Not everyone comes to Rising Fitness in Houston, TX, every day. Some come three times a week and fill in the remainder of days with exercise or activities done at home. Many of those exercises are cardio workouts. They can be as simple as walking briskly for a half hour or dancing to their favorite songs or be an actual workout. Jumping rope is one of the favorites that doesn’t require expensive equipment, but certainly gets your heart pounding.
Try HIIT—high intensity interval training.
What is HIIT? It’s not an exercise but a way of doing any exercise. You alternate between doing the exercise at peak intensity for a specified time, such as a minute, then revert to a recovery pace that’s much less intense for the same length of time or longer. Studies show that it gets more success in less time. However, if you’re new to exercise, just doing 30 minutes of HIIT a week and for more experienced exercisers, doing 60 minutes is recommended. You can alternate speed and intensity when you walk, jump rope or do any cardio workout to make it a HIIT workout.
Get things done while you do cardio.
Cardio makes you breathe hard and gets your heart pounding. You don’t need formal exercise to do that. If you have a bike with baskets and it’s feasible, take it to the store to do grocery shopping or ride it to visit friends that live close. Put some elbow-grease into cleaning and run when you’re taking laundry from the dryer to put away or scrub the windows vigorously, getting as much action in your arms as you can. Instead of thinking of it as cleaning, think of it as exercise time and speed through it. Going up and down stairs quickly is also good cardio.
Do calisthenics at home for a cardio workout.
Mountain climbers build strength, but they’re also a great cardio workout. Start in a high plank position with toes and palms touching the floor. Bring one knee to your chest and return to starting position, then do the other, as though you’re running. The faster you go, the more of a cardio workout you’ll get. A stationary high knee march is another. Just march in place, lifting your knee as close to your chest as you can as you march. Burpees and lunges are also two great cardio workouts that don’t require any equipment, so they’re perfect to do at home.
- Jumping jacks are simple and easy to do. Remember the goal is always to raise your heart rate.
- If you want an excellent cardio workout that’s kind to your knees and ankles, go swimming. Swimming builds strength, cardio endurance and even helps flexibility. You can swim laps or do exercise in the pool.
- If you’re just beginning or completely out of shape, don’t try to do your cardio for a half hour straight. Instead, break it down to three ten minute sessions you do throughout the day. Busy people can also use this tip.
- Just like any exercise, form is extremely important. Focus on form first, before you speed things up and get your heart pumping.
For more information, contact us today at Rising Fitness Gym