Good Vibes Workout Day 17: Cardio, Agility, and Core

Four exercises that will get your heart rate up and help build muscle.

From Self Magazine-By Amy Eisinger, M.A., C.P.T.

The workout below is for Day 17 of the Good Vibes Workout, a four-week workout plan. It’s pretty great on its own, but you can also check out the full program right here or browse the calendar here. If you’d like to sign up to receive daily emails of these workouts, you can do that here.

Around here, we love bodyweight workouts. That’s in part because they’re so flexible—you can tailor them in a number of ways. Want to take them down a notch? Do fewer reps, eliminate skips or hops, or do less circuits. Looking to make things harder? Speed up, add another circuit, or pick up some dumbbells to add weight.

As you do today’s workout, think about your options: Could you speed up a bit on certain moves and squeeze in a few more reps? Or is it better to take things slower today, focusing on form, honing your breath?

You’ll kick off today’s routine with the skater hop—a move that has a number of possible modifications. You can eliminate the hop entirely, stepping quickly side to side. If you’ve got limited space, focus on driving your hop vertically, then landing as lightly as you can on the ball of your foot, like a dancer might. If you’ve got more room, keep a deeper knee bend and see how far you can drive your hop laterally, leaping side to side. Even better: Switch up your approach to the exercise on each round to see which you like best.

In this workout you’ll also revisit the reverse lunge to knee drive that you did two days ago, and you’ll introduce a totally new move: the shoulder tap to mountain climber. This exercise combines two different plank moves so you’ll work your entire body. When you do this move, try the rhythm: slow-slow-quick-quick-quick-quick. You’ll do the shoulder taps first—this is your slower, strength-building part of the move—then quickly run out the mountain climbers with your feet—this is your cardio part of the move. We hope you enjoy this new move and today’s workout as a whole!

Workout Directions

Complete each exercise for your chosen work/rest interval:

30 seconds work, 30 seconds rest
40 seconds work, 20 seconds rest
50 seconds work, 10 seconds rest

After all 5 exercises, rest for 60 seconds. That’s 1 round. Complete 2–5 rounds.

Exercises

Skater Hop
Shoulder Tap to Mountain Climber
Reverse Lunge to Knee Drive (Left Side)
Superman
Reverse Lunge to Knee Drive (Right Side)

Bonus: EMOM Finisher

EMOM stands for “every minute on the minute.” Here’s how it works: Do each exercise below in order for your selected number of reps, moving as quickly as possible and aiming to finish in under 60 seconds. With any time left over, rest. At the top of the next minute, repeat. Continue for a total of 4 minutes.

Lateral Lunge to Single-Leg Hop (Left Side) x 8–10 reps
Lateral Lunge to Single-Leg Hop (Right Side) x 8–10 reps

1. Skater Hop
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Lift your right leg and jump to the right. Let your left leg straighten and follow.
- As you land on your right foot, swing your left foot behind you but keep it off the floor. Swing your left hand in front of your body as your right arm swings behind your back.
- Swing your left leg back to the left and jump, landing lightly on your left foot and allowing your right foot to swing behind you. Swing your right arm in front of your body as your left arm swings behind.
- Continue, alternating sides.
- Make it low impact: Step your foot out to the side instead of jumping.
2. Shoulder Tap to Mountain Climber
- Start in a high-plank position with your wrists directly under your shoulders, core engaged, hips level, and legs extended behind you. Step your feet just wider than hip-width to make this move easier.Lift your right hand and tap your left shoulder. Return to the starting position.Now lift your left hand and tap your right shoulder. Return to the starting position.Now do a twisting mountain climber by bringing your right knee to your left elbow, returning to the starting position, then your left knee to your right elbow. Focus on keeping your hips level as you do the mountain climber.You can do 1 tap on each shoulder and 1 mountain climber on each leg, or, if you prefer, you can do 2 reps of each.

3. Reverse Lunge to Knee Drive
- Stand with your feet about shoulder-width apart and engage your core.
- Step backward with your left foot, landing on the ball of your left foot and keeping your left heel off the floor.
- Bend both knees to 90 degrees as you sink into a lunge. Focus on keeping your core engaged and your hips tucked (don’t stick your butt out).
- Push through the heel of your right foot as you bring your left knee forward to hip height. This is 1 rep.
- Immediately sink back into another lunge by bringing your left foot backward.
- Continue for your recommended time.
4. Superman
- Lie on your stomach with your legs extended behind you and your arms extended in front of you, palms resting on the floor. You can also put your hands on your head instead. This is the starting position.
- Keep your abs and butt tight as you lift your upper body off the floor. Keep your neck in line with your spine by resting your gaze in front of you. To make this harder, you can lift your lower body off the floor at the same time you lift your upper body.
- Hold for 1–2 seconds and then lower back down. This is 1 rep.
5. Lateral Lunge to Single-Leg Hop
- Stand with your feet hip-width apart and core engaged. Take a big step to the right side with your right foot, and immediately bend right knee to sink into a lateral lunge, sending your butt back, and keeping your left leg perfectly straight.
- Push off your right foot and as you bring your right foot back to the starting position, push off your left foot and hop up, without placing your right foot on the floor.
- Land lightly on your left foot, and immediately lean into another lateral lunge on the right side. You should be able to gain a little momentum with this movement, which will help you balance.
- Continue to move on the right side for 45 seconds, then repeat on the other side.
- Make it easier: Remove the hop. Bring your right foot back, raising your knee to chest height and balancing on your left foot. Or simply remove the balance entirely and just do a lateral lunge.