Stew’s Favorites: Five Minutes On/Five Minutes Off

This workout will have you doing a hard five-minute cardio, followed by a hard five-minute circuit usually of 4--5 exercises, with minimal rest in between. The five minutes of cardio are often Tabata intervals or increasing the resistance where you make each minute harder than the previous minute for a total of five minutes. Repeat this five times for a 50- to 60-minute cardio/ resistance combo workout.

For instance, the workout we created is explained below, but it is one of those that you can create on your own, using the following protocol:

Pick exercises from the following categories: Push, push, full, legs, abs.

Repeat five times.

Five minutes on cardio: *Five minutes of Tabata intervals (bike, elliptical or row machines)

Five minutes off cardio: Full-body circuit (no rest in between)

Push: Bench-press 135 pounds, max reps for one minute

Pull: Pull-ups (weighted or not), max reps for one minute. Change grips, shake it out, keep pulling for one minute.

Full: Hang cleans/push press complex. Do hang cleans into a push press for one minute (light weight). Some opted for kettlebell swings/snatches as well.

Legs: Squats (weighted or non-​​weighted), box jumps, step-ups for one minute.

Abs: Sit-ups one minute or your choice of flutter kicks, TRX rollouts, etc.

The Tabata interval is a challenging cardio interval where you do 20 seconds as fast as you can, followed by 10 seconds easy/slow to try to catch your breath. It is a nice thought, but you really don't catch your breath.

Stew Smith is a former Navy SEAL and fitness author certified as a Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) with the National Strength and Conditioning Association. Visit his Fitness eBook store if you're looking to start a workout program to create a healthy lifestyle. Send your fitness questions to stew@stewsmith.com.

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