How To Decide What The Best Home Exercise Equipment Cardio Workout For Your Lifestyle

For several decades scientists have agreed that one of the best ways to stay fit, live a long and healthy life, and feel better physically and emotionally, is with cardio exercise. However, if there is one thing lacking in the US lifestyle, and Western Civilization in general, it’s exercise. We spend way too much time watching TV, browsing the internet, and just plain sitting. There are plenty of studies that point to just 20 minutes per day of good hard cardio exercise can reverse obesity, slow aging, reduce cancer risk, fight dementia, and prevent type 2 diabetes. There are several ways that the average person can get all of these benefits but not every option is possible in our busy lives. Here are some of the advantages of cardio exercise and some solutions for getting what you need in the shortest amount of time.

How Much Cardio Do You Need On A Daily Basis

Cardiovascular exercise, referred to as cardio, is basically defined as a type of movement that causes a rise in your heart rate to a certain percentage above normal and holding it there for a given length of time. 20 to 30 minutes is usually sufficient for a maintenance plan, where you are just trying to stay at a certain fitness level. If you’re wanting to improve your level of fitness, you should double the length of time to 40 to 60 minutes until you reach your goal.

The number one benefit of cardio is that it burns calories that your body would otherwise store as fat and then burns some fat as well. The longer each cardio session you have the more fat you’ll end up burning since your body will use up carbohydrates first and then stored fat second as a way to keep supplying your muscles with energy.

Daily workouts that raise the heart rate also serve to strengthen the heart muscle and keep the circulatory system in good working order. Sitting and inactivity, like what most people do all day long, will weaken the heart, and eventually clog the arteries, causing early death and a variety of health problems. People that work out regularly have a higher metabolism, meaning that at rest they burn more calories than a couch potato. This helps people keep from gaining weight and also helps the intestine stay regular, keeps the brain functioning at a higher level, and raises the mood. It’s been theorized that most of the people on anti-anxiety medications could quit them forever if they would start an exercise program and stick with it.

Sticking With Your Cardio Workout Is The Hardest Part

You’ll hear people complain that they don’t have enough time to exercise or the price of a gym membership is too high, traffic is bad during the hours they have available, or they can’t leave their kids at home alone, the excuses are endless. That’s why a ton of people these days have decided to purchase machines that they can use at home. That way, no matter what the weather, the traffic, or problems with the kids, they really have no excuse for not working out. What is the best home exercise equipment cardio that will keep you healthy, not be boring, not occupy too much space, and not cost too much? Here are some machines that you should consider for your home.

The Treadmill

Of course, you can always go outside and walk but not every neighborhood is safe, weather is a huge factor, kids can interfere, and you can’t tend to dinner, the laundry, or your favorite soap opera on TV either. If you have a home treadmill, you can have your in-home workout while dinner is on the stove and be watching your favorite TV show, with the kids playing nearby all at the same time.

Modern treadmills have plenty of new features that make them better than ever before. You can walk on an incline to workout the glutes and increase the heart rate. They have built in music systems, heart rate tracker, compute how many calories you’ve burned, and can vary your workout with speed changes, incline changes, and scenarios to keep you from being bored.

The great thing about a good treadmill is its ability to be folded up and slid under a bed or propped up in the corner out of the way.

Exercise Bikes

With an exercise bike you can have nearly all of the same great benefits of the treadmill, plus avoid any impact injuries to your knees and ankles. This makes the home exercise bike one of the best home exercise equipment cardio workouts you can use if you’ve had any sports injuries. Many professional athletes use bikes to stay fit while they are rehabbing after injuries because of the low impact nature.

If you’re serious about getting fit and staying fit, you need to decide what is the best home exercise equipment cardio workout that you’ll stay with. Then, try some out at the local gym before you buy, listen to music, watch TV and other things while you workout so that you can occupy your mind while your body gets the cardiovascular workout that it needs.