I’m usually a firm believer that if something’s worth doing once, it’s worth doing three times — at least where exercise is concerned. However, if I’m heading into a full-body workout or HIIT class and hear the word “burpee” repeated, I’ll likely turn and run in the other direction.
Recently I needed a reprieve from my long runs and Stairmaster sessions, so I decided to hop onto YouTube and find some new cardio inspiration. Fitness influencer Lisseth Edwards (aka BurpeeGirl) appeared in my feed right away with her latest 30-minute full-body workout.
It was billed as all-standing exercises with no repeated moves, and since I didn’t feel like doing squat jumps or high knees multiple times, I thought it would be a perfect fit. I’d recommend rolling out one of the best yoga mats for some traction for this one.
Watch Lisseth Edwards’ 30-minute full-body workout
I was surprised at how high my heart rate got while doing a lot of low-impact work, and some of the exercises even brought me back to my Zumba days. You won’t need any equipment, but as I mentioned, an exercise mat is recommended.
Edwards packs 4 rounds of 10 exercises into this 30-minute HIIT-style workout, with brief “active break” periods between each round. All of the exercises take 30 seconds followed by 10 seconds of rest. You’ll also take a few minutes at both the beginning and end of the workout for a warm-up and cool-down.
Lisseth notes in the video’s description that her “workouts are flexible” and you can “easily adjust the pace and intensity to fit your preference.” Other than that, there aren’t any exercise modifications or alternatives offered.
Excited to try 40 different exercises in 30 minutes, I pressed play on Edwards’ routine. Here are my observations.
It’s a little longer than 30 minutes
The runtime on this workout is 37:49, so the title is somewhat misleading. When trying this routine yourself, make sure you have at least 40 minutes to spare.
That being said, I can forgive Edwards for going longer than she advertises. A lot of fitness influencers neglect to add warm-ups or cool-downs to their videos, relying on you to do them on your own.
I’m often guilty of skipping these crucial parts of my workout to save a little time, so I appreciate when they’re built in and I can’t excuse my way out of them. Both felt appropriate for the workout overall and as promised, all movements are done while standing.
There are no repeats, but a lot of the moves are similar
Edwards gave herself a few big challenges with this workout: never repeat an exercise, keep everything standing, don’t use any equipment and make it low-impact. Given those parameters, finding 40 different moves would seem almost impossible.
She pulls it off, but only in a technical sense. There were several moments where I thought “We just did this,” only to realize she changed a previous exercise by adding a step or cross punch.
I can’t blame her. Still, I’d keep expectations reasonable — you won’t be repeating anything, but sometimes it may feel like you are.
The low-impact moves still got my heart pumping
I often gravitate towards high-impact exercises like running and box jumps, so whenever I see a workout categorized as “low-impact,” I generally assume it will be easy for me.
If I’m being honest, some of the movements in this workout felt a little silly (namely the first and sixth exercises in the second round). But when I looked at my Apple Watch after my cool down I was humbled — my average heart rate for the class was 145 beats per minute (BPM), which is way higher than I anticipated.
Don’t let the “low-impact” classification fool you, because this routine can pack a serious cardio punch if you let it.
It reminded me of Zumba
I’ve dabbled in a few Zumba workouts before, and while it’s not really my preferred form of cardio, I did have a good time learning all the choreography.
Edwards’ full-body workout actually reminded me a lot of Zumba, even though the two aren’t really that similar. Maybe it was the music or the multi-directional movements, but the rounds felt almost dance-like which amped up the “fun” factor a lot.
If you’re a Zumba fan and have been searching for other cardio options you’ll enjoy, this routine could be right up your alley.
More from Tom's Guide
- 8 best 30-minute workouts to build muscle and strength and burn calories
- I tried this 20-minute barre workout — and was surprised by the results
- I’m a personal trainer, and these 3 moves reduce stiff hips and boost flexibility
