Good Vibes Workout Day 8: Twist and Jump

From Self Magazine-By Christa Sgobba, C.P.T.

The workout below is for Day 8 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.

You’ve reached the second week of the Good Vibes Workout! That means you have already gotten through the first batch of strength, cardio, and yoga routines, so you’re probably feeling a bit more familiar with what’s at hand. We hope you’re feeling energized and accomplished so far—and that this week of workouts only adds to those feel-good vibes.

For today’s routine, you’ll be combining four different exercises for a heart-pumping workout that will have you jumping, lunging, and rotating. You’ll notice some traditional “cardio” exercises here, like the jumping jack, skater hop, and squat walk to jump, which will help you get your heart rate up as you work on your cardio endurance. But sandwiched between those exercises is a classic strength training move with a (literal) twist: the reverse lunge to rotation. You did this move last week on Day 5, so now that you’re familiar with it, you can really focus on perfecting your form and making it purposeful.

All this means that today’s workout will help you boost your endurance and get stronger. And if you want to up the ante, stick around for the two-minute finisher after your last circuit and you’ll get an extra dose of core-specific strengthening.

Quick note: All of the cardio moves in this workout are plyometric exercises, meaning they involve jumping or explosive movements. These types of exercises are great for turning up the intensity, but may not be the best choices for people with hip, knee, or ankle issues. The good news is that you can keep this routine low impact with just a few modifications. For the jumping jack, rather than jumping both feet out at once, step one foot away from your body at a time. Similarly, for the skater hop, step to the side without jumping. Then, for the squat walk to jump, quickly and powerfully stand from your squat position, raising your hands above your head, instead of jumping at the end. (We’ve included each of these modifications in the exercise directions below as well.)

Get ready to give today’s circuit a go—you have a restorative yoga routine waiting for you tomorrow!

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

Jumping Jack
Reverse Lunge to Rotation (Left Side)
Skater Hop
Reverse Lunge to Rotation (Right Side)
Lateral Squat Walk to Jump

Bonus: 2-Minute Core Finisher

After your last round, do the 2 moves below for 30 seconds each, back-to-back, without resting, for 2 minutes total.

Mountain Climber
Bicycle Crunch

1. Jumping Jack
- Stand with your feet together, core engaged, and hands at your sides.
- Jump your feet wider than hip-width apart and bring your arms up to clap your hands overhead.
- Jump your feet back together and bring your arms to your sides to return to the starting position.
- Repeat as quickly as possible, going for height and speed.
- Make it low impact: Rather than jumping both feet out at once, step one foot away from your body at a time.
2. Reverse Lunge to Rotation
- Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart. This is the starting position. Step back (about 2 feet) with your right foot, landing on the ball of your right foot and keeping your heel off the floor. Bend both knees to create 90-degree angles with your legs. Your chest should be upright, and your torso should be leaning slightly forward so that your back is flat and not arched or rounded forward. Your right quad should be parallel to the floor, and your butt and core should be engaged. Slowly rotate your torso to the right. You should feel a nice stretch in your mid back. Twist back to center, and then push through the heel of your left foot to return to the starting position. This is 1 rep.

3. 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.
4. Lateral Squat Walk to Jump
- Stand tall with your feet hip-width apart and core engaged.
- Send your hips back and bend your knees to drop into a quarter squat. (Meaning your knees form an angle wider than 90 degrees. This should be closer to standing than a full squat.)
- Staying in the squat position, step to the right with your right foot and allow your left foot to follow. Take two more steps to the right with your right foot, or less as space allows.
- Explode up, jumping and extending your legs fully, sending your arms behind you to help with momentum.
- Land lightly on the balls of your feet and immediately drop into a quarter squat again. Repeat on the other side, walking to the left.
- Continue to alternate directions after each jump.
- Make it low impact: Omit the jump at the end. Instead, quickly and powerfully stand tall to rise up from the squat position, raising your hands above your head for extra power.
5. Mountain Climber
- Start in a high plank with your palms flat on the floor, hands shoulder-width apart, shoulders stacked above your wrists, legs extended, and core engaged. This is the starting position.
- Keeping your core tight, draw your right knee to your chest.
- Return to the starting position and immediately draw your left knee to your chest.
- Return your left leg to the starting position. That’s 1 rep.
- Continue to alternate. The quicker you move your legs, the more of a cardio challenge this will become.
- Make sure to keep your core engaged and back flat throughout. If you have to slow down to maintain form, that’s fine.

6. Bicycle Crunch
- Lie faceup with your legs in tabletop position (knees bent 90 degrees and stacked over your hips). Place your hands behind your head, elbows bent and pointing out to the sides. Use your abs to curl your shoulders off the floor. This is the starting position.
- Twist to bring your right elbow to your left knee, while simultaneously straightening your right leg.
- Then twist to bring your left elbow to your right knee, simultaneously straightening your left leg. This is 1 rep.
- Continue alternating sides for your work interval. Go at a slow and steady pace so that you can really twist and feel your abs working.