Go ahead and cancel that gym membership that you never use, clear up some space in your home and get your cardio workout on! Cardiovascular (cardio) exercises are not just to strengthen your muscles and lose weight. They can also help to lower your blood pressure and cholesterol levels and improve your immune system and your overall health condition.

You don’t have to go to the gym to stay fit and healthy. You can have your cardio workout at home with the following exercises.

Best Cardio Workout to Do at Home

Before performing any of these exercises, make sure you warm up for at least 5 minutes before starting. You should always start with simple exercises before moving to intense activities.

Jumping Jacks

You may remember this exercise from your childhood. Jumping while spreading your legs with your arms above your head. This exercise will increase your heart rate and improve movement in your hips and shoulders.

10 minutes of jumping jacks a day can burn 100 calories, but that equates to 500 jumps a day. As a beginner, you should start with 10 jumping jacks a day along with other cardio workout exercises and increase as you get stronger.

To perform a proper jumping jack, stand upright with your legs together, and your arms by your side and follow the steps below

• Start by jumping while spreading your legs a little wider than your shoulder width.
• Raise your arms above your head while jumping with your legs apart.
• Return to your start position and repeat the process.

Skipping Rope

You may also remember this workout from your childhood. For this, you will need a jump rope or skipping rope as the British will call it, but if you don’t have one, you can imagine you have one. It doesn’t matter.

Like every other cardio exercise, this will boost your heart rate and health. It will also help you strengthen your arms and leg muscles. You can burn 15 to 20 calories per minute with skipping ropes.

To perform this exercise:

• Swing your skipping rope or your imaginary rope in a circular motion and jump up and down over it.

Tip – To get the most out of this exercise, you have to make sure you are in the right form. You don’t want to jump higher than the rope is thick. Don’t jump too high, so you won’t waste your energy. Try to keep your arms at a 90 degrees angle so that the rope can go around your body.

Dancing

Are you surprised to see this here? You can have fun while exercising. Dancing is a very good cardio exercise. Just put on some fast-paced music and dance. Anything that gets your heart racing is a good cardio workout. You can dance freestyle or follow some workout dance videos online.

Jogging on a spot

As the name implies, all you have to do is jog on a spot. You don’t have to move around. You just have to bounce from one foot to another in one position. The best part is that you can do this in the comfort of your home. You should incorporate other cardio exercises because jogging in one spot can get boring and tiring.

Squat Jumps

You can make your cardio circuit a little more intense by adding squat jumps. Squat jumps have a lot of benefits. They strengthen your legs, hamstrings, abs muscles, calves, and core and burn calories.

To perform this exercise:

• Start by standing with your feet apart.
• Lower into a squat position and jump.
• Land back in a squat position and repeat the process.

You should be careful while doing this exercise, especially if you have problems with your knees and legs. Always try to jump and land softly to avoid getting hurt.

Screamer Lunges

Screamer lunges are perfect for building and strengthening your leg muscles and hamstrings. They are also good for your back and abdominal muscles. This exercise is good cardio because it keeps your heart racing.

To perform this exercise:

• Start by extending your right leg backwards and take a lunge position or a low running stance position.
• Bring up your right leg in the air and land back in the start position
• Do this for some time and switch to your left leg.

Mountain Climbers

You can take things up a notch with this exercise. This exercise works out your whole body at the same time. This kind of intense workout increases your heart rate and burns calories.

To perform this exercise:

• Start by getting into a plank position and spread your hands to be a little wider than your shoulder length.
• Pull one knee into your chest without lifting your hips.
• Alternate your knees.

The faster you go, the more your heart rate comes up.

Safety Tips

You should always consider your safety when working out. Here are some safety tips for your workout at home.

• Warm up your muscles for a few minutes before you start. This will prevent injuries.
• Make sure you have enough space in your workout area to avoid falling and hitting or tripping over something.
• Stay hydrated.
• Make sure your floor is clean and not slippery.
• Wear the right shoes. Don’t wear running shoes or just socks or slippers. Wear good sneakers that will give you support and balance.

You can incorporate these exercises with others depending on the part of your body you are working on, and this can be done all in the comfort of your home. You must stay healthy and look fit, and a cardio workout is a sure way to achieve that.

FAQ

Q. Is 10 minutes of cardio a day enough?

Ans: 10 minutes of cardio a day is enough for you to achieve your goals, whether it be weight loss or strengthening your muscles. You just have to make sure you add other types of exercises to your workout routine.

Q. Which cardio burns the most fat?

Ans: Some cardio exercises that help burn fat are jogging, running, skipping rope, squat jumps, walking and cycling.

Q. What is the best cardio workout at home?

Ans: Some of the best cardio workout at home includes jumping jacks, skipping ropes, dancing, squat jumps, screamer lunges, jogging on a spot and mountain climbers. These exercises are perfect for doing at home because you don’t need any equipment.