Cardio is an essential part of any workout for it to improve your overall health. You do not need to spend hours running on the roads to lose weight. Attending one aerobics class with FITPASS at any of the several gyms and fitness studios on the network 3 to 4 times every week is more than enough. With several cardio exercises you can do an effective aerobics home workout without equipment or a lot of space. A quick cardio workout at home is easier than you think. It is convenient and warrants no expenditure. A few simple exercises as mentioned in this blog can help you burn calories, build muscle, and improve mood.
Top 5 Cardio Exercises
- Rope Jumping
Jumping rope for cardiovascular exercise is an effective cardio workout that can help you burn over 200 calories in just 20 minutes. It is one of the most inexpensive ways of exercising in addition to being easily portable, requires no special skills, and can be done just about anywhere. All you need is a decent jump rope, sports shoes, patience, and a will to practice. It is high impact and requires a lot of practice. It looks easy but sustaining it for several circuits is quite a challenge. You should turn the rope with your wrists, not arms, and land softly to take care of your elbows and knees. Try variations like alternating feet, crossing feet, high knees, etc. once you can jump easily.
- Burpees
This exercise is a combination of squatting to the floor, jumping back to plank position, jumping back in squat position, and jumping up in the air finally in that order. Burpee is one of the most intense cardio exercises that can help you burn 100 calories in just 10 minutes, that is if you can do it for 10 minutes. All you need for it is good shoes, enough space to perform a plank, and a strong will. You can add pushups when you’re in plank position if you’re feeling adventurous. It is important to pace yourself or you’ll tire yourself out quite quickly.
- Jumping Jacks
Jumping jacks exercise is the simple movement of jumping your feet wide while bringing your arms overhead and then going back to the standing position. However, it works your entire body and requires a lot of effort. They can help you burn up to 100 calories in just 10 minutes. This one is not for you if you have heart problems. It is a high impact exercise and might affect the joints, so pace yourself and never overdo them.
- Staircase Exercise
The best thing about this exercise is that stairs are easily available. By running up and down the stairs, you can build strength as well as burn calories. Moreover, the length of the staircase is never a problem because you can create variations as per what is available. It is important to climb the staircase up and down at a regular pace to get a fair idea of the imperfections of the steps before you start running and climbing 2 or 3 stairs with one step.
- Jog (in place)
Stationary jogging is a simple and accessible exercise that increases heart rate and is a great warm up for other exercises as well. All you need is a pair of good shoes and you’re good to go. However, it is a high-impact exercise if you put in all your effort and can be hard on the joints. You can take it easy as well. You can add it to your cardio circuit as well.
