Maintaining a good level of fitness is a key component for your well-being and cardiovascular exercise is especially important. Cardio workouts reduce the risk of obesity, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes. They also reduce blood pressure and cholesterol. When it’s too hot or too cold to go outside for exercise, there are a number of indoor cardio exercises that you can do to stay in shape. They involve bursts of high-intensity exercise followed by lighter activity periods in order to maximize your cardio training and time.

 

Here are a few convenient cardio exercises and machines to use:

The Elliptical, stationary bike or treadmill.

These are some of the most typical cardio machines that will find in many gyms, which fulfills the function of also replacing some of the most elementary exercises that exist: going for a run. It has a few obvious advantages, such as for those cases in which you do not want to exercise outdoors, due to the weather, temperature or simply too not miss your favorite program.

If you don’t have an exercise machine at home and are planning to buy a bike or foldable treadmill machine, then choose one which you prefer, as both the exercise bike or treadmill, are both great ways to get a good cardio workout in.

A great high intensity workout you can do is to go all out (sprint or pedal over a certain speed) for 1 minute followed by 1 and a half minutes of low intensity. Repeat this cycle 4 – 5 times and you have a great workout in a short amount of time. This can really be applied to any exercise or group of exercises.

Jumping Jacks

This is a great cardio workout working your whole body and allowing you to reach a great range of motion. It’s not just for the kids!

 

 

Skipping/jump rope

One of the most effective cardio workouts that takes up very little space and trains much more than just cardiovascular health. It helps with other aspects like coordination and ‘multi tasking’ while exercising. Remember, practice makes perfect.

Burpees

Another great all rounded exercise as it works almost every muscle group in your body and leaves you feeling the burn.

Jump squats

This exercise is highly recommended by all professionals and it is extremely effective. It requires the user to get into squat position and then jump as high as one can and then land back on the feet and perform the activity again and again. Jumping forward and covering distance while performing squats is very effective and it results in an increased heart rate and blood flow whilst also strengthening the legs.

 

 

bear crawls

This is also a very strenuous exercise and requires a lot of stamina. It requires the performer to squat down to the floor in a push-up position and then perform a push up, getting back to the squat position and repeating the cycle again. This is a very hard exercise as it is not easy to do push-ups in synchronization with squats hence, it requires a lot of stamina but it produces great results.

Stretching and yoga

When it comes to exercising it is also important to stretch every now and again to keep your agility and range of motion optimal. There are many great power yoga poses that can be done at home to increase your flexibility and allow for some mindfulness. Remember to focus on your breath with each pose, and also when you are performing any cardio workout.

 

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