Those extra pounds hanging here and there, will totally weigh you down and make you lose your confidence while making a public appearance. CARDIOS are the simplest and easiest exercise to maintain a healthy weight and build stamina. Cardio exercises work on increasing your heartbeat rate to pump blood and oxygen to the muscles so that they are less likely to get fatigued. Cardio helps in fat loss, as you burn the stored fat in your body, by burning the calories through exercise. Your heart too grows stronger, like any other muscle, by the stress induced by cardio exercise. Just as you can train your cardiovascular system to increase stamina, you can also increase muscular stamina, which improves your body’s overall endurance. Given below are 25 Cardio exercises, and some of them do not even require you to go to the gym or use expensive equipment.
1. RUNNING
There is nothing better than a long good run in the morning or at evening. Running or Jogging can get you a chance to get out of the house, have a blast of fresh air, meet your friends, and burn calories- all great perks that you would not be getting from sitting on your couch.
2. USING THE STAIRS
Though a lot of people consider running for an hour or two to burn their calories, few of them consider taking the stairs at their apartment or office. Try ditching the elevator and climbing the stairs briskly the next time. It may seem like a small change but has huge impact and intensity on burning those extra pounds.
3. JUMPING ROPE (SKIPPING)
A Jump Rope is a simple piece of equipment to get your body into a good shape. It is a phenomenal workout for both the body and mind, since both are constantly working while skipping. Jump over the rope for 30 minutes, trying different speed levels and variations like jumping to a musical rhythm or 2 rope rotations before a jump, to keep yourself engaged and entertained while working out.
4. BURPEES
Burpees challenge every part of the body and send your heart soaring in no time. The basic movement of a Burpee is done in 4 steps- 1) Lower your body to a squat and place your hands on the floor in front of the feet, 2) Shift your weight to the hands and jump your feet back and land on your toes in a plank position. Now the body should rest in a straight position from your head to toe, and the weight should be on the core. 3) Jump your feet back and return back to the first squat position. 4) Reach your arms over your head and explosively jump into the air. Land and immediately lower your back and return to position for your next rep.
5. JUMP LUNGES
To get started with a jumping lunge, Stand in the ready position with one leg forward, one leg back. Hold your arms in a ready position with the elbows bent at 90 degrees, one arm in front of your body and the other arm back, using alternating arms to legs. Lunge forward and from the lunge, jump straight into the air as you switch your arm and leg positions, then land with the opposite arm and leg in front. You can do upto 20 to 30 reps. Lunges help you burn about 12 calories per minute, so you can get more out of the workout in a small time duration.
6. JUMP SQUATS
Just like Jumping Lunges, jumping squats add a cardio element to a basic strengthening exercise. Perform a bodyweight squat with your arms straight out in front of you or bent with your hands behind your ears. At the bottom of the squat, jump as high as you can, land with your knees slightly bent, then immediately sink into your next squat.
7. MOUNTAIN CLIMBERS
Mountain climbers exercise your quads and the core and are sure to get your heart rate up. As you are making use of your own body weight, you can perform the move just about anywhere. Get into a plank position, making sure to distribute your weight evenly between your hands and your toes. Pull your right knee into your chest as far as you can. Then switch, pulling that knee out and bringing the other knee in. Keeping your hips down, run your knees in and out as far and as fast as you can. Alternate inhaling and exhaling with each leg change.
8. SPEED SKATER LUNGE
This exercise is a bit intense, and an excellent fat burner and metabolism booster. To begin with the exercise, Stand upright with your feet close together. Leap to your left and land on your left foot. As you land, bring your right foot behind you and to the left. Now return to upright and leap to the right, repeating by dropping into a right lunge with the left leg extending back behind you.
9. CRAB PLANK
No workout routine is complete without a plank. While plank on its own does not sound like a Cardio, add some boost to this core strengthening exercise by adding side to side crab-walking movements. Start in a high plank position (like the top of a push-up). Moving both your hand and leg at the same time, take a step to the side. Use the other arm and leg to return to your starting location, unless you want to crab-plank your way down a hallway or sidewalk. In that case, be sure to switch sides halfway to your destination to work both sides of your body equally. Take a step to the side by moving both your hand and your leg.
10. BICYCLE CRUNCHES
With the amount of frequent movement that a set of Bicycle Crunches requires, you can burn some serious calories. Though this exercise alone cannot help you lose fat, combining it with other exercises will be effective for strengthening the abs. Lie flat on the floor with your lower back pressed to the ground (pull your navel in to target your deep abs). Put your hands behind your head, then bring your knees in towards your chest and lift your shoulder blades off the ground, but be sure not to pull on your neck. Straighten your right leg out to about a 45-degree angle to the ground while turning your upper body to the left, bringing your right elbow towards the left knee. Make sure your rib cage is moving and not just your elbows. Now switch sides and do the same motion on the other side to complete one rep.
