It might be awhile before some of us feel comfortable getting back in the gym, but that doesn’t mean your fitness game has to stop. In fact, you can get in a fire workout at home and save a few dollars while you’re at it. If you’re wanting to get your heart rate pumping, try out the best at-home cardio workouts.

1. Jump Rope

Let’s throwback to summers spent playing Double Dutch. It didn’t feel like it then, but jump rope is an intense workout. You can burn at least 220 calories in just 20 minutes.

Whether you’re going on vacation or staying home, your jump rope travels with you — that means no excuses. Throw on your favorite playlist and jump to it.

2. Dance

Some songs just make you want to dance, and that’s a good thing. Because all that TikTok choreography is a serious workout. Dancing is even considered one of the best cardio workouts because there are hardly any breaks, and it uses muscle groups you’re probably not used to.

There’s plenty of free dance workout videos with different music genres on YouTube — you just gotta find your groove.

3. Kickboxing

We’re bringing back Tae Bo around here! There’s a reason it was so popular back then, after all. You burn more than 100 calories in 10 minutes, and you don’t even need any equipment! All you need to know is how to kick and punch.

4. Stairs

You want to get in your cardio while building that desirable lower body? Start hitting the stairs. Try taking laps up and down the stairs, taking them two at a time, or trying out a step routine online.

If you don’t have stairs at home, I’m sure the football stadium at your local high school does!

5. Get Outside to Walk or Run

Getting your cardio in doesn’t have to be complicated. It’s as simple as taking a brisk walk, run, or jog on your lunch break. There are plenty of apps that can help you build your stamina and endurance to get the most out of your workout.

Plus, simply being outside is proven to relieve some of that stress, fatigue, and moodiness that’s been building up. Just don’t forget your headphones to plug into the weekly Neo Soul Cypher playlist.

Want to level up your cardio results? Try it fasted. This can be when you first wake up or anytime when you haven’t eaten for at least 6 hours. Instead of burning carbs, your body will use its fat stores, making you a lean, mean cardio machine. What are you waiting for?

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“My back is hurting!  Oh…wait is it my hips? Oh goodness, it’s everything!”  This was me at the beginning of quarantine.    

The biggest contributing factor to reducing and controlling my pain, is movement, and like many of us, I currently have little.

Staying fit right now can be exceptionally challenging, yet extremely important for our mental and physical wellbeing.  Right now, we need to keep our immune systems as healthy as possible, and our bodies strong.  Also, we cannot forget about the stress, anxiety, and depression, that many of us are currently experiencing, and often at high levels.  Movement can help with that.

 I had to find a way to exercise and move while being confined to my home. I looked around my small condo and thought, “What can I do”?  What do my rooms have to offer in place of gym workouts?    

Here is how I compensated.  

I found an old can of paint.  Kettle bells!  Cans from my cabinet became hand weights.  I used my couch and chairs for dips.  

I made additional trips.  For example, when cleaning, I made several unnecessary trips throughout my home.  At times, when I could have made one trip to carry laundry, I purposely carried little laundry at a time, simply to make an additional trip to the laundry room.  I swept and mopped much more than necessary.

I also made use of planks, push-ups, and other exercises, in which only body weight is needed.  

So, look around your home.  Think outside of the ‘household items’ box.  Look at each item with fresh eyes geared toward movement and exercise.  Survey your area.  What do you see?

Move and lift.  Stay healthy.  Stay fit.