This workout is Day 9 of our Strong Many Ways 10-Day Challenge with Patrice and Erica but can be used as a standalone workout anytime!

Related Short: What’s the Best Training Method: Variety or Progressive Overload?

Welcome to Day 9 of Strong Many Ways! We're nearing the finish line, and today's workout brings a different expression of strength to the challenge with athletic cardio, HIIT, and core conditioning.

Workout Overview
This no-repeat workout moves through several short blocks that combine athletic cardio, power, agility, and core stability. Rather than repeating the same circuit, we'll continue moving forward through new exercises and challenges, keeping both the body and mind engaged.

Some movements emphasize speed and cardiovascular intensity, while others ask you to slow down and create stability through the trunk. Together, these exercises challenge your ability to generate force, control movement, and maintain coordination as fatigue builds.

Focus and Benefits
This workout challenges cardiovascular endurance, power, agility, coordination, and core stability. You'll move through multiple planes of motion and transition between upright cardio, loaded movement, plank-based exercises, and higher-intensity intervals.

Core work is integrated throughout the workout rather than limited to a single abdominal section, requiring the trunk to stabilize the body during rotation, unilateral movement, loaded exercises, and faster-paced conditioning.

Equipment

• Light to moderate dumbbell optional
• Mat

Tips & Helpful Information

• Prioritize Control During Rotation: Rotate through the upper body while keeping the movement intentional rather than forcing range of motion.
• Athletic Doesn't Always Mean Fast: Balance, deceleration, anti-rotation, and trunk stability are also important components of athletic movement.
• Modify Impact as Needed: Hops and jumps can be replaced with stepping variations while maintaining speed and range of motion.

Difficulty & Modifications
Level 4 out of 5. This workout is intended for intermediate to advanced exercisers comfortable with faster-paced cardio, plank exercises, and multidirectional movement. To decrease the challenge, remove impact, use lighter weights or bodyweight, reduce your pace, and take additional recovery when needed. Walkouts can replace burpees or squat thrusts, and plank exercises can be performed from an elevated surface. To increase the challenge, increase speed or resistance where appropriate while maintaining control and movement quality.

Workout Breakdown

Warmup ~5 Minutes

• Jog
• Butt Kickers
• Squat
• Good Morning
• Alternating Reverse Lunge Knee Drive
• Inchworm Plank
• Plank Down Dog
• Calf Pedal
• Lateral Lunge Stretch

Block 1 — Athletic Cardio + Standing Core 40 seconds each/20 off

• Butt Kickers
• Reverse Lunge + Torso Twist + Knee Drive
• Goblet Squat + Alternating Knee Crunch
• Skater Hop
• Goblet Squat Knee Drive 
• Lateral Shuffle
• Plank Drag
• Mountain Climber
• Single Leg RDL to Reverse Lunge R/L
• Squat Thrust + Calf Raise
• Butt Kickers + Drop Squat
• Broad Jump Hop Back
• Heisman
• Squat Tap

Block 2: 40 Seconds On/20 Seconds Rest, Mat based Core

• Tabletop Press
• Deadbug
• Knee Fold Toe Taps
• Crunch
• Oblique Crunch
• Reverse Crunch Hip Lift
• Heel Taps
• Bicycle Crunch
• Leg Lift
• Roll Up
• Glute Bridge

Cooldown:

• Supine Spinal Twist, R/L
• Lying Hamstring Stretch
• 90/90 Stretch
• Standing Quad Stretch,  R/L