Not having a gym membership is one of the most common reasons why people don’t exercise, but you can get a good workout in with little to no equipment. In fact, a wide range of cardio exercises are easy to perform in the comfort of your home with just a pair of comfortable sneakers.
Cardio can have a significant impact on your health, and you could improve your fitness quickly after starting a consistent workout routine. These are some of the best cardio exercises that don’t require a gym membership.
Jumping Jacks
Jumping jacks are a simple exercise that work a variety of muscles in addition to helping your cardiorespiratory endurance. You can always make them easier or harder simply by changing your pace or the number of reps, so it’s easy to adjust as you start getting in better shape.Start by performing 60 jumping jacks split into two sets during each workout. This will get your blood pumping if you haven’t exercised in a while, and you can gradually increase to two sets of 100 reps. Jumping jacks are also a great warmup for other exercises that put more strain on your muscles.
High Knees
High knees is a tough leg and ab workout that can also improve your cardio, and it doesn’t take many reps to start feeling the burn. Like jumping jacks, don’t need to move to perform this exercise, so you can do it in nearly any location.
To do a high knee, bring one knee up to your waist and touch it with the opposite hand. Repeat this movement 25 times on each side for a total of 50 reps and try to get at least two or three sets in over the course of your workout. You should notice a variety of benefits after a few weeks or months of consistent exercise.
Mountain Climbers
Mountain climbers is another exercise that involves a number of muscles, and you may not be able to perform many reps when you start your new routine. If possible, you should try to do at least 20 reps on each side, but there’s nothing wrong with reducing that number if you’re having trouble.
Mountain climbers are performed from a plank position, so you should be facing down with your weight on your wrists. While keeping your back straight, bring one knee up to your chest and hold it there for a second or two. One rep includes both sides, so you’ll need to do 40 total movements to complete the workout. As with the other exercises, these should be repeated at least twice.
Many people use their lack of a gym membership as an excuse not to exercise, but you can burn a lot of calories and build your strength without leaving your home. These are just a few of the easiest workouts to perform if you don’t have access to a gym.
Cool post! I even did exercises in the garden, fresh air and beautiful nature around me.
Love it! I instantly thought of one of my beautiful trail run routes that has gardens along the route.
Good reminders of what all of us can do, hopefully.
Gotta keep the Virily fam educated on ways to stay fit : )
Great post and yup. That would do it. You know what I do… A slower version of what you do. 😉
Gotta keep the Virily fam educated on ways to stay fit : )
For 2020, I’am hoping to get out on some trails in San Fran. Its my excuse to fly out, lol
Have you ever thought about doing parts of the Pacific Coast Trail? There are some way cool areas…. I am going to section hike it for 2020. Or weekend hikes.
I’ll have to look more up on it. I have heard of it though.
And I forgot to mention what a cool picture of a that bridge is. That looks like a lot of fun, but slippery. The dogs would probably slide off, dragging me with them.
It would be cool to make little video logs to put in my writings of some of the interesting things encountered.
It would be and I think you should. You never know where that’ll lead.
I know you have a lot of time on your hands. Joking of course. But now you have me wondering…. What is the oddest thing you have encountered. Just one.
Off the top of my head, just recently I ran on a trail in chicagoland that has sacred history. Very haunted. I did get chilling feelings at times because I was running in the area knowing this. The trail always has pure silence when I’am running through it.
I’am currently in the process of purchasing sunglasses with a camera attached, so that it will be easier for me to v-log and share some of what I see. I always do research on areas I run at prior to running there.
this is great – what about for those of us that have to be careful with bad knees?
As the dogs look at you…… leashes in mouths.. 😉
he literally is right now. Dylan has decided his new mission is two walks a day!
Bandage those suckers up, Doc and hit the road or trails
i do, twice a day! Once early on the elliptical and once outdoors with the dogs!
Sweet! I’ll put something together on shoes in the near future, but Hoka is a shoe I always recommend. Iam wearing a pair in my recent marathon writing ( https://virily.com/sport/my-20th-marathon-run/)
🙂 I’ve been using Merrils to protect my foot (I have a bone bruise) but always interested in better footware!
Not a bad looking brand of a shoe
i tore up my foot walking earlier last year, it takes time to heal, The merrills really protect my foot so I can continue walking 🙂
Cool! Glad you found/ have something to keep you being active. Too many people settle into not doing anything and making excuses.
i set a goal of 100,000 steps a week. That means 14300 per day ever single day or more!
Not a bad goal to have. I remember I had a similar walking goal when I had my ‘fit bit’ watch, and was so bogged down with my semester when I couldn’t get workouts in.
i actually was a huge fitbit user, but now I prefer Sweatcoins!
All those exercises are great to do but at my age of 65 and with a lousy back I cannot really do them. So I will just keep on simply walking. Nonetheless this was a great post… with well written and easy to follow instructions.
Keep on walking then. At least its than versus keeping the couch warm ; )
Keep on walking then. At least its that versus keeping the couch warm ; )
The key is effort in regards to exercise.
That is what I have trouble with. lol
Them hills out there in Cali are well enough to get the effort out. I’d take it any day over our flat trails. I used to just walk the trails in Hawaii while my ex-girlfriend ran them, lol. It was always my break from running.