Want to earn a ton of MEPs in a workout that challenges your heart, muscular strength and muscular endurance? Look no further than the Pyramid Game!

The object of this game is to progressively increase our heart rate into the BLUE, GREEN, and YELLOW zones, and then to progressively recover back into GREEN and BLUE. We select exercises that allow us to reach the various zones and work our entire body.

When designing your own Pyramid Game, remember that there is an inverse relationship between exercise intensity and exercise duration. This means that as we increase the intensity of our exercise, it becomes more and more difficult to maintain that exercise over time. That’s why we see sprinters going “all out” in shorter racing events and long-distance runners maintaining a slower pace for a longer duration. In this game, we perform lower-intensity exercises for a longer amount of time and higher-intensity exercises for a shorter amount of time.

Here’s a sample Pyramid Game that we’ve performed using kettlebells:

Warm Up: 5 minutes in BLUE (for dynamic warm up ideas, check out this video with sample exercises)

The Pyramid Game Using Kettlebells: See this YouTube Video for a visual example

Exercise 1 (base of pyramid):  Side Plank with Hip Dip (holding kettlebell overhead)

Perform this exercise for 60 seconds with your heart rate in the BLUE zone.

After 60 seconds, move onto Exercise 2.

Exercise 2 (middle of pyramid): Kettlebell Push Press

Perform this exercise while your heart rate increases to the GREEN zone.

Once in the GREEN, hold for 45 seconds.

After 45 seconds, move onto Exercise 3.

Exercise 3 (apex of pyramid): Kettlebell Swing

Perform this exercise while your heart rate increases to the YELLOW zone.

Once in YELLOW, hold for 30 seconds.

After 30 seconds, move back to Exercise 2.

Exercise 2 (middle of pyramid): Kettlebell Push Press

Perform this exercise while your heart rate decreases to the GREEN zone.

Once in the GREEN, hold for 45 seconds.

After 45 seconds, move back to Exercise 1.

Exercise 1 (base of pyramid):  Side Plank with Hip Dip (holding kettlebell overhead)

Perform this exercise while your heart rate decreases to the BLUE zone.

Once in BLUE, hold for 60 seconds.

Rest!

Don’t have equipment with you? Here’s another Pyramid Game workout using bodyweight and new time intervals:

Warm Up:

5 minutes in BLUE

Exercise 1 (base of pyramid):  Sumo Squats

Perform this exercise for 90 seconds with your heart rate in the BLUE zone.

After 90 seconds, move onto Exercise 2.

Exercise 2 (middle of pyramid): Lateral Lunges with Hop between Lunges

Perform this exercise while your heart rate increases to the GREEN zone.

Once in the GREEN, hold for 60 seconds.

After 60 seconds, move onto Exercise 3.

Exercise 3 (apex of pyramid): Burpees with Pushup

Perform this exercise while your heart rate increases to the YELLOW zone.

Once in YELLOW, hold for 45 seconds.

After 45 seconds, move back to Exercise 2.

Exercise 2 (middle of pyramid): Lateral Lunges with Hop between Lunges

Perform this exercise while your heart rate decreases to the GREEN zone.

Once in the GREEN, hold for 60 seconds.

After 60 seconds, move back to Exercise 1.

Exercise 1 (base of pyramid):  Sumo Squats

Perform this exercise while your heart rate decreases to the BLUE zone.

Once in BLUE, hold for 90 seconds.

Rest!

When we performed the kettlebell version of this workout, we found that our heart rates increased into the YELLOW zone more quickly than we expected…no biggie! It may take you a few tries to find the perfect combination of 1) exercise selection and 2) heart rate zone. You may not make the perfect pyramid, and that’s OK.

Play with the exercises you choose, the resistance (if any), the speed of your movements, and the time you spend in each zone. No matter what, have fun with this! Let the Pyramid Game be a guide that adds an extra challenge and some variety to your workouts.

We want to see how you play the Pyramid Game! Post your Pyramid Game workouts to Facebook, Instagram and Twitter using the hashtags #MYZONE, #myzonemoves, and #effortrewarded.

For more tips on how to use your MYZONE group heart rate monitor during your workouts, check out our Fitness Friday Periscope broadcasts – we’re live every Friday at 8 am PST, 11 AM EST.

Keep moving forward!