Barre Legs + Cardio Tabata {HIIT the barre at home}

Plié and lunge your way to stronger legs with 8 cardio-barre exercises in this fast-paced, barre legs + cardio tabata circuit.

The best part about leg day is it always results in a heart-pumping and sweaty workout. By using some of the largest, metabolic muscles in your body {glutes, hamstrings and quads} you’re heart-rate naturally rises. In fact, the other day at the gym I told my husband that the squat rack has now become a piece of cardio equipment throughout pregnancy {i mean walking up a flight of stairs gets me winded these days}.

Then throw in some fast-paced plyometrics and you’ve really got yourself a cardio-intense leg workout. If you’ve tried my lower body strength + plyos workout from my 20 minute home workout videos you know what I’m talking about.

But you don’t always need a squat rack or heavy set of dumbbells for an effective leg day. Body-weighted plié squats and lunges can be just as challenging, especially when repeated in fast-paced, tabata circuits. In fact, I think barre workouts are often underestimated.

But I wouldn’t underestimate this barre legs + cardio tabata workout. It’s a 25-30 minute power workout that is designed to target all of the lower body muscles — glutes, thighs, and core; using bodyweight resistance to strengthen and tone your legs while raising your heart-rate to burn calories. Not to mention, plyometrics always help build a lifted booty.

So what are you waiting for?! Grab your mat and sculpt your lower body with these 8 muscle-toning, barre cardio inspired exercises.

PS – This bodyweight workout is great for traveling. So if you’ve got upcoming holiday travel plans on the calendar, pin this workout to your no-equipment workout board! 

the workout: barre legs + cardio tabata 

This workout consists of 4 bodyweight tabata circuits; each circuit has 2 exercises. Perform each exercise for 20 seconds, repeating each tabata circuit x 4 sets before moving onto the next circuit.

Take a 30-60 second break between each tabata circuit and repeat the entire workout x 2 sets.

Tabata Circuit One:

1. Second Position Squat Jack
2. Second Position Plyo Jack

X 4 sets

Tabata Circuit Two:

1. Static Reverse Lunge {2 sets per leg}
2. Reverse Lunge + Front Kick {2 sets per leg}

X 4 sets

Tabata Circuit Three:

1. Chair Squats
2. Chair Star Jacks

X 4 sets

Tabata Circuit Four:

1. Curtsy Lunge + Tap {2 sets per leg}
2. Single-Sided Skater Bound {2 sets per leg}

X 4 sets

*Repeat the entire workout x 2 sets.

See video above for complete workout and proper exercise form. 

second position squat jack

second position plyo jack

static reverse lunge

reverse lunge + front kick

chair squats

chair star jacks

curtsy lunge + tap

single-sided skater bound

the workout: barre legs + cardio tabata 

This workout consists of 4 bodyweight tabata circuits; each circuit has 2 exercises. Perform each exercise for 20 seconds, repeating each tabata circuit x 4 sets before moving onto the next circuit. Take a 30-60 second break between each tabata circuit and repeat the entire workout x 2 sets.

Tabata Circuit One:

1. Second Position Squat Jack
2. Second Position Plyo Jack

X 4 sets

Tabata Circuit Two:

1. Static Reverse Lunge {2 sets per leg}
2. Reverse Lunge + Front Kick {2 sets per leg}

X 4 sets

Tabata Circuit Three:

1. Chair Squats
2. Chair Star Jacks

X 4 sets

Tabata Circuit Four:

1. Curtsy Lunge + Tap {2 sets per leg}
2. Single-Sided Skater Bound {2 sets per leg}

X 4 sets

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