Top Cardio Workouts

Cardio exercise strengthens the heart and lungs. It is essential to everyone for a healthy lifestyle, especially those who are older, overweight, or have a heart condition. Respiratory problems such as asthma also benefit from cardio exercises. However, not everyone is fit enough for an intense cardio workout. In fact, many hardcore exercises require consent from a doctor to be safe. Begin strengthening your heart and lungs with these less intense workouts and build up to a more vigorous regimen.

1. Power Walking

This exercise starts by walking at your normal speed, then picking up the pace once your body is warmed up. Pump your arms and keep your back straight. Power walking is harder than it looks and it is up to you to keep the momentum going. Do not go for distance. Instead, go for time and increase it every week by one to three minutes. Power walking can be done any place you can walk around. For an added challenge, power walk up an incline.

It is now beyond doubt that a sedentary lifestyle causes numerous health issues. Those who walk regularly are fitter, healthier and less likely to be overweight and yet few people seem to be rising to the challenge and incorporating walking into their day. It is all too easy to make excuses for being too busy but this simply isn’t good enough. It is time to act now as walking could literally save your life.

Walk For Life

I decided some time ago that I must take on the 10,000 step challenge and walk every day regardless of my other commitments. With a full-time job and a small business, time is at a premium but the walking can be done and I am finding that taking time out to walk is actually making me more productive and certainly more upbeat. A good walk clears the mind and releases those endorphins to power positive thinking and so your mind, as well as your body, gets a valuable boost.

So how do you fit in 10,000 steps every day when your schedule looks like war and peace and how do you keep motivated? The first thing you must do is accept that walking is a necessity, not something to be cast aside when you are busy. It should be the last thing you drop from your schedule not the first. Force yourself to take a lunch hour no matter what and use that to walk with purpose and use a fitness app on your phone to chart your progress. There is something about seeing the number of steps on the display that keeps you putting one foot in front of the other.

Wherever you go outside of work, walk if it is within a couple of miles. If you have to take the car anywhere park at a distance from your destination and walk the rest. No more searching for that parking space close to the supermarket door or hoping for an opportunity on the ground floor of the multi-story. Park at the farther reaches and revel in the exercise.

2. Boxing or Kickboxing

Pretend you are in a boxing ring and there is someone in the other corner ready to fight you. Stand with your feet in line with your shoulders. Take a deep breath and begin to punch the air. Do not extend your elbow or shoulder all the way out. It can injure the joint. Punch with your arm at a slight curve to perform a jab. Curve it a little more for a hook. Alternate your arms along with jabs and hooks. Go slow and be careful at first. Wait until you warm up and have the workout down before picking up the pace and beginning to really fight.

Use the sets of exercises of training of boxers. Combine exercises in a cycle. Whatever is in stock: dumbbells, free weights, jump rope, horizontal bar or power tower. Exercise timer.

One of the most important things when it comes to having a great exercise routine is variety. Doing one thing over and over can lead to monotony. So if you are tired of feeling like you are getting nowhere on the treadmill, or cycling endless on a gym’s exercise bike, you may want to try something new. Well, have you thought about kickboxing? Kickboxing is not just for mixed martial arts experts anymore. Kickboxing has gone mainstream, combining MMA techniques with a killer cardiovascular workout.

The calorie burn is much higher with kickboxing than with other forms of workouts With kickboxing, you can burn an incredible 750 to 800 calories an hour, so you can get more bang for your buck than other forms of workouts. This is why Yahoo! Shine calls kickboxing the top calorie-burning workout out there.

If there is no time to attend training, hang a punching bag in the yard or garage. Use training gloves, so as not to injure hands. Not only does it allow efficient use of calories, but will help develop coordination, speed, and endurance.

3. “Hopscotch”

Everyone played this game as a kid. It involves hopping on one foot and landing on both feet according to the pattern chalked out on the sidewalk. Create an easier grownup version by hopping on one foot, landing on both feet, hopping on the other foot, and once again landing on both feet. Create different patterns to keep it interesting. Once you have the movements down, pick up speed. This exercise is very similar to the dance rhythm games on video game consoles which have cardio routines programmed into them as well. Any jumping, skipping rope, jumping on the bench with varying levels of intensity great cardio exercise.

4. Stair Climbing

Most people use the elevator every day to get to where they are going in tall buildings. Try using the stairs. Go up one floor at first and then add one floor a week. Go up and down the stairs at home or outside for an elongated workout. Increase your speed as you go, but be careful not to trip. Your hamstrings may need a good stretch afterward. Most importantly, try your best not to reenact scenes from Rocky no matter how tempting it may seem.

If you are not near a Park or the treadmill or just don’t have time – use the walk the stairs in your home. This is a great alternative run.

5. Stay Fit And Healthy With Swimming

We all know that Swimming is one of the most effective forms of all-around exercise. It is considered to be an ideal sport that helps you stay active and healthy. Swimming can benefit anyone and everyone, irrespective of age and ability. Moreover, various clinical studies have proved that it is an ideal way to reduce the risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and blood pressure. It can also boost your mood and keep your weight under control. In this post, we’ve come up with a guide that is specifically designed to make swimming fun and safe for everyone.

Believe it or not, swimming is one of the safest forms of exercise where you do not have to worry about muscle jerks and over exercising. With few techniques and guidance, you can keep your body fit without having to over workout. Let’s take a look at few things you must consider while preparing yourself for swimming.

• Get your GP done if you have an existing health problem.
• Do not go into the deep if you are afraid of water.
• Go for beginners’ lessons to develop confidence.

The first step to a healthier lifestyle is taking it slow and working your way up to a serious workout. Low-intensity workouts make it possible for even the unhealthiest and out of shape individual to improve their health and prolong their life.