Your first DAREBEE workout is a cardio session, and before you move a muscle, learn to read the card. Five exercises are drawn on it, each with a number beside its name. That number is how many repetitions - reps, for short - you do of that movement: 10 march steps, 10 butt kicks, 10 punches, 10 step jacks, 10 side jacks. You work through all five in the order they are drawn, left to right along the top row and then the bottom, and one complete trip through that list is called a set. The header says 3 sets in total, so when you finish the last side jack you rest for two full minutes, then start again from the top. Three rounds and you are done. That is the whole workout, and it is called a circuit because you keep moving around the list rather than staying with one exercise.
Cardio simply means work that makes your heart and lungs do more than usual, and this session builds it out of the mildest ingredients available. Everything happens on the spot, and not one movement asks both feet to leave the floor at the same time - there is no jumping anywhere on this card. March steps and butt kicks are walking and running taken apart and slowed down to their component parts. Punches bring the upper body into it and give your legs a moment of relief without stopping the session. Step jacks are the classic jumping jack with the jump removed and a step to the side put in its place, and side jacks add a lean and an overhead reach that opens up the ribs and the waist. Every one of them alternates sides, so the ten reps divide evenly between left and right - five each - and no side ever works twice in a row. The two-minute rest between sets is not a courtesy either: it is there so your breathing settles and round two starts from a fair place instead of a desperate one.
March steps: stand tall and lift one knee to roughly hip height, land with the foot flat, and let the arms swing naturally - it is marching in place, nothing more complicated than that. Butt kicks: stay upright and flick one heel back toward your backside while the other foot stays planted, keeping the movement small and controlled. Punches: bring both fists up beside your chin, extend one arm straight out at shoulder height and pull it all the way back before the other one goes, and keep the non-punching hand up by your face throughout. Step jacks: step one foot out to the side and sweep both arms overhead at the same time, then bring both back together as the foot returns. Side jacks: take a wide stance, plant one hand on your hip, sweep the other arm up and over your head and lean gently away from it, then swap. If any of them leaves you gasping, slow down - none of these is meant to be done fast.
Nothing here asks you to jump, kneel or get down on the floor - day one is simply your body finding out it can keep moving for a few minutes at a time.
Make it Harder: Turn the march steps and butt kicks into a light jog on the spot, lifting the knees and heels higher while keeping the rep counts exactly as written.
Make it Easier: Do 6 reps of each exercise instead of 10 and keep all three rounds - a shorter lap around the same circuit is still three laps.
