Cardio Exercises

Cardio exercises primarily involve exercises that increase your heart rate and keep it elevated for a longer duration of time. In fact, a high power cardiovascular exercise routine can raise your heartbeat to 50 - 100% of your maximum heart rate. Hence, these exercises are performed to shed body fat and strengthen heart muscles by improving heart rate and blood circulation in the body. Cardio exercises benefit by burning calories all over the body which further help to get rid of the belly fat layer around the stomach.

Indoor Cardio Exercises

Step Aerobics: Step aerobics is a kind of aerobic exercise which is executed on a raised platform. It primarily focuses on the legs, butt and hips, burning up to 400 calories in half an hour. Hence, it is also considered as one of the best cardio exercises for bad knees or for people suffering from arthritis. However, the number of calories burned varies according to the swiftness of the movements, step height, and exercise duration.

Jumping Rope: Another simple cardio exercise which can be performed at home is jumping rope. Just 15 - 20 minutes of jumping rope can provide your body with an unbeatable complete body workout. This exercise also benefits by improving eye-hand coordination, lateral movement, foot and hand speed and agility.

Elliptical Trainer: Being one of the most commonly used machines in the gym, an elliptical machine provides a low-impact cardio workout. It assists in building endurance without much of pounding on the joints as well as protecting them from many other high impact activities. Hence, elliptical trainer is a great cardio workout that helps in burning 300 calories in half an hour.

Outdoor Cardio Exercises

Running: Running and jogging is another great cardio exercise that requires no special technique or equipment (except a pair of high quality shoes). It helps in burning a large amount of calories approximately 300 in half an hour, if running with a velocity of 5 mph.

Bicycling: Bicycling is an excellent outdoor cardio exercise that helps to burn calories, sheds body fat and improves cardiovascular health. Considering the body weight, intensity of the ride and motion of bicycling, i.e. uphill and high intensity cycling, a person can burn nearly 400 to 500 calories in one hour.

Swimming: Swimming is a complete body exercise which involves the entire body, and hence, is capable of burning more calories. The different swimming strokes, especially the breast stroke comprises the use of many muscle groups collectively, burning nearly 400 calories in half an hour without causing any high impact injuries on the joints.

The most important thing that has to be kept in mind while doing cardio exercises is the timing. Hence, the best time to perform these exercises is early morning when your stomach is empty, as this benefits in burning stored fats more fast. Also before practicing these exercises, it is recommended to perform some warm up exercises to avoid any unexpected injuries. So, try incorporating these cardio exercises in your daily exercise regime, and I am sure after a couple of weeks you will definitely feel the difference.