5 Cardio Workouts That Don’t Require Equipment

Cardio exercises are one of the best ways to keep fit, exercise endurance, and promote heart health. While many of the exercises require gym membership, we have listed five such exercises which will not only help you achieve a healthy heart but also won’t burn a hole in your pocket.

You do not need to buy expensive equipment at the gym to get a good workout. Whether you are working out at home, in a park, or on the road, bodyweight cardio exercises are perfect for keeping your heart rate up and burning calories. Let’s check out these five no-equipment cardio workouts that will give you a full-body workout in a short span.

No-Equipment Cardio Workouts

Jumping Jacks

Jumping jacks are a long-term favourite, a traditional cardio exercise, involving your whole body. It increases your heart rate, strengthens your legs, and helps in coordination. What makes jumping jacks ideal is that they can be done anywhere, and you can adjust the intensity by increasing the speed.

How to Do It?

Stand with your legs and arms spread shoulder-width apart, with your arms overhead.
Jump back to start and repeat for 30 to 60 seconds.

Why It Works:

Jumping jacks are a great way to get your heart rate up quickly. They also enhance agility, but when performed in intervals, they can also assist with fat loss and cardiovascular endurance.

Burpees

Burpees are probably the most effective equipment-free full-body cardio exercises. In one movement, a squat and jump and a push-up can be combined with an effect like firing calories and creating strength.

How to do it?

Stand with your feet in shoulder-width distance apart.
Squat down and place your hands on the ground in front of you.
Jump your legs back to a push-up position and do a push-up, then forward and back so you land with your feet on either side of your hands.
Now jump up explosively with your arms overhead; land softly to repeat.

Why it Works?

A burpee is one exercise that hits nearly all the major muscle groups, including the legs, core, chest, and arms. It is a high-intensity movement that torches calories, builds strength and improves endurance levels.

Mountain Climber

Mountain climbers are a fabulous exercise to get your heart beating fast while working your core. They resemble running in a plank position that targets muscle mass in your core, shoulders, and legs.

How to Do It?

Step out and take a position high in a plank, placing your hands right under the shoulders and your body straight from head to heels.
Drive one knee toward your chest and then quickly switch, extending the first leg back while driving the opposite knee forward.
Continue alternating as fast as you can for 30 to 60 seconds.

Why It Works?

Mountain climbers work out your core and are also good cardio workouts. The fast-tempo movements of the legs increase your heart rate, making it an effective fat-burning exercise. This is an excellent workout for any individual looking to combine cardio with strength.

High Knees

High knees is another cardio exercise where the heart rate increases, the legs are strengthened, and balance is improved. It’s fantastic to warm up with or add to a session of HIIT.

How to Do It?

Stand with feet apart by hips. Arms are at your sides.
Alternate legs by bringing the other knee up toward your chest while pumping your arms in a running motion.
Repeat for 30 to 60 seconds.

Why It Works?

High Knees is a dynamic form of movement that aims at enhancing coordination and balance while rushing off some much-needed cardio. The exercise works the main part targeting your lower body, but it affects both the quadriceps and calves as well, involving the core muscles.

Squat Jumps

Squat jumps is a powerful plyometric exercise that combines strength training with cardio. Engaging your lower body for explosive jumps, the exercise helps build muscle as well as might be good for cardiovascular fitness.

How to Do It?

Stand with your feet and shoulder width apart and your arms straight at your sides.
Drop down low, pushing your hips back into a squat position, but keep your chest up and your knees pointed toward the ground.
Explosively push down through the heels and jump as high as you can while extending overhead to release the ground.
Lower down slowly back into the squat position, absorbing the impact. Repeat.

Why It Works?

Squat jumps have the added benefit of strengthening your legs. Besides that, they pump the heart rate pretty fast and make for a great cardio exercise. This involves explosive movement on fast-twitch muscle fibres that may help in ensuring better athletic performance.

Benefits of No-Equipment Cardio

No-equipment cardio comes with several benefits, including the following:

Convenience: No need to head towards the gym or purchase equipment. These exercises can be done anywhere, at any time.

Cost-effective: Get fit from home or outdoors without taking out a gym membership or investing in expensive equipment.

Works all major muscle groups: Many bodyweight cardio workouts involve multiple muscle groups at once to also offer strength in addition to endurance.

Customizable intensity: You may change the intensity of each workout by modifying the speed, duration, or rest periods, making these exercises suitable for everyone’s fitness.

How to Use These Workouts in Your Daily Routine

Use these exercises individually, or combine them for a full-body cardio session. Try to do them in a HIIT workout, where you do each movement for 30-60 seconds, followed by a short rest period. For example:

Jumping Jacks – 60 seconds
Burpees – 30 seconds
Mountain Climbers – 60 seconds
High Knees – 30 seconds
Squat Jumps – 60 seconds

Complete the circuit 3-4 times if you want very short but very intense cardio workouts and don’t have any equipment to work with.

Conclusion

It is really not that expensive to get fit. These five cardio workouts including jumping jacks, burpees, mountain climbers, high knees, and squat jumps are of great use to get your heart rate up and stay fit. Surprising is that they do not need anything other than your body and time.

It would do a lot of good for endurance building, fat burn, and general health if included in the usual routine. The best thing is that they can be performed anywhere, making them ideal for people who lead hectic lifestyles or those who prefer to work out at home.