9 Good Cardio Exercises to do at Home
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Doing cardio is one of the most efficient ways to burn calories and lose weight. Not only that, but it can also help your quality of sleep, expand your lung capacity, lower your stress levels, and boost your overall happiness! You may think that you need to spend money on a gym membership or buy fancy equipment to get your cardio in. However, it’s not that hard! There are plenty of ways to do cardio at home. So, we’ve put together a list of good cardio exercises to do at home!
9 Good Cardio Exercises to do at Home
Cardio may be easier to do if you have certain exercise equipment, but it can also be done with minimal gear! For your convenience, we’ve divided up this list based on the type of equipment you need. Here are our 9 favourite good cardio exercises to do at home!
- Jumping Jacks
- Box Jumps
- Burpees
- Skipping Rope
- Jogging in Place
- Staircase Workouts
- Tempo Workouts
- Progression Runs
- Progression Hikes
Minimal/No Equipment Needed Exercises
Jumping Jacks
This exercise is a classic. It’s easy to do but still gets your heart pumping. Begin by standing with your legs together and your arms resting at your sides. Bend your knees before jumping, spreading your legs as wide as you comfortably can land. Lift your arms up as you jump. Some prefer to clap their hands at the top to signal a full rep. Jump back to your starting position and repeat!
Do 2 sets of 25 jumping jacks each time.
Box Jumps
This exercise may look more advanced but is simple enough for most fitness enthusiasts. If you have a dedicated box for exercising, then great! However, it can also be done with a staircase, firm cushions, or low-to-the-ground chairs.
Begin by standing directly in front of a platform. This should be about knee-high (or lower if necessary). You should be standing with your feet hip-width apart and with your arms by your sides. While engaging your core, bend your knees and jump onto your platform. Your arms should swing forward while doing the gym. Jump back off the box into your starting position to complete a full rep.
The number of reps you do will depend on the height of your box. 3 sets of 10 reps is a recommended place to start.
Burpees
Some may dread a burpee, but they’re one of the best no-equipment cardio workouts out there! This exercise will work your entire body, making adding it to your routine a no-brainer.
Start this exercise by standing with your feet shoulder-width apart. Do a complete squat and then move forward, placing your hands on the floor in front of you. Jump your feet back so that you do a full plank position, and do a pushup instead of holding the plank. To complete this move, do a jump back into your squat position before jumping back up, reaching your arms above your head.
This workout can be modified according to your fitness level. If you have trouble doing a complete pushup or plank, you can rest on your knees during this part of the exercise.
Do 2 sets of 15 reps for this workout.
Skipping Rope
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Skipping rope may bring back fond memories of your schooling days, as it’s one of the most classic activities. For this exercise, you’ll, of course, need a skipping rope. Fortunately, they’re easy to come by and very budget-friendly.
Begin with your feet together, holding the jump rope on both sides of you. You’ll swing the rope above your head, bringing it back to the ground where you’ll jump over it, keeping your feet together. Try to hold your posture as best as you can.
Experienced skipping rope athletes can also benefit from purchasing a weighted skipping rope. This makes the workout slightly more difficult and will give you an even better workout.
Doing a skipping rope exercise is incredibly beneficial when doing it alongside other activities. For maximum cardio benefits, jump rope for 60 seconds, move to another activity on this list and jump for another 60 seconds.
Jogging in Place
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Love running but don’t have a treadmill or access to any outdoor trails? Fortunately, you can get many of the same benefits from anywhere in your home!
You likely already know how you like to run. When jogging in place, be sure to engage your arms and lift your feet high enough off the ground that you can feel the effects.
Jogging in place can become boring if done for too long. So, we recommend doing this in front of a screen if necessary, allowing you to jog in place for as long as you’d be able to jog outdoors!
Even though you’re inside, you’ll still want a sturdy pair of running shoes to do this activity.
Staircase Workouts
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One of the good cardio exercises to do at home involves using something that may already be accessible to you, that you’ve never considered using for exercise! Do you have a staircase available to use in your home? If so, there are plenty of ways you can make use of it!
Walking up and down your staircase is already a great way to get some cardio in. However, you can also make it even more of a workout by changing it up! Running up and down your staircase (carefully) is the easiest way to get your heart pumping.
Staircase workouts are a great way to get some interval training in. If you have a large enough space at the top or bottom of your stairs, take a break at either end to do another workout on this list.
You can also combine other workouts into your stair climbing. Consider pushups, step-ups, squats, or any other movement while climbing the stairs to boost your fitness gains.
Another way to spice up a staircase workout is to jog up and down while carrying dumbbell weights. They will be lighter than you would use during lifting exercises, but heavy enough that you can feel their weight.
Treadmill Exercises
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Hopping on your treadmill and going for a walk or a run is a good place to start when it comes to cardio. While these can be effective, there are far more efficient ways to use your treadmill. Here are some good cardio exercises to do at home if you have a treadmill to use.
Tempo Workouts
The tempo workout on a treadmill can be physically demanding but is one of the easiest ways to work up a sweat. For this workout, you’ll want to keep your treadmill on an incline of 1 for the entire time.
Start by warming up for ten minutes, doing fast walking or slow jogging. This should not tire you out, but instead should warm up your muscles and get you into the zone. Following your warmup, set the speed to a challenging pace. This will depend on your running abilities. Do this fast-paced run for 4 minutes. Once your 4 minutes is up, go back to an easy walking pace. Walk for 4 minutes, and amp it back to your fast run.
Switch from fast running to walking for 4 rounds. One round consists of one walk and one run.
Progression Runs
Instead of putting your treadmill at a certain speed and sticking with it for as long as possible, switch it up with a progression run. This is when your run becomes progressively faster as you go on. Like with the previous exercise, you’ll want to keep your incline at a setting of 1.
Begin your run with a slow-paced jog. This should be at a comfortable pace where you could still maintain a conversation. Slowly increase your speed, making it higher with every passing minute. Once you get to a point where you reach your limit, try and stay at this pace for another 5 minutes.
Progression Hikes
This workout will be similar to the progression run. Instead of increasing your speed, you’ll increase your incline. Your speed should be set to a comfortable walking speed. You should be able to maintain a conversation, but should still be walking briskly.
Begin with your incline set to 0. Increase your incline by 1 point every 2 minutes. Continue to increase it until you are unable to walk at a higher incline, or until your treadmill is unable to go to a higher number. Once you reach your highest point, continue walking for another 5 minutes.
Love this exercise list of good cardio exercises to do at home? Check out some of our other fitness guides below!
- What’s better an exercise bike or Treadmill – A Complete Guide to Help you Choose
- How to Exercise with a Baby at Home – Your Complete Guide
Feeling exhausted yet? There are plenty of good cardio exercises to do at home. They may be tiring and make you sweat like never before. Fortunately, there is a long list of health benefits to make it worth it! Whether you want to sweat off some weight or just increase your overall fitness, learning some good cardio exercises to do at home is a great way to boost your health.
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