15 Cardio-Based Circuit Workouts

Whether you don’t have access to gym equipment or just can’t make it out of the house for a run, I have good news: you can still get your cardio in!

Ever since I had to stop running due to an impossible case of IT Band Syndrome, I’ve had to get creative with my workouts so I still challenged my cardiovascular system. Over the past five-plus years, I’ve built up quite the collection of workouts that have a heavy emphasis on cardio. And the best part? You never have to leave your house! So, to my fellow homebodies who still like to stay fit, this post is for you.

As long as you have a little bit of space in your house (I do most of these workouts in our spare bedroom), you can easily jump, kick, and burpee yourself into great shape. Granted, I’m a strong believer in weight training in addition to cardio, so I encourage you to incorporate other workout routines/activities into your workout schedule. But I wanted to share some of the workouts I’ve created over the years that have a lot of cardio exercises (e.g., jumping jacks, jump squats, high knees, etc.) worked in. They make a great supplement to your regular weight lifting (or at least that’s how I treat these).

I try to make my workout graphics pretty self-explanatory, so I’m just going to keep this list quick and to-the-point. I hope some of the circuits pique your interest! Even if cardio isn’t your favorite, I’ve found it’s an effective way to warm up if you’re cold. So…there’s always that. Also? A lot of these act as no-equipment workout routines, so you shouldn’t need anything fancy—just you and some floor space (or in some cases, the routine may require simple objects like a flight of stairs, a wall, or dumbbells). Without further ado, here’s 15 of my cardio-focused workouts!

Click on the title of each workout to be taken to its specific post with more details about the exercises.