7 Best Cardio Exercises You Can Do In Your Living Room

Gone are the days when there was a concept that cardio exercise can only be performed in an outdoor environment. Though the benefits of outdoor workouts cannot be ignored, indoor exercises also offer more or less similar benefits. If you want to stay fit without worrying about leaving your home or taking out specific hours to work out in the gym, you can always opt to work out in your living room. Let’s take a look at those cardio workouts that won’t pull you out of your home’s comfort.

How can I do cardio at home?

Cardio can also be performed at your home with similar kinds of benefits. Cardio activities like running, jogging, and swimming are associated with the outdoor environment and most people think that to reap the benefits of cardio, it’s important to practice such workouts. But, that’s not true. Cardio is all about increasing your heart rate to achieve the maximum supply of oxygen to the muscles. Any exercise that can help you achieve this condition is considered a cardio workout. And as long as it is beneficial, it doesn’t matter if it is performed in a gym or park or at home.

Best cardio exercises you can do in your living room

Alright, so cardio can be performed at home, even right in your living room. But what are the possible workouts that can be performed to elevate the heart rate? Let’s take a look.

1. High Knees

Running is not confined to tracks anymore. You can run right in your living room without even covering a distance. Yes, that’s a trick. To mimic the experience of running in a small place, stand in a position where your arms are placed at your side and your legs are placed together. While holding your ground and without moving forward or backward, lift one knee as you do during the running and then lower it down to repeat with the other knee. Continue performing high knees with alternative knees, while moving your arms up and down. This kind of running also increases the heart rate and increases stamina as well.

2. Squat Jumps

The squat is a well-known workout that improves the endurance and strength of lower body muscles. Squats, if combined with small jumps, can be used as a cardio workout. To perform this exercise, stand in a typical exercise position that requires you to place your feet a bit hip-width apart while standing straight. Your hands should be placed right in front of your chest, pointing outwards. Now, lower down your body in the squat position, where your knees are bent and hips are outward. From this squat position, take a jump in the air and then land back slowly. To perform another repeat, return back to the original position.

3. Toe Taps

If you aren’t up for a high-intensity workout but would not want to miss the exercise routine, you can try toe taps. Toe taps are very simple, easy to perform, and are a low-impact exercise that also works on improving your agility. To perform this workout, stand in front of a staircase or any steady object that can act as a staircase. Start by touching the right toe to the step, followed by a small jump while switching the feet during the jump and landing on the left toe on the step. Perform this workout with alternative toes as quickly as you can for straight 30-60 seconds.

4. Mountain Climbers

If you are a beginner, we would suggest you take your time with some beginner exercises and then move up to the mountain climbers. It is an advanced exercise that has been designed to work the muscles of the whole body, mainly focusing on the lower portion of the body. To perform this workout, set yourself in the pushup position, while touching your toes on the ground, one leg should be extended backward and one placed near the chest. While keeping your hands flat on the ground, quickly switch the position of the back extended leg with the other leg. Continue repeating this workout with alternative legs.

5. Jump Rope

You must’ve skipped rope during your childhood days, we all did. At that time, it was all about fun, but little did we know it actually had health benefits. Now, jumping rope has been considered one of the easiest and best cardio workouts. It increases your heartbeat in no time and is also quite helpful in weight loss. To perform this workout, take a rope and hold both ends in your hands or you can wrap the ends around your hands as well, to secure the rope well. Now swing the rope in the forward direction while making a half-circle, and right when it reaches your feet, jump over it and let the rope pass. Keep jumping straight for 30-60 seconds and increase the timing with the passage of time.

6. Burpees

To increase your heart rate in a short time while working whole body muscles, you should perform burpees in your living room. Burpees have been practiced for so long to increase muscle endurance, strength, and the agility of the body. To perform this workout, while squatting, place your hands on the floor to balance yourself and jump your feet to switch from squat to plank position. Perform one pushup while in plank position and then move your feet back to the squatting position by jumping. Jump back up and repeat the workout 5-10 times or as much as it suits you.

7. Dance

That’s our favorite on the list, and surely it must be yours as well. Dancing to your favorite music while enjoying the benefits of the exercises, who doesn’t like that. Dancing employs almost all the muscles of the body simultaneously and increases your heartbeat enough to maximize the oxygen supply to the muscles. It is a fun way that offers a full-body aerobic workout and also provides a fun alternative to routine cardio workouts.

Conclusion

The essence of cardio can be enjoyed whether practiced in indoor or outdoor environments. Not everyone can enjoy the luxury of outdoor workouts, that’s why there is always an alternative for such people. And the best part is, there is a variety of workouts to choose from that can easily be performed in your living room while watching your favorite show. In the end, all that matters is the health benefits, and cardio does not compromise on it, whether you let it have fresh air or not.