Ways to Get Your Cardio Without a Gym Membership

Not having a gym membership is one of the most common excuses for not getting in shape, but you can develop a great workout in your home gym or even outdoors. You don’t need much equipment to increase your heart rate, burn calories, and improve your cardio. All you need is a pair of comfortable sneakers, or go barefoot!

Crafting the perfect home workout saves you time and money, so it’s easy to fit this routine around your schedule without breaking the bank. These exercises shouldn’t take you more than thirty minutes at a time, and they don’t involve any gear. You’ll start to make progress surprisingly quickly as long as you stay committed to your routine and maintain a healthy diet.

Warming Up

A quick warm-up is a critical step in any exercise plan, and this will help you raise your heart rate and get blood flowing throughout your body. Start with a light jog in place for about one minute, then switch to jumping jacks for another minute. Don’t push yourself too hard during the warm-up.

Punches

Punches are a great way to develop muscular strength as well as cardiovascular endurance, and they’ll tire you out quickly. Do a small jump while alternating a punch from each hand to the opposite side. Try to do 50 reps of each of these exercises for a full workout.

High Knees

High knees are as simple as bringing your knee at least up to the level of your waist, and they generate leg strength as well as cardio. Keep your feet close together, then alternate lifting each one by jumping between each rep. Lift each leg 50 times for a total of 100 reps.

Butt Kickers

This exercise involves kicking each leg up toward your butt, then switching quickly to keep your legs and body moving. As with high knees, you should raise each leg 50 times before moving on to the next exercise.

Squat Punches

Squats are already one of the most effective exercises for lower body strength, and adding punches to this workout makes it even better for your cardio. Keep your legs wide, then twist your body and punch across like in the earlier punch exercise. Again, do this exercise 50 times on each side.

If a lack of equipment, time, or money has been holding you back from exercising, these are a great way to get started with any budget and schedule. Once this workout becomes too easy, consider increasing reps or intensity or adding new exercises to your current routine.