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Here's why you should do cardio workouts at home

Here's why you should do cardio workouts at home
Jump Rope can help burn about 220 calories in 20 minutes @Shutterstock

From keeping your heart healthy to improving your metabolism, cardio exercises do it all for you. Here are a few easy-to-do cardio workouts that you can try at home.

Written by Debjani Arora |Updated : November 21, 2019 1:29 PM IST

You have just enrolled yourself in an exercise programme and the term that you are going to hear without fail is 'cardio workout'. Well, there are very many popular exercise regimens but cardio workouts seem to be an indispensable component of most fitness programmes. Cardiovascular exercises are activities that raise your heart rate and respiration while putting large muscle groups at work. The intention is to enhance your endurance, capacity to strenuous work for a prolonged period of time. There is a fringe benefit too: Weight loss. The classic examples of cardio workouts are walking, running, cycling, swimming, etc. However, there are other workouts too.

According to a study published in 2018, in JAMA journal, 150 minutes of cardio exercise per week reduces health risks and could contribute to weight loss as well. The best thing about these workouts is they hardly require an equipment and you don't actually need to hit a gym to do them. You can perform them in the comfort of your home at your convenient time. Watch this video to see how to do some easy peasy cardio exercises. It includes workouts such as arm swing, torso twist, front kicks, butt kicks, jumping jacks, squat jacks and many more.

https://mum-videostream.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/TheHealthSite/2019/11NOVEMBER/19/Easy-Cardio-Workout-THS-S3.mp4

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Well, if you are still not convinced about doing cardio workouts, here are some reasons to practise them regularly. These benefits are worth your sweat for sure!

1. It improves heart health: Not just by lifting weights but by pumping the heart at a faster rate on a regular basis you will be able to stay in shape and healthy. Heart health is utmost important to keep you going, remember heart is a muscle and just like any other muscle in order to be strong, it must be worked. If you fail to keep your heart in good shape it will deteriorate over time and can lead to various negative health effects like cardiovascular risks and even increase your chances of suffering from an untimely heart attack.

2. It improves metabolism: Apart from improving cardiac functions, it also helps to keep your internal organs healthy and boosts their functioning. One crucial way cardiac exercises help us is by improving metabolism. The more time you invest in cardio-activity it improves metabolic rate which in turn improves insulin sensitivity and aids in weight management.

3. It helps to correct hormonal imbalances: Performing cardiovascular exercise also changes the hormonal profile in your body considerably as it releases "feel good" hormones that help ease symptoms of depression and fatigue as well as releasing hormones that decrease the appetite.

4. It can make you live longer: If you pay equal attention to your weight training and cardio activities the duo will help you live longer. One cannot help you go the long way without being supplemented by the other.

5. It helps to manage your blood sugar: The best set of exercises that can be done by a diabetic is cardiovascular exercises. It increases muscle's ability to utilize glucose. Those who exercise regularly tend to have better control of their blood sugars and do not see as many blood sugar swings as those who don't.