Cardio Interval Training Advanced 10-Minute Metabolic Conditioning Workout By Paige Waehner Paige Waehner Facebook LinkedIn Paige Waehner is a certified personal trainer, author of the "Guide to Become a Personal Trainer"; and co-author of "The Buzz on Exercise & Fitness." Learn about our editorial process Updated on December 31, 2020 Reviewed Verywell Fit articles are reviewed by nutrition and exercise professionals. Reviewers confirm the content is thorough and accurate, reflecting the latest evidence-based research. Content is reviewed before publication and upon substantial updates. Learn more. by Heather Black, CPT Reviewed by Heather Black, CPT Heather Black, CPT is a NASM-certified personal trainer and owner of Heather Black Fitness & Nutrition where she offers remote and in-person training and nutrition coaching. Learn about our Review Board Print This advanced workout is a form of metabolic conditioning, also called "metcon." Metcon training includes short bouts of high-intensity, full-body movements. The workouts are popular in the CrossFit community and have been shown to improve strength, performance, and body composition when practiced regularly. Many fitness pros believe that metabolic conditioning is the most effective way to get lean and get fit. But of course, whether or not those changes occur will depend on other factors such as workout consistency and diet. But since this workout includes compound exercises that work the entire body, it only takes 10 minutes to complete. So fitting it into a busy schedule on a regular basis should be relatively easy. Getting Started To make the most of your time, you should go all out during metcon workouts. But since this is an advanced high-intensity training protocol, it can catch up with you quickly. So when you complete this workout for the first time, it may be smart to add longer rest segments. As you get comfortable with the movements, shorten the rest periods to the recommended amount. Precautions If you have not been exercising regularly or if you have an illness or injury, you should seek guidance from your healthcare provider about modifications or possibly an alternate workout. Equipment Needed You'll need a set of dumbbells and/or a kettlebell (optional). You can also do this workout with no equipment at all, but a few of the exercises will be slightly easier. Warm up Complete 3 to 5 minutes of cardio (such as hill walking, running, or stationary biking) before beginning the workout. Guidelines This is a circuit-style workout. Perform each exercise for 30 seconds, one after the other, with 10 seconds of rest between exercises. Repeat the circuit up to 3 times, depending on your time, fitness level and goals. How to Start Circuit Training 1 Burpees Verywell / Ben Goldstein How To Squat and place your hands on the floor. In an explosive movement, jump the feet back into a push-up position, jump the feet back between hands and stand up. Add another jump at the end for more intensity. Duration 30 seconds Variations Walk the feet back as a modification to make this movement easier. Add a jump for more intensity. How to Do a Perfect Burpee 2 Squat With Overhead Press Verywell / Ben Goldstein How To Begin with feet about hip-distance apart and hold weights over the shoulders. Squat as low as you can and push into the heels to stand up while pushing the weights overhead. Duration 30 seconds Variations Use lighter weights or no weight for a modification to make this easier. Use heavier weight to make it harder. How to Do an Overhead Squat Exercise 3 Mountain Climbers Verywell / Ben Goldstein How To In a pushup position, do alternating knee lifts in a running motion as quickly as you can, alternating sides. Touch the toes to the floor with each lift or keep them in the air. Duration 30 seconds Variations Walk the knees in instead of running for a modification. Move the legs faster to make it harder. Mountain Climbers for Cardio and Total Body Strength 4 Squat Jumps Verywell / Ben Goldstein How To Place your hands behind your head, elbows out. Bend the knees into a squat, knees behind the toes and the torso leaning only slightly forward. Jump as high as you can, landing with soft knees into a squat. Duration 30 seconds Variations Take out the jump to lower the intensity. Jumping forward makes it harder. How Squat Jumps Build Your Leg Strength 5 Plyo Lunge Verywell / Ben Goldstein How To Begin in a lunge position, right foot forward, left foot back, both knees at 90-degree angles. Jump up and switch feet in the air, landing in a lunge with left foot forward, right foot back. Duration 30 seconds Variations Take out the jump or make the jump small, without switching legs to make this easier. Jump higher to make it harder. Add a Jump to Your Lunge for a Cardio Workout 6 Bear Crawls Verywell / Ben Goldstein How To Squat to the floor and walk your hands out until you're in a plank position. Do a pushup on your knees or toes and then walk the hands back to a squat and stand up. Duration 30 seconds Variation Take out the pushup for lower intensity. Add a jump at the end for more intensity. How to Bear Crawl: Techniques, Benefits, Variations 7 Pushups With Side Planks Verywell / Ben Goldstein How To In pushup position, with hands close together, do a triceps pushup. As you push up, rotate to the left, taking the right arm straight up in a side plank. Rotate back for another pushup, and then do a side plank on the other side. Duration Alternate sides for 60 seconds Variations Do the move on your knees to make this easier. To make it harder, lift the top leg when you move into the side plank. Learn to Safely Advance the Side Plank Exercise 8 Turning Lunge With Kettlebell Sweeps Verywell / Ben Goldstein How To Begin with feet wider than your hips, kettlebell or weight in your right hand. Pivot and turn your body to the right and lower into a lunge. As you push back up, swing the weight up and over your head as you pivot back to the front. Switch hands and pivot to the left, lowering into a lunge and taking the weight down. Continue alternating sides while swinging the weight up and over. Duration 30 seconds Variations Take out the weight or keep the lunges shallow to modify. Deepen the lunge to make it harder. 1 Source Verywell Fit uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Feito Y, Hoffstetter W, Serafini P, Mangine G. Changes in body composition, bone metabolism, strength, and skill-specific performance resulting from 16-weeks of HIFT. PLoS One. 2018;13(6):e0198324. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0198324 By Paige Waehner Paige Waehner is a certified personal trainer, author of the "Guide to Become a Personal Trainer," and co-author of "The Buzz on Exercise & Fitness." See Our Editorial Process Meet Our Review Board Share Feedback Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! What is your feedback? Other Helpful Report an Error Submit