Burn calories, lose weight and feel healthier with this 10-minute cardio workout routine for aerobic fitness, which can be done at home.
Rocket Jumps
For rocket jumps, stand with your feet hip-width apart, legs bent and hands on your thighs. Jump up, driving your hands straight above your head and extending your entire body. Land gently, reposition your feet and repeat. For more of a challenge, start in a lower squat position and hold a weight or a bottle of water in both hands at the centre of your chest.
Recovery: walk or jog on the spot for 30 seconds.
Star jumps
To do a star jump, stand tall with your arms by your side and knees slightly bent. Jump up, extending your arms and legs out into a star shape in the air. Land softly, with your knees together and hands by your side. Keep your abs tight and back straight during the exercise.
Recovery as above.
Squats
For a less energetic alternative, do some squats. Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and your hands down by your sides or stretched out in front for extra balance. Lower yourself by bending your knees until they are nearly at a right angle, with your thighs parallel to the floor. Keep your back straight and don’t let your knees extend over your toes.
Recovery as above.
Push-ups
Get into the push-up position, either full or on knees and wrists under your shoulders. Lower you body towards the ground by bending the elbows. Once the chest reaches the ground, straighten arms to return to the starting position. Repeat and build up so you’re doing this over a few weeks. If you have a skipping rope, you can replace any of these exercises with a 60-second burst of skipping.
As with all exercise, it's important to build up to avoid injury.
Great post, thanks. I do struggle to keep fit during the winter as I usually like to cycle to keep fit and the weather in the UK is pretty miserable, November through to March, so these suggestions are really helpful.
I have a cross trainer at home but I find it boring. I'll definitely give your suggestions a go.
Thank you. If I had more balance I'd give these exercises a go myself. Unless we go to the gym in the winter months, we do tend to miss out on exercise because of the weather.
I'm not a lover of the cross trainer either, but if I had no other choice I would rather do the cross trainer than no exercise at all. Because I struggle to keep myself well, I would do an exercise I found boring if it meant the difference between staying well and being ill.
I appreciate more than most because of my physical difficulties, what it means to be well. I don't take my health for granted because I can't. Anything can tip me over the edge into illness.
We'd love to know how you get on, if you give this workout a go. It's always lovely to have feedback of anything I put on the site.
An exercise routine is important. I try to exercise regularly by using an exercise machine that allows me to do leg presses and other various stretching exercises.
Great list for cardio workout; I am only able to do the pushups. I imagine a lot of people with a physical disability will have difficulty accomplishing most of these exercises too.
Thanks Maria. It's great that you're exercising. Amazing job. Your response resonates with me, because although I exercise too, I would also struggle with some of these cardio exercises.
I used to go to the gym 3 times a week, but didn't feel I benefited from it. Considering we use 3 to 5 times more energy, it's not surprising we struggle. I wish I was and could be more aerobically fit, but like you... we can only go with what we can and do what we can do.