When it comes to working out, one of the most popular forms of exercise that you can do is cardio. The idea of cardio workouts is that they will raise your heart rate and get your blood pumping around your body. This will in turn help you to burn calories and fat from across your entire body and help to strengthen your heart too.
Cardio workouts can really vary and which one you choose will really depend on your own personal workout preference. To help you to choose which one might be best for you, we have put together our guide on the top 5 cardio workout ideas for you to try out for yourself.
HIIT
One of the most popular cardio workouts that you can choose to do are High Intensity Interval Training workouts. There are a variety of reasons why people choose to do these. Many know that HIIT workouts are great for getting your blood pumping and your heart racing, which of course is the main thing to focus on with cardio workouts.
Not only this, but HIIT workouts are also quick and easy to work into your regular routine. You can do them at the park, you can do them at the gym or, if you prefer, you can do them at home. You can get a really high-quality workout in as little as 10 minutes, which means that even the busiest of people will have enough time to work on their fitness.
Cycling
Cycling is often thought about as a way to get around and to avoid the usual sort of commute. However, it is so much more than this. Cycling can be a great way to be social and to improve your fitness levels too. This is particularly true if you want to try mountain biking.
Not only will spending a few hours cycling across the rugged landscape help you to feel free, but it will also get your heart working too. It also helps you by getting you out in the fresh air, boosting your serotonin.
If you don’t own a bike and want to cycle at home, you can always try a spinning bike for your home.
Swimming
You may not sweat when you swim, but that doesn’t mean that you are not working out. Swimming is a great way to work out as it allows you to really push yourself, yet minimise the damage to your joints. Swimming is also great for your lung health, and it is something that anyone can do, regardless of their fitness levels.
You simply need to try to push yourself each time you swim and aim for around 3 sessions per week of an hour’s swimming.
Boxing
There is a reason that boxers look the way that they do. Boxing is a great cardio workout and will really give your entire body a good fitness boost. It is important to remember that this doesn’t mean that you must start sparring with people, a basic boxing themed workout is enough to work for you.
In fact, if you perform punch combos with a bag (or with a partner if you prefer) then you can expect to burn as many as 800 calories in an hour, which is a rather impressive amount and a sure-fire fast track to some amazing weight loss and body toning.
Burpees
Whilst burpees are often a part of a HIIT workout, we thought that it would be a great idea to try and include them as a workout in their own right. The great thing about burpees is that you can do them whenever and wherever you want. This means that you can enjoy (if you can say that) this exercises around the rest of your life.
For every burpee that you can do, you can expect to burn as much as 1.4 calories. This means that just 7 in a minute will get you burning a number of calories. That said, you should aim for around 10 a minute, as this is when your metabolism is going to get kick-started and you will start to find that you can manage to lose calories, even when you are resting after a workout.
As you can see, there are so many cardio workouts that you can do that it is easy to find something that you enjoy. So, what are you waiting for? If you want to increase your fitness, you want to improve your health, or you want to use cardio for weight loss? There is going to be a workout for you!
