Name one health problem that aerobic exercises cannot fix. Scientific evidence shows that aerobics or cardio is a one-stop solution to most 21st century problems. Obesity, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, stress, and even certain cancers!
But this is what most of us are guilty of…
- Spending most of the time watching the latest Netflix/HBO show.
- Taking an Uber instead of walking or biking.
- Has Netflix’s one-month free subscription ended? Bring out the PlayStation.
- Playing “stare” with the friend instead of getting the door.
On the surface, it seems funny. Only, it’s not. Over the past two decades, obesity rose from 16.8% to 18.5% in youth and 33.7% to 39.6% in adults in the US. This, in turn, has given rise to various health problems. Not to forget the huge medical bills. But, there’s one way out – fun, mood-boosting aerobic/cardio exercises.
In this post, relearn the benefits of aerobic exercises. Reinvent your inner strength. Re-energize your muscles and brain. Let’s begin!
1. Butt Kicks
This one, literally, is a kickass exercise! It is a modified version of jogging on the spot, which can help slim and tone your glutes, thighs, calves, and lower belly region. It is a great calorie burner and can help improve your strength and muscle endurance. Make sure you wear good shoes to prevent knee injury. Here’s how to do it.
2. Squat Jacks
Much like jumping jacks but not really jumping jacks! Now, don’t let your imagination run wild and think about a weird exercise where you do a leg split while you are squatting. In this fun and effective exercise, you will do a jumping jack and squat down. Squat jacks target the legs, glutes, and belly region. Doing 3 sets of 15 squat jacks can get you sweating and burn about 50-60 calories. Mix it up with other exercises to hit your target calorie burn. Here’s how to do squat jacks.
3. Burpees
If you thought that squat jacks got your fat burning, think again! Say hello to the burpee – the top most effective fat-burning aerobic exercise. You can burn around 500 calories if you do burpees nonstop for an hour. That’s impractical! While doing burpees, aim to achieve better body posture instead of focusing on the duration. Doing the exercise wrong can hurt your knees and back. Here’s a video of how to do a burpee.
4. Lunges
If you want to get rid of thigh and leg fat, try lunging. This exercise looks simple, but it is a great leg slimmer. It works on the quadriceps, hamstrings, calves, glutes, and lower abdomen. You can burn anywhere between 50-200 calories depending on the intensity, time, and your current weight. Here’s how to do it.
5. Swimming
Swimming is one of the best full body workouts that can help you burn about 500-600 calories in 30 minutes, improve muscle tone, lose weight, and relieve stress. You can learn various strokes or walk along the sides of the pool (do not go to the deeper side if you are not a swimmer) in the initial stage.
