10 cardio exercises at home (+ videos and tips)

Everyone knows it: cardio is good for your health. And the good news is that you can make home cardio exercises, without even having to move. It is ideal for reconciling sport and daily life without wasting time in transport.

In this article, I therefore offer you some ultra-effective exercises for cardio at home !

Cardio exercises to do at home (the best known)

Before starting a home cardio program, you can try doing some exercises that work the whole body. To motivate you, I have concocted a list of best cardio exercises to reproduce at home.

Rest assured, they are quite simple to understand and their difficulty is indicated. Throughout your session, remember to breathe well and above all, to hydrate yourself.

Exercise 1: knee raises

Difficulty: easy

Steps :

1. Start standing, feet hip-width apart;
2. Start running in place by raising your knees in front of you as high as you can.

Exercise 2: heels-buttocks

Difficulty: easy

Steps :

1. Stand upright with your arms along your body and your feet together;
2. Jump up to spread your feet to the sides and raise your arms above your head;
3. In the same way, return to the starting position: feet together and arms along the body;

You just have to chain these two steps to perform the movement correctly.

Exercise 3: punch shadow box

Difficulty: easy

Steps :

1. Keep your feet wide enough apart so that you can hop from one foot to the other. You can move one leg forward to gain stability;
2. Raise your closed fists to the height of your chin;
3. Quickly shift your body weight from foot to foot as you hop;
4. At the same time, put straight punches in front of you, alternating right arm and left arm.

Remember to strike at face height and bring your fists close to your chin between each strike.

Exercise 4: chase steps

Difficulty: easy

Steps :

1. Standing, take a step to the right with your right leg. You bring your left leg back and with a small jump, your left foot chases the right foot and takes its place;
2. Repeat the sequence to move in not hunted.

Remember to work both sides during your workout.

Exercise 5: jumping jack

Difficulty: normal

Steps :

1. Stand upright with your arms along your body and your feet together;
2. Jump up to spread your feet to the sides and raise your arms above your head;
3. In the same way, return to the starting position: feet together and arms along the body.

You just have to chain these two steps to perform the movement correctly.

Exercise 6: mountain climbers

Difficulty: normal

Steps :

1. Start in a plank position, resting on your hands and tiptoes (be careful to keep a good head-back-buttocks alignment);
2. Then contracting your abs, bend one leg and bring your knee to your chest;
3. Then reverse the position of your legs by doing a small jump, as if you were running on the spot and you start again.

You have the same position as someone climbing a mountain, hence the name of this exercise, the mountain climber.

Exercise 7: jump squat

Difficulty: normal

Steps :

1. Stand upright with your feet a little more than hip-width apart. Bend your arms so you can gain momentum to jump;
2. Lower your pelvis by bending your knees, pushing your buttocks back and keeping your back as straight as possible;
3. To go up, do a small jump on yourself: your legs and your arms must be tense;
4. Cushion the landing by going back down in squats before performing a new jump.

You can find all my tips for doing this exercise and discover new variations in this video:

Exercise 8: burpees

Difficulty: hard

Steps :

1. Start in a standing position, arms along the body;
2. Come down into a squatting position and put your hands on the ground, in front of your knees;
3. Suddenly, you throw your feet back to find yourself in the plank;
4. You then perform a push-up by lowering your chest as close to the ground then, using the strength of your arms, return to the plank position;
5. Then jump your feet back to the squat position;
6. Get up by jumping in the air, arms towards the ceiling and start again!

Be careful to maintain good core strength during this exercise.

Exercise 9: jumping lunges

Difficulty: hard

Steps :

1. Stand upright with your feet together;
2. Step back with the left foot, far enough back to end up in a lunge;
3. When jumping, reverse the position of your legs to perform a lunge on the other side;
4. Continue to chain jump lunges, changing legs with each jump.

Exercise 10: bicycle crunch

Difficulty: hard

Steps :

1. Lie on your back and raise your knees above your pelvis. Place your hands behind your head but without pulling on the back of your neck;
2. Extend your right leg, as close as possible to the ground at the same time as you bring your left knee towards your right elbow so as to touch it;
3. Repeat this movement by reversing the sides.

Your legs reproduce a pedaling movement while your chest works on the abs. Be careful to keep your back flat on the ground throughout the exercise.

Sports videos to do cardio at home

When you can’t play sports in a club, the motivation from the beginning tends to fly away. And yes, when you’re alone at home, it’s difficult to embark on a home cardio session. Fortunately, you don’t need to perform exercises for 2 hours.

That’s why I made short videos ofhome cardio exercises that you just have to follow. I coach you and motivate you to chain your cardio movements, depending on how much time you have. It’s your turn !

Intense cardio without equipment (8 min)

To start or if you don’t have much time in front of you, I suggest a little cardio session which lasts about 8 minutes.

The table below shows the exercises from my intense cardio video without equipment. Good workout at home 😉

Exercises	Duration
step touch	30 sec
Small squats	30 sec
open squats	45 sec
Jumping jacks	45 sec
Active recovery in step touch	45 sec
open squats	1 min
Jumping jacks	1 min
Active recovery in step touch	45 sec
open squats	1 min
Jumping jacks with squats	30 sec
Jumping jacks	30 sec

Intense cardio without equipment (15 min)

With this fat-burning cardio video, I offer you a session consisting ofcardio exercise that combine increased metabolism with muscle building. In just 15 minutes and without equipment, you will complete a complete course of home cardio training. Here are the exercises it contains:

Exercises	Duration
Small squats	30 sec
Squat position, arm lifts	30 sec
Squat position, flat back / round back	30 sec
Shoulder/ankle warm-up	30 sec
Heels-buttocks without jumping	1 min
moving squats	1 min
Step touch & hips	1 min
pump & pike	1 min
Step touch & hips	1 min
Beat lunges	1 min
Step touch & hips or shuffle	1 min
twist bird	1 min
Step touch & hips or shuffle	1 min
ball twist pump	1 min
Shuffle	30 sec
step touch	30 sec

Which machines can help you?

We have just seen that it was possible to make cardio training exercises without material. But sometimes, we may need machines to help us surpass ourselves.

There are different machines that allow you to do cardio. It’s up to you to choose the one you prefer because the main thing is to have fun. If you can and if you have the space at home, invest in several machines. This way, you can vary the exercises and multiply the benefits of sport.

The exercise bike

The most classic is the exercise bike. You can find them at all prices and some can even fold up to fit into a small space. Are you afraid of getting bored pedaling in your living room? I have the solution, or rather, the solutions.

The elliptical trainer

More fun than the exercise bike, the elliptical trainer works the arms as much as the legs. But above all, there is no saddle. This machine reproduces the movement of walking, without jolts. The hands are attached to bars connected to the pedals: they move in rhythm with the legs.

Arms and legs at the same time, we are on a very good home cardio exercise. The bonus: the elliptical trainer is also compatible with watching a thriller series!

The treadmill

If you like to run without leaving your home, the treadmill is for you. Cardio exercise par excellence, running is excellent for your health. Start by running at low speed and then gradually increase the intensity. Some treadmills can incline to simulate an uphill course.

Remember to always complete your home cardio session by a return to calm by walking on your carpet, for example.