Cardio You Can Do at Home
Looking for something to improve your health when you have no time, the weather is bad, or you’re on lockdown? Cardio is simple, fast, and a great way to stay in shape at home!
Cardiovascular exercise, known as cardio for short, is vital for good health. It gets your heart rate up, making your blood pump faster. This allows more oxygen to travel throughout your body, which keeps your heart and lungs healthy. Cardio is extremely important for your health.
But what happens when life is too busy, you can’t get to the gym, or the weather is not nice enough to run outside? Don’t let that stop you, because there are plenty of cardio workouts at home you can do.
Where to start?
If you’re new to cardio, these moves will help get you up to speed in no time:
Air Squats – Perform this exercise for 30 to 60 seconds, followed by 15 seconds of rest. Repeat four times.
How to do an Air Squat: Stand with your legs together and arms at your sides. Lift one knee toward your chest. Lower your leg and repeat with the other knee. Continue alternating knees, pumping your arms up and down.
High Knees – Perform exercise for 60 seconds, followed by 20 seconds of rest. Repeat three times.
How to do High Knees: Start with your feet hip distance apart. Lift your right leg up and bend your knee, aiming to get your knee parallel with your hip or higher. Jump and switch position of legs. Do these back-and-forth quickly for 60 seconds. (Each time your right knee comes in, count that as one.)
If you’re not new to cardio, here are a few advanced moves to get your heart pumping at home:
Jump Lunges – To begin, do two sets of 30 reps each, increasing your reps to 100 with time.
How to do Jump Lunges: Stand straight, feet together, hands resting at your sides. Keep your spine and head erect. Inhale and then lunge forward with the right leg, bending the elbows, hands folded into fists. Bring your left hand in front of your chest, while the right one rests at the hip. Jump, quickly switching your arms and legs, and allow yourself to land in a lunge position with the left foot. This makes one rep. Keep alternating legs as you jump and lunge until you complete one set.
Mountain Climbers – Do two sets of 20 reps each, increasing the reps to 50 with practice.
How to do Mountain Climbers: Lie on the floor in a plank position with your body balancing on your wrists. Your body should be in a straight line from head to toe. Keeping your lower back arched, bend your left knee toward your chest. Hold this pose for 2 seconds, return to the initial position, and swiftly repeat with the right leg. This makes one rep. Do this without a break until you complete one set.
Do you already have your own cardio workouts at home? Comment below. We’d love to hear from you!
