CARDIOVASCULAR FITNESS
20 Best Cardio Exercises for Total-Body Transformation
Jan
Cardio workouts are the go-to for elevating your heart rate and inducing a sense of well-being. These exercises involve moving your body to increase your heart rate and provide numerous benefits for overall health. Beyond traditional treadmill runs, there are countless effective cardio exercises, including high-intensity interval training (HIIT), swimming, hiking, and rowing. Even some strength training moves can double up as bonus cardio exercises.
Megan Clare, CPT, a Certified HIIT Cardio & Functional Strength Trainer at Mind Body Project, emphasizes that cardio exercises not only make you sweat and get your blood flowing but also trigger a positive emotional response.
Aside from elevating your heart rate, cardio exercises offer a myriad of benefits, such as maintaining a healthy weight, improving sleep, enhancing cardiorespiratory fitness, reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases and high blood sugar, and even extending life expectancy.
To optimize the impact of your cardio workouts, consider increasing their intensity. High-intensity exercises like HIIT or circuit training can halve your cardio time while reaping similar benefits. When you engage in higher intensity workouts, you use more energy and oxygen, which leads to a greater after-burn effect (EPOC). This means your body continues to burn calories at a higher rate even after your workout, returning to its regular state.
Enough talk, let’s get to the action. Use the following list of the best cardio exercises, recommended by trainers, to create efficient, dynamic workouts with full-body advantages. The best part? You can perform them practically anywhere.
Time: 20 minutes | Equipment: mat, kettlebell, dumbbells, jump rope (optional) | Good for: total body, cardio
Instructions: Select six to eight exercises from the list below. Complete the designated number of reps for each exercise and proceed immediately to the next. After finishing all the movements, take a 30-second to 1-minute rest. Repeat the entire circuit twice more, totaling three rounds.
- Squat Jump
This explosive move focuses on generating power while targeting the quads, glutes, calves, and core.
- Burpee
A classic favorite among trainers, burpees are efficient, engaging muscles throughout your entire body, and require no equipment.
- Split Lunge Rainbow Slam
Strengthen your shoulders and obliques while working your lower body with this dynamic exercise.
- Speed Skater
Lateral motion in the form of speed skaters helps to strengthen hips and knees, engaging the glute medius, quads, glutes, and calves.
- Mountain Climbers
Engage your core and shoulders while working on your hip flexors with this versatile exercise, especially beneficial for runners and dancers.
- High Knees
Target your hip flexors and core with this quick and powerful exercise, boosting your overall cardiovascular endurance.
- Kettlebell Swing
Build strength in your glutes and core while mastering proper hinge movements with this kettlebell exercise.
- Pencil Jump
This low-impact move works the core, calves, and feet, ideal as a warm-up exercise.
- Plank Get-Up
Enhance your upper body strength and core stability with this challenging plank variation.
- Butt Kicks
A dynamic warm-up move targeting the hamstrings, calves, and core.
- Half Turkish Get-Up
Strengthen your core and shoulder stability with this exercise, although it has more limited cardio benefits.
- Tuck Jump
Rev up your heart rate with this impactful move, tucking your knees to your chest with each jump.
- Star Jump
Challenge your coordination and lateral movement with the star jump exercise.
- Single-Arm Push Press
Work your shoulders, quads, and core with this simple yet effective exercise.
- Bulgarian Split Squat
Strengthen your quads and glutes with this exercise while maintaining a steady pace.
- Kettlebell Squat Clean
Build mental skills while engaging multiple major muscle groups with the kettlebell squat clean.
- Plank Jacks With Shoulder Taps
This plank move combines the benefits of jumping jacks with extra upper body and core work.
- Bear Crawl
Challenge your coordination and build ankle mobility with the bear crawl exercise, working your shoulders, core, and quads.
- Bear Plank Shoulder Tap
Develop balance, stability, and major core strength with this bear plank variation.
- Jump Rope
Revitalize your bone and joint health while focusing on cardio endurance with this simple yet effective move.
Cardio Exercise Benefits
Incorporating cardio exercises into your fitness routine comes with a plethora of benefits, as highlighted by trainers:
- Lower risk of disease: Cardio workouts reduce the risk of obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, strokes, and certain types of cancer.
- Stronger bones: Weight-bearing aerobic cardio exercises, such as walking, help lower your risk of osteoporosis.
- Improved mood: Increased blood flow from cardio activities leads to improved mood and higher energy levels, making it beneficial for those with depression.
- High calorie burn: Low-intensity cardio exercises aid in burning fat, while high-intensity workouts utilize carbohydrates to fuel your movement.
- Better cognitive function: Aerobic exercise enhances the brain’s ability to reason, plan, and problem-solve, promoting improved cognitive function.
Embrace the power of cardio exercises to transform your body and overall well-being. Whether you choose high-intensity workouts or low-impact moves, the benefits of consistent cardio training are invaluable.
