Top 10 Beginner Cardio Exercises for a Toned and Fit Body

1. Do Household Chores

Why waste your time lifting weights when you can do something which is both productive and useful? Household tasks challenge your flexibility, strength, stability and endurance! Can there be anything better than this? Consider these everyday mundane tasks:

1. Painting: rotation movement, overhead pressing, squatting and stretching
2. Car washing: Karate kid anyone? Stabilising muscles in shoulder, rotation movement and open the shoulders.
3. Power washing: rotation movement, overhead lifting and squatting. Do not forget to protect your ears.
4. Brooming or vacuuming: Nothing beats thorough brooming or vacuuming by the way. Works the triceps, weight lifting (with all the objects you need to move away) and squatting.
5. Raking Leaves: squatting, hauling and muscle building.
6. Weeding: pulling, rotation and twisting movement that challenge the upper part of the body.

2. Dancing

Dancing is an amazing way to get the heart rate up, rids the body of extra fat and makes you lean. It is also fun. There are so many different styles of dancing that you can never get bored. Large body with movement, hip hop burns the most fat. Because of free style movements, the muscles do not stop responding to exercise. It burns about 370 calories to 610 calories. There is salsa, which burns 480 calories for a person weighing 180 lbs. Ballet burns 450 calories plus lends the dancer a great posture, form, strong core, increases flexibility and makes your leg strong. It builds a long and lean form. Professional football players use ballet to improve the performances. This ‘chick’s dance’ requires a whole of strength and dedication. Belly dancing burns 360 calories after an intense sensation. Break dancing burns 650 calories. It requires strength and agility, the dancer needs to have control of their own body.

3. Running

Run at a moderate pace, every morning or evening. It is one of the most amazing methods to burn fat and calories, and of course, stay healthy. You do not have to buy expensive machines for this. Although, if you are looking to build muscle, you might have to add some extra exercises to the list because running, though a healthy and safe way to burn fat and calories, does not help it building up or maintaining muscles. Take different routes and explore places while running, listen to music and enjoy the breath of fresh air. If you want, there are running clubs as well. Together with your significant other, you run and talk. If the other person is too slow or too fast, you might consider changing running partners. Always challenge yourself to run more than you ran the previous day. You can download apps on your phone to help you count steps or how many calories you’re burned.

4. Swimming

Have you ever seen a swimmer’s body? Then you must be envious. Swimming works your whole body, as soon as you step into the water. Your muscles work extra hard against gravity to keep you from drowning or, well, to keep you floating. A minute of swimming can burn fourteen calories. Strokes matter, though. You might want to check up on which stroke, burns the greatest number of calories. Like the butterfly stroke, burns more calories than say, a breast stroke. While choosing stroke, keep your comfort level in mind. Swim fast and as long as you can. For some distance, go slower and then increase your pace again. For a few laps, you can tread water. Obviously, swimming, cardio should be performed in the presence of an expert in case some incident happens.

5. Climbing Stairs

While climbing you lift your leg a lot. As compared to running, it burns 500-600 calories. It uses more muscle work. Hence, it strengthens your legs in a way which is functional. Climbing stairs is not advisable for people with knee problems because of the pressure it puts on the joint. Climb stairs for thirty second with breaks in between as recovery. You can lift some weight like a kettle or dumbbell while climbing stairs. Do 10-15 rounds in a day. And by following this, you will be able to burn more than normal. If your legs start to pain and you find it difficult to breath, stop immediately.

6. Zumba

It is an article about cardio and we do not mention Zumba? Uh… how about no? Rightfully so. According to a certain rumor Zumba burns 1000 calories an hour. But no, it is effective, but not that effective. Women with a weight range from 120 to 170 lbs will burn 350 to 650 calories. Not what is promised but not bad as well. It is useful in providing toning benefit. But 1000 calories? Only if the Zumba dancer makes appropriate food and dietary choices. Coupled with other exercises, it might push the 1000 calorie bar, but suffice to say, if you go into Zumba expecting to get fit after one hour—you are in for some disappointment.

7. Exercises

There are plenty of cardio exercises which are easy to do, do not require expensive machines or objects. Some of them are listed below:

1. Burpees
2. Jumping Jacks
3. Single Leg Hops
4. Lunge Run
5. Ski Jumps
6. Cancan Jump
7. Puppet Spin
8. Cross Country Run
9. One Leg Side Hops
10. Mountain Climbers
11. (Variation) Twisted Mountain Climbers
12. Plank Jacks
13. Slalom Jumps
14. Hero Jumps
15. Jump Rope
16. Butt Kickers
17. Running Sprinter
18. Back and Forth Squat
19. Star Jump
20. Skaters
21. Toe Balancing Lunge
22. Roof Kickback
23. Step Touch
24. Squat and Knee Kick
25. Jogging
26. Free Arm Squat
27. Windmill
28. Bridge Kick
29. Side Leg Lift
30. Toe Touches
31. Prisoner’s Squat
32. Step Ups
33. Swimmer
34. Shoulder Tap Plank
35. Leg Lifts
36. Ski Sit
37. Extended Arm Circles
38. Like and Dislike
39. Push Ups

Do them slowly at first, carefully and precisely. Later you might increase the pace. A minute exercise with a single 30 minute break will burn approximately 52 calories. Consider downloading apps to your mobile which help you time yourself.

There you go! Cardio is the sort of exercise which you do every day. While you walk, while you brush your teeth so do not stress about any of it.