15 Beginner-Friendly Cardio Workouts For Your Fitness

Cardio exercises are best known for promoting a healthy lifestyle. Often referred to as Aerobic exercises, people get intimidated by these cardio workouts. They think these exercises are exhausting, enduring, and based on long-term goals. But as a beginner, you can start with easier workouts and gradually update your difficulty level based on body strength and endurance. Now let’s explore more about these top cargo exercises through this article.

What Are Cardio Exercises?

Cardio Exercises or Cardiovascular workouts are vigorous physical activities that increase the heart rate, bodily respiration, and oxygen level. The main aim of the best cardio exercises is to ensure the flow of blood throughout the body repetitively and rhythmically by using large muscle groups. When practiced over a considerable period, it boosts your body’s metabolism and assures you to lead a healthy lifestyle.

Here Are The Lists Of 15 Best Cardio Exercises For Beginners

To start from scratch, don’t get rattled by thinking about vigorous exercises. You should warm up and practice any of these lists of cardio exercises at home and outdoors:

Walking

Not known to many, walking is a great way of improving a healthy lifestyle.  As a beginner, you can regularly walk or jog for 50 minutes a day. It will increase cardiovascular fitness, make your bones stronger, and help to lose weight. Here are some health benefits of walking as a part of cardio for beginners:

• Minimizes chances of heart disease and stroke
• Gets rid of muscle pain and stiffness
• Controls the blood sugar level along with Type I and II diabetes
• Manages hypertension

But if you don’t like to engage in daily workouts, walking regularly for 30-40 minutes is not an easy call for you. So, in that case, prefer walking in place of driving while visiting your locality. You can also have the company of your friends, pets, or family while walking to make the activity less boring.

Climbing Stairs

Health experts have found that climbing stairs is one of the most effective ways to prevent cardiac diseases. Just by altering some of the daily habits like using stairs instead of escalators and elevators, today’s youth can eliminate health concerns like obesity and short-notice cardiac arrests. The health benefits of climbing stairs include:

• Boosts the function of the heart and lungs
• Improves blood circulation by controlling sugar levels
• Reduces chances of heart disease, colon cancer, and diabetes
• Healthy bones with a lower risk of osteoporosis and arthritis
• Burns fat and controls body weight

Only half an hour of climbing your home stairs can make you more physically active than earlier.

Running

Running or jogging is the best beginner cardio workout one can perform every day. You don’t require any equipment and can start running from today itself. Only 10-15 minutes of daily running can improve your cardiovascular health. When you are sleeping, then it lowers the resting heart rate and contributes to overall fitness. Other than adding your cardiovascular efficiency, here are some other benefits of running daily:

• Deeper sound sleep for 7-8 hours
• Aerobic exercises like running relieve stress and pain
• Those who run routinely have a lower rate of arthritis
• Contributes to improving memory

Given that you can expect so much from daily running, you should make a plan before setting running goals. Try to set realistic attainable goals and if possible bring variations in your running schedule. Like, you can combine your running programs alongside other light exercises.

Cardio Kickboxing

Those who want to improve their fighter spirits along with some cardio for beginners can consider kickboxing. Kickboxing is a mixed form of martial arts, aerobics, and boxing. Following some minor warm-ups, you may expect a series of kicks, punches, and hand strikes with the cardio exercise. Cardio Kickboxing will benefit you in the following ways:

• Helps to build strength and endurance
• Relieves your stress and fatigue
• Work on your reflexes

It depends on your body capability and on how long to continue kickboxing. But in general, one hour every 2-3 days will help you master the art.

Cycling

Cycling being a low-impact cardio exercise can be practiced by people of all age groups. So, Cycling as a form of beginner cardio workout increases your strength and stamina. Moreover, it won’t cause much strain or physical injuries compared to other intense exercises. To think of cycling as a starter you can begin at very low intensity and when you master the skill then, make it adventurous. Some health benefits of cycling are:

• You can strengthen heart muscles by cycling
• Reduces the blood fat level
• It enhances the metabolic rate and burns excess fat
• Can address severe health effects like Type 2 diabetes

As a beginner, have your comfort level as 2 days cycling for 40 minutes a week will be enough. But, soon train yourself and make cycling a daily habit. You can develop leg muscles with increased stamina through cycling.

Pushups

Push-ups may appear as one of the basic exercises but while practicing you have to use your muscles all over the body. But your upper arms and chest have to be involved the most in this cardio exercise. The benefits of daily pushups are:

• Helps to lose weight
• Protects the lower back from injuries
• Strengthen your shoulder muscles
• Makes your body flexible
• Helps you in warming up
• Improve sports performance

To start from basics, you should do 10-15 pushups a day to intensify your upper body strength.

Swimming

Swimming is among the vigorous aerobic exercises that will help your body and health in the long run. These swimming strokes make a beginner’s body more rhythmic and prepare for coordinated movements. These best cardio exercises like swimming involve whole-body workouts including your feet, arms, legs, head, torso, and hands. Some health benefits of swimming are:

• Drains the body’s overall stress impact
• Maintains body flexibility and better coordination
• Lesser chances of chronic diseases
• A wise balance of muscle toning and cardio fitness

To start with, you can follow some of the easy swimming strokes such as backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly stroke, and freestyle.

Pull Ups

Pull-ups help in strengthening the upper body along with additional support to your cardiac health. For practicing pull-ups, you have to hang onto a pull-up bar with your palm facing away from you. Make sure that your body extends to the maximum possible level. Some benefits of pull-ups are:

• Supports your arm and back muscles
• Strengthens your shoulder muscles
• Improves the strength of your grips
• Adds to the overall body strength

Given that pull-ups require a lot of upper-body strength, therefore, you should start with chin-ups at first.

Jump Rope

When you make a list of cardio exercises at home, then nothing fits better than jumping rope. The outcome of jumping rope can be expected in a shorter time compared to other cardio tryouts like running. Moreover, you don’t need to make many arrangements for jump rope cardio practices. Here are some benefits of jump rope:

• It improves coordination because you have to move multiple body parts in jumping rope
• Assists in building muscle, particularly toning the legs, shoulders, glutes, hamstrings, and arms
• Faster burn of calories that is 200 to 300 calories in 20 min. approx
• No such equipment is required other than a portable lightweight jumping rope

However, jump rope can be a taxing choice for those with high blood pressure and any cardiac patients.

Zumba

If you are the one who likes to dance then it’s time to add some funky steps to your exercise routine. Zumba is a fun dancing aerobic workout that helps keep your body and mind fresh. This Zumba dance form is followed after some easy warm-up exercises, where the instructor will set some upbeat music and instruct some easy-to-follow dance moves. So, wear your gym shoes and get ready to burn calories with tunes.  Some benefits of zumba are:

• It is good for cardiac health
• Brings flexibility to the body
• Improves your body coordination
• Releases stress and anxiety
• Tones your entire body

Following Zumba for 1-3 days a week an hour is enough to burn excess calories from your body. Remember, to carry your water bottle, as you may feel exhausted after the dancing session.

Burpee

Doing burpee is not an easy choice. But those who practice even a few burpees a day have found it charging for sure. Burpees help strengthen your arms, core, glutes, shoulder, quads, and hamstrings. Those who don’t like to hit the gym every day, especially will find the burpee technique convincing. Even without any treadmills, ellipticals, or much space, these types of cardio workouts help you stay fit. Some benefits of burpee are:

• Targets for so many muscles and improves mobility
• Better posture and body balance
• The core muscles reduce the risk of injuries
• With just 1-2 minutes of burpees, you can burn 15-20 calories
• As a high-intensity workout, it raises the heart rate

Those who are thinking about bringing innovation to burpees can use a BOSU ball, hold a dumbbell in each hand, or do a pull-up at the end of a burpee.

Jumping Jacks

Back to your school days, like everyone you must have practiced jumping jacks in the PE classes. Such dynamic cardio workouts help by pumping your heart and keeping the muscles at work. Jumping jacks work on your muscles, ensure better coordination, and add to your overall fitness. Here’s how:

• Adds flexibility to your upper body as your arms
• Activate the muscles of the abdominals, glutes, hamstrings, and hip
• Increase the heart rate for better blood circulation
• Good for your respiratory health
• Boost leg and arm muscle strength

You can try variations with your usual jumping jacks by adding step and squat jacks depending on your fitness level.

Squat Jumps

Squat jumps are regarded as one of the best cardio exercises by athletes because they offer a lot of strength and aerobic benefits. When added to other exercises, squat jumps help in building explosive strength, maximizing strength, better vertical jump, and a lot more. Here are some of the benefits of squat jumps:

• Works on mobility and balance
• Helps in building strength and muscle
• Good for your long-term cardiovascular health
• Helps to tone your legs, butt
• Strengthens your muscle bones
• Improvement in sports performance

How long you should continue squat jumps depends on your body weight, strength, endurance, and cardio health. However, With just 8-10 squat jumps, you can feel the positive impact on your body.

Lunge Jumps

Lunge jumps are advanced cardio exercises that you should consider when you are confident about your body’s flexibility and endurance. It aims to work on strengthening your core and lower body. You can start with walking lunge exercises and gradually take it to the next level which is jumping lunges. Some benefits of lunge jumps are:

• It improves lower body strength
• It constructively challenges stability and body coordination
• Better movement at higher frequencies
• Builds lean muscle and helps in losing weight

You will find no shortage of variation in lunges, as this includes side lunges, stationary lunges, walking lunges, reverse lunges, twist lunges, curtsy lunges, etc.

Mountain Climbers

To talk about the Higher Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) workouts, mountain climbers are the most common ones. Only after you are confident about the above-given beginner cardio workout, then only consider carrying out the mountain climber workouts. Some benefits include:

• Works on your joints and muscle groups at the same time
• Improves the mobility of the body
• Boosts your body’s metabolism and ensures functional fitness
• Gives the heart rate a boost due to constant leg switching

This mountain climber’s progressions and variations require the support of shoulders, chest muscles, triceps, glutes, hip flexors, hamstrings, and other body parts.

Therefore, above are the 15 best cardio workouts for beginners that you can start today from your home as well as in any outdoor setting. However, it’s better to begin with moderate-level workouts and gradually move towards high-intensity interval training exercises to avoid any unexpected injury or muscle ruptures.