Lazy Cardio is a circuit that has made peace with its own title: five rounds of 10 step half jacks followed by 4 chest expansions, run straight through. Two exercises, one foot always on the floor, and an effort level calibrated for the days when the couch has excellent arguments.

The design is honest minimalism. Step half jacks are the least demanding member of the jack family - a side step with an arm swing to shoulder height - and they carry the entire cardio load here, 50 reps per set in five gentle installments. The chest expansions between rounds are the recurring counterweight: just 4 reps of sweeping the arms wide and drawing them together, opening the chest and squeezing the shoulder blades in exactly the way a day of forward-hunching undoes. The genius of the 10-and-4 rhythm is that no single block lasts long enough to feel like commitment - each one is nearly over before reluctance can organize a protest, and five rounds later you have moved continuously for several minutes without ever crossing the threshold where lazy would have vetoed the whole thing. This is the workout for the day the alternative was nothing, and it beats nothing by a comfortable margin.

Step the half jacks wide with a crisp arm swing to shoulder height - lazy names the effort ceiling, not the form standard. In chest expansions, sweep the arms fully open and feel the squeeze between the shoulder blades at the back of each rep before drawing them together. Keep an easy rhythm through all five rounds and breathe like someone entirely unbothered, because that is the entire specification.

Perfect is the enemy of done, and done just took about four minutes. The couch will still be there.

Make it Harder: Upgrade the step half jacks to full step jacks with an overhead swing.

Make it Easier: Drop to three rounds and slow the pace to a stroll.