Doing your cardio exercising at home is an attractive option, offering convenience as well as a way to save money and time. Luckily, a good cardio workout doesn't have to require a ton of space or fancy equipment, and with a little creativity, you can put together a fitness routine with a wide range of effective cardio exercises that will tone muscle, burn calories, and help you lose weight. Below are some home cardio exercises you can do anytime, anywhere.
Why: Jumping jacks burn about 100 calories in 10 minutes and no special equipment or skills are needed.
Requirements: A good pair of shoes, a conditioned heart
Precautions: Jumping jacks are high impact, which may tax the joints. They may also remind you of elementary or high school gym class traumas.
Variations: Plyo-jacks (squatting then jumping in the air), stepping the feet out rather than jumping, holding a medicine ball, push-up jacks (jumping the legs together while doing push-ups)
In a Cardio Circuit: Use jumping jacks in a circuit, doing them for 30-60 seconds and alternating them with other cardio exercises such as marching, jogging, jumping rope, etc. Try a different variation of jumping jacks each time, repeating the circuit for 10-30 minutes.
In a Strength Circuit: Alternate 30-60 seconds of jumping jacks with strength exercises such as squats, lunges, pushups, and dips for 10-30 minutes.
In Your Regular Workout: Add a high-intensity blast to your regular cardio or strength workouts by adding a minute or more of jumping jacks throughout the workout or at the end.
Why: It's great cardio, burning about 220 calories in 20 minutes. Jump ropes are inexpensive, travel well, require no special skills, and can be used anywhere you have space.
Requirements: A jump rope, a good pair of shoes, patience, and practice
Precautions: Jumping rope is high impact and requires practice. It looks easy, but beginners may have all the grace of a pigeon-toed elephant and trip often. For the best results, turn the rope with the wrists, not the arms, and land softly. Only jump high enough to clear the rope.
Variations: Jumping on one foot, alternating feet, crossing the feet, jumping with high knees, double turning the rope
In a Beginner Circuit: Alternating 10-30 seconds of jumping with marching in place for 5-10 circuits. Gradually work up to longer jumping sessions
In a Cardio Circuit: Alternate 30-60 seconds of jumping with other cardio exercises such as marching, jogging, jumping jacks, etc.
In a Strength Circuit: Alternate 30-60 seconds of jumping with strength exercises, such as squats, lunges, push-ups, and dips.
Why: It's simple, accessible, gets the heart rate up, and is a great way to warm up for more intense exercise.
Requirements: A good pair of shoes
Precautions: It's high impact, which may tax the joints, and it can be boring. Because there's no forward motion, it isn't as intense as jogging outside.
Variations: Press the arms overhead, high knees, butt kicks, wide knees
As a Warm Up: Start by marching in place, then slowly change that to a jog to prepare your body for more strenuous exercise.
In a Cardio Circuit: Alternate jogging in place with other cardio exercises, such as marching, jogging, jumping rope, step touches, etc. Do each for 30-60 seconds, repeating the circuit for 10-30 minutes.
In a Strength Circuit: Alternate 30-60 seconds of jogging in place with strength exercises, such as squats, lunges, push-ups, and dips for 10-30 minutes.
As an Active Break: Try jogging in place when you need an active break at work or at home.
Why: It's a killer cardio exercise, burning 100 or more calories in 10 minutes (if you can stomach 10 minutes of this exercise).
Requirements: A good pair of shoes, experience with high impact exercise, an iron will
Precautions: They're really, really hard.
Variations: Stepping the feet back instead of jumping, jump up at the end, add a push-up, use equipment for an additional challenge (medicine ball, BOSU, kettlebell, or sliding discs)
Sparingly: As mentioned above, they're really, really hard, so pace yourself.
In a Cardio Circuit: Incorporate 30-60 seconds of burpees every 3-4 minutes of a cardio circuit that includes other exercises, such as marching, jogging, jumping rope, step touches, etc.
In a Strength Circuit: Add 30-60 seconds of burpees for every 3-5 strength exercises, such as squats, lunges, push-ups, and dips for 10-30 minutes.
In High-Intensity Interval Training: Do 30-60 seconds of burpees, rest for 30-60 seconds, and repeat for 10 or more minutes. You can also use burpees in a Tabata workout.
Why: Mountain climbers raise the heart rate while building strength and endurance in the core. No special skills are needed.
Requirements: Strong wrists
Precautions: This exercise can tax the wrists, arms, and shoulders, as well as the core.
Variations: Alternate jumping each foot forward and back; use sliding discs, paper plates or towels; combine them with other exercises such as burpees, push-ups, or planks
In a Cardio Circuit: Add mountain climbers to your cardio circuit, doing them for 30-60 seconds each time.
In a Strength Workout: Combine mountain climbers with push-ups or planks to add intensity.
In Combinations: For high intensity, do a series of mountain climbers with burpees, alternate 10 push-ups with 10 mountain climbers, or add them to bear crawls.
Why: Squat jumps are a plyometric exercise that will raise the heart rate, burn calories, and increase power in the legs. No special skills are needed.
Requirements: Happy knees, experience with high impact exercise, and a good pair of shoes
Precautions: This exercise is high impact and high intensity, and requires strong joints and a strong heart. With any plyo exercise, land softly to protect the joints.
Variations: Prisoner squat jumps (with your hands behind your head), froggy jumps (touch the ground when you squat), on a BOSU
In a Cardio Workout: Incorporate 30-60 seconds of squat jumps into your regular cardio workout or in a cardio circuit with other exercises, such as marching, jogging, jumping rope, step touches, etc.
In a Lower Body Workout: Add 30-60 seconds of squat jumps after every 3-5 lower body exercise, such as squats, lunges, or deadlifts to increase intensity, power, and strength.
In High-Intensity Interval Training: Do 30-60 seconds of squat jumps, rest for 30-60 seconds, and repeat for 10 or more minutes. You can also use squat jumps in a Tabata workout.
Why: They get the heart rate way up while building strength and endurance.
Requirements: Experience with high-intensity exercise
Precautions: This move is tougher than it looks and the intensity accumulates quickly.
Variations: No push-up, push-up on the knees, keeping the knees down as you crawl in and out
In a Cardio/Strength Workout: Incorporate 30-60 seconds of bear crawls into your regular cardio workout or in a cardio circuit with other exercises such as marching, jogging, jumping rope, burpees, etc.
In an Upper Body Workout: Add 30-60 seconds of bear crawls for every 3-5 upper body exercises such as push-ups, chest presses, or dumbbell rows to increase intensity, power, and strength.
In High-Intensity Interval Training: Do 30-60 seconds of bear crawls, rest for 30-60 seconds, and repeat for 10 or more minutes, or alternate bear crawls with other high-intensity exercises such as burpees or squat jumps. You can also use bear crawls in a Tabata workout.
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Jumping Jacks
What: Repeatedly jumping the feet wide while circling the arms overhead, then back againWhy: Jumping jacks burn about 100 calories in 10 minutes and no special equipment or skills are needed.
Requirements: A good pair of shoes, a conditioned heart
Precautions: Jumping jacks are high impact, which may tax the joints. They may also remind you of elementary or high school gym class traumas.
Variations: Plyo-jacks (squatting then jumping in the air), stepping the feet out rather than jumping, holding a medicine ball, push-up jacks (jumping the legs together while doing push-ups)
Best Ways to Use Jumping Jacks in a Workout:
In a Cardio Circuit: Use jumping jacks in a circuit, doing them for 30-60 seconds and alternating them with other cardio exercises such as marching, jogging, jumping rope, etc. Try a different variation of jumping jacks each time, repeating the circuit for 10-30 minutes.
In a Strength Circuit: Alternate 30-60 seconds of jumping jacks with strength exercises such as squats, lunges, pushups, and dips for 10-30 minutes.
In Your Regular Workout: Add a high-intensity blast to your regular cardio or strength workouts by adding a minute or more of jumping jacks throughout the workout or at the end.
Jump Rope
What: Turning a rope with handles repeatedly while jumping over it and (optional) chanting rhymesWhy: It's great cardio, burning about 220 calories in 20 minutes. Jump ropes are inexpensive, travel well, require no special skills, and can be used anywhere you have space.
Requirements: A jump rope, a good pair of shoes, patience, and practice
Precautions: Jumping rope is high impact and requires practice. It looks easy, but beginners may have all the grace of a pigeon-toed elephant and trip often. For the best results, turn the rope with the wrists, not the arms, and land softly. Only jump high enough to clear the rope.
Variations: Jumping on one foot, alternating feet, crossing the feet, jumping with high knees, double turning the rope
Best Ways to Use Jumping Rope in a Workout:
In a Beginner Circuit: Alternating 10-30 seconds of jumping with marching in place for 5-10 circuits. Gradually work up to longer jumping sessions
In a Cardio Circuit: Alternate 30-60 seconds of jumping with other cardio exercises such as marching, jogging, jumping jacks, etc.
In a Strength Circuit: Alternate 30-60 seconds of jumping with strength exercises, such as squats, lunges, push-ups, and dips.
Jogging in Place
What: Jogging in a stationary positionWhy: It's simple, accessible, gets the heart rate up, and is a great way to warm up for more intense exercise.
Requirements: A good pair of shoes
Precautions: It's high impact, which may tax the joints, and it can be boring. Because there's no forward motion, it isn't as intense as jogging outside.
Variations: Press the arms overhead, high knees, butt kicks, wide knees
Best Ways to Use Jogging in Place in a Workout:
As a Warm Up: Start by marching in place, then slowly change that to a jog to prepare your body for more strenuous exercise.
In a Cardio Circuit: Alternate jogging in place with other cardio exercises, such as marching, jogging, jumping rope, step touches, etc. Do each for 30-60 seconds, repeating the circuit for 10-30 minutes.
In a Strength Circuit: Alternate 30-60 seconds of jogging in place with strength exercises, such as squats, lunges, push-ups, and dips for 10-30 minutes.
As an Active Break: Try jogging in place when you need an active break at work or at home.
Burpees
What: Squatting to the floor, jumping the feet to a plank position, jumping back in, and standing upWhy: It's a killer cardio exercise, burning 100 or more calories in 10 minutes (if you can stomach 10 minutes of this exercise).
Requirements: A good pair of shoes, experience with high impact exercise, an iron will
Precautions: They're really, really hard.
Variations: Stepping the feet back instead of jumping, jump up at the end, add a push-up, use equipment for an additional challenge (medicine ball, BOSU, kettlebell, or sliding discs)
Best Ways to Use Burpees in a Workout:
Sparingly: As mentioned above, they're really, really hard, so pace yourself.
In a Cardio Circuit: Incorporate 30-60 seconds of burpees every 3-4 minutes of a cardio circuit that includes other exercises, such as marching, jogging, jumping rope, step touches, etc.
In a Strength Circuit: Add 30-60 seconds of burpees for every 3-5 strength exercises, such as squats, lunges, push-ups, and dips for 10-30 minutes.
In High-Intensity Interval Training: Do 30-60 seconds of burpees, rest for 30-60 seconds, and repeat for 10 or more minutes. You can also use burpees in a Tabata workout.
Mountain Climbers
What: Running the knees in and out from a push-up position.Why: Mountain climbers raise the heart rate while building strength and endurance in the core. No special skills are needed.
Requirements: Strong wrists
Precautions: This exercise can tax the wrists, arms, and shoulders, as well as the core.
Variations: Alternate jumping each foot forward and back; use sliding discs, paper plates or towels; combine them with other exercises such as burpees, push-ups, or planks
Best Ways to Use Mountain Climbers in a Workout:
In a Cardio Circuit: Add mountain climbers to your cardio circuit, doing them for 30-60 seconds each time.
In a Strength Workout: Combine mountain climbers with push-ups or planks to add intensity.
In Combinations: For high intensity, do a series of mountain climbers with burpees, alternate 10 push-ups with 10 mountain climbers, or add them to bear crawls.
Squat Jumps
What: From a squat position, jump as high as you can, landing back into a squatWhy: Squat jumps are a plyometric exercise that will raise the heart rate, burn calories, and increase power in the legs. No special skills are needed.
Requirements: Happy knees, experience with high impact exercise, and a good pair of shoes
Precautions: This exercise is high impact and high intensity, and requires strong joints and a strong heart. With any plyo exercise, land softly to protect the joints.
Variations: Prisoner squat jumps (with your hands behind your head), froggy jumps (touch the ground when you squat), on a BOSU
Best Ways to Use Squat Jumps in a Workout:
In a Cardio Workout: Incorporate 30-60 seconds of squat jumps into your regular cardio workout or in a cardio circuit with other exercises, such as marching, jogging, jumping rope, step touches, etc.
In a Lower Body Workout: Add 30-60 seconds of squat jumps after every 3-5 lower body exercise, such as squats, lunges, or deadlifts to increase intensity, power, and strength.
In High-Intensity Interval Training: Do 30-60 seconds of squat jumps, rest for 30-60 seconds, and repeat for 10 or more minutes. You can also use squat jumps in a Tabata workout.
Bear Crawls
What: Squatting to the floor, walking the hands out to do a push-up, walking the hands back. and standing up...like a bearWhy: They get the heart rate way up while building strength and endurance.
Requirements: Experience with high-intensity exercise
Precautions: This move is tougher than it looks and the intensity accumulates quickly.
Variations: No push-up, push-up on the knees, keeping the knees down as you crawl in and out
Best Ways to Use Bear Crawls in a Workout:
In a Cardio/Strength Workout: Incorporate 30-60 seconds of bear crawls into your regular cardio workout or in a cardio circuit with other exercises such as marching, jogging, jumping rope, burpees, etc.
In an Upper Body Workout: Add 30-60 seconds of bear crawls for every 3-5 upper body exercises such as push-ups, chest presses, or dumbbell rows to increase intensity, power, and strength.
In High-Intensity Interval Training: Do 30-60 seconds of bear crawls, rest for 30-60 seconds, and repeat for 10 or more minutes, or alternate bear crawls with other high-intensity exercises such as burpees or squat jumps. You can also use bear crawls in a Tabata workout.
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