What is Cardio? – Cardio Exercises at Home

Cardio training is a must for those who want to lose weight and stay fit. We gathered the most common and also most effective cardio exercises to do both outdoors and at home without needing any equipment.

What does cardio mean?

The word cardio comes from the Ancient Greek word kardia, which means “heart”. Therefore, cardio exercises include movements that increase the capacity of the heart. In other words, cardio exercises improve cardiovascular health.

What are cardio exercises?

Cardio exercises are any kind of rhythmic activity that raises your heart rate into your target heart rate zone. In this zone, you burn the most fat and calories. It gets your blood pumping and makes you sweat.

Cardio workouts are great for fat burn and weight loss. Some of the most common cardio workouts are:

• Brisk walking
• Running
• Cycling
• Jumping rope
• Swimming

If you can’t do any of these heart rate-boosting workouts, don’t worry. Even some daily household chores like vacuuming and mopping or just dancing to music can potentially be classified as cardio. So, if an activity gets your heart rate up for a while, it’s cardio.

How can I do cardio exercises at home?

Any kind of physical activity that makes your heart rate go up is considered cardio. A few simple cardio exercises that can be done at home without any equipment are:

• Arm Circles
• Jumping Jacks
• Plank Jacks
• Burpees
• Squat Jumps
• Jump Lunges
• Mountain Climbers
• High Knee Run
• Butt Kicks

You can also follow Fitness Kompanion’s Journey section to find your personalized and organized at-home cardio workouts without needing any equipment.

How often should I do cardio training?

NHS (National Health Service of the United Kingdom) recommends a minimum of 150 minutes (2.5 hours) of moderate cardio (cardiovascular) activity per week.

According to this calculation, cardio activities that increase the heart rate should be performed for a minimum of 20 minutes a day.

Cardio benefits

Cardio exercises have numerous benefits. A regular cardio workout routine:

• Improves the cardiovascular system.
• Strengthens the heart so that it doesn’t have to work as hard to pump blood.
• Improves blood flow and gives your circulatory system a boost.
• Expands lungs and breathing capacity.
• Improves your metabolism.
• Burns fat and promotes weight loss.
• Reduces the risk of heart attack, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and type 2 diabetes.
• Increases bone density.
• Lowers stress and puts you in a good mood by helping endorphin secretion.
• Enhances your sleep quality.
• Boosts your self-confidence about your looks.

To sum up

Cardio exercises are essential for a healthy cardiovascular system. They are beneficial to the lungs, muscles, bones, and even all organs as well as the heart. If you’re planning to do your cardio exercises at home, don’t forget to start slowly to warm your body up.

Fitness Kompanion offers the right type and pace of cardio for your fitness level and goals but if you have any kind of heart problems, you should first consult your doctor before starting your fitness Journey.

Bear in mind that cardio itself is not sufficient to create dramatic weight changes. It should be supported by healthy eating habits.