Home Cardio: Six Things You'll Need for an Effective Workout

It's simple and inexpensive. You can turn a small part of your home into a mini-gym to do cardio at home and live a healthier lifestyle.

Home cardio workouts offer a variety of benefits without having to make a trip to the gym. If you want to start a home cardio discipline, these are the things you’ll need, to get started right away.

Home Cardio: The Essentials

You don’t need any special equipment to enjoy a cardio workout at home, as many of the exercises will use the body itself. However, in order to set up a makeshift cardio gym in your home, you may find the following items useful:

1. A Rope

Jumping rope is an effective cardio exercise that you can do at home, in the park, in the backyard, or wherever else you choose. All you need is a rope that’s thick, and long enough for your height. You don’t even need to buy a special one at a sport’s store. Most home and hardware stores sell them by the meter.

If you have kids, you can even use the same jump rope that they use in the park. You can probably find one hiding among your possessions, if you look hard enough. Jump rope for at least five minutes before starting your routine.

2. A Step Platform

The popular step aerobics platform can become your best ally for doing cardio at home. It’s not too expensive, and will allow you to perform a wide variety of exercises. Put on some music and step on and off the platform to the rhythm. You’ll start sweating and burning calories, while having fun at the same time.

Other options include standing on one foot, or doing lunges and squats. You can also do jumps with one or both legs, or put your hands on the platform and do push-ups. Let your imagination guide you and get you moving.

3. Stationary Bike

While you may not have enough space for a treadmill or an elliptical, there are still plenty of models of exercise and spinning bikes that will fit into smaller spaces.

Biking is one of the best cardio exercises, and you can do it while watching television, checking your e-mail, or having a conversation with your family. Obviously, maintaining a certain pace will produce better results, but little movements are fine when starting out.

4. TRX

These ropes are available at sporting goods stores, and can help you to put a different spin on doing home cardio. Keep in mind that you need to attach them to a stable place, and that you need to start with simple exercises. These can include grabbing the ends of the rope and doing squats with light jumps.

There are many cardio exercises you can do with a TRX rope, to workout different areas of the body. In addition, the rope will help you to gain stability, balance, and flexibility.

5. Punching Bag

There’s no better cardio exercise than boxing. And you don’t even have to be preparing for a fight to enjoy the benefit of this sport. All you need is to get a punching bag, a pair of gloves and some boxing tape.

Set up the bag in a spacious area and make sure that the weight of the bag (which is filled with sand) is supported, and that the set-up can handle the impact of the punches and your movements. You can free all your stress and pent-up energy by hitting the bag. If you don’t want a big bag, you can buy a small ‘teardrop’ punching bag. It’s very light and can be set up anywhere.