You do not need to belong to a gym to be in shape since there are plenty of home cardio exercises that you can do. There are conflicting opinions of how much cardio you need to do every week so you should forget the rules and just do it for your health. After a good workout your muscles are warm, blood is pumping hard through your body and your body just feels good.
- Running – This is by far one of the best home cardio exercises that you can do. There is no equipment required other then a good pair of running shoes and you burn a ton of calories. If you find a path with a few hills then you can burn even more and the best part is you can never run out of places to perform this exercise. You get bored with one path that you usually take, then you just take a different one. The possibilities are endless. Be careful though, running is addictive. You may want to get a running journal or just a notepad and keep track of your distance and time since chances are you will to aim to beat it.
- Bicycling – This is one of the top picked, fun, at home cardio exercises. This requires you using a lot of power in your legs and when those large muscles are working, you are burning a lot of calories. Be sure to wear a safety helmet.
- Step Aerobics– This has been a favorite among home cardio exercises since it made its debut. It burns a lot of calories, shapes your butt, legs and hips, all in about 30 minutes or less.
- Walking – This is not a casual stroll you are going for here! Put a little oomph into it! Some people can walk as fast as a slow jogger without having to put any impact on their knees. Anyone can participate in this and you can walk absolutely anywhere. Keep your head up and swing your arms.
- Jumping Rope – When you think of home cardio exercises you may not think of jumping rope but this is an intense exercise. It is tough to do for the 30 minute time frame you might do one of the other exercise choices for, in fact, it is recommended that you jump rope for 3 minutes. Do this and then rest for one minute and repeat as many times as you can. Resting does not mean sitting, keep moving!
It is important to pick an activity that your really enjoy and that does not actually feel like work to you. If you are just starting out, do not over do it. Your body needs time to adjust. Increase your workout time and intensity more every week and be sure to stretch. Your muscles need to be warmed up and cooled down and allowed appropriate resting time.
When burning calories you need to make sure to feed your body healthy foods and stay hydrated. Your body is a machine and cannot work properly without healthy nutrients. Do not think of your home cardio exercises as something you have to do but rather as something you want to do.