 reps (lateral skaters with a jump, reaching arms overhead, when changing sides)
5. Repeat #1-4 as many times as possible within 5 minutes

For more info on Heather Robertson’s workouts and other (free) streaming workouts I’ve sampled and reviewed, check out my Streaming page.