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Types of Cardio to do Without Equipment?

H

HNNstyle

Senior member
Sometimes I don't feel like going to the gym and I don't have a treadmill at home so I was wondering if anyone would know some good cardio routines that I could do in the living room to increase heart rate?
 
HNNstyle said:
Pavement hurts my knees.
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Get proper shoes and adjust your form/gait. Running shouldn't be hard on your knees unless they've already been messed up from another issue.

Equipment-less cardio . . . jumping jacks? But you've got bad knees. 😛

Edit - I'd put up swimming maybe. Doubt you have a pool in your back yard, but maybe a community pool would be a closer trip than the gym.
 
Burpee intervals will do the trick real fast. Dunno how it'd be on your knees if they are as bad as you say, though. Can you squat?
 
Cerpin Taxt said:
Burpee intervals will do the trick real fast. Dunno how it'd be on your knees if they are as bad as you say, though. Can you squat?
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This, OP do Burpees, you'll probably only have to work out 10 minutes a day. 60 seconds of straight Burpees are like a damn entire workout for me lol. OP go to Sports Authority or whatever sporting goods store you have around you and pick up one of those gym mats that come in a bag and you put them together, like big puzzle pieces. I use one for my exercises where I jump and it reduces the impact so much. I know you said no equipment but they're worth it if you have knee problems. Then if you have some rope lying around, make a jump rope from it. Jumping rope's give an excellent workout.

Well, unless you're like me and so uncorridinated you can't chain together more than 3 or 4 jumps without f*cking up and having to restart lol
 
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Bateluer said:
Get proper shoes and adjust your form/gait. Running shouldn't be hard on your knees unless they've already been messed up from another issue.

Equipment-less cardio . . . jumping jacks? But you've got bad knees. 😛

Edit - I'd put up swimming maybe. Doubt you have a pool in your back yard, but maybe a community pool would be a closer trip than the gym.
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Lol, he asked for living room workouts and you're stuck on running. You're good at running, but not everybody's built for it - not by a long shot.

I'll contribute tomorrow.
 
Walk instead of jogging. To get the intensity of jogging or running while not stressing the knees, load weight in a backpack and/or use walking sticks.
 
Very curious about where this will go. The only things I know how to do are running OR involve equipment (I usually do bike, stationary bike and elliptical when I get injured). I would suggest mountain climbers, but I'm not sure how good that is going to be on your knees.
 
another vote for burpees. do 100 for time and it will be one of the hardest workouts ever.

here are some other workouts you could do without equipment (goal is to finish as quickly as possible):

• 10 air squats, 10 pushups, 10 situps, 10 dips, 10 rounds.
• AMRAP in 20 minutes, 20 walking lunges, 20 situps, 20 pushups, 20 squats
• 100, 200, or 300 air squats for time.
• 21-15-9 reps of situps, pushups, and airsquats.
• 100 burpees.
• 13-12-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 push-up, burpee.
• Tabata push-ups, sit-ups, squats, burpees.
• 100 pushups, 100 air squats, 100 sit-ups.
• 30 push-ups, 40 sit-ups, 50 squats 5 rounds for time
• 5 push-ups, 10 sit-ups, 15 squats. each minute on the minute for 20 minutes.
• 5 push-ups, 15 sit-ups, 30 squats. as many rounds as possible in 15 minutes.
• Maximum number of push-ups in 30 seconds then the maximum number of
squats in 30 seconds. 5 Rounds.
• 50 Sit ups, 25 tuck jumps, 40 push ups, 25 vertical jumps, 30 squats, 25 burpees
• 10 Broad Jump Burpees each minute for 10 minutes
 
get the insanity workout. no need for equipment, just a little space to move around. way better than running/jogging, full body workout, and you work up a real good sweat.
 
blackdogdeek said:
another vote for burpees. do 100 for time and it will be one of the hardest workouts ever.

here are some other workouts you could do without equipment (goal is to finish as quickly as possible):

• 10 air squats, 10 pushups, 10 situps, 10 dips, 10 rounds.
• AMRAP in 20 minutes, 20 walking lunges, 20 situps, 20 pushups, 20 squats
• 100, 200, or 300 air squats for time.
• 21-15-9 reps of situps, pushups, and airsquats.
• 100 burpees.
• 13-12-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 push-up, burpee.
• Tabata push-ups, sit-ups, squats, burpees.
• 100 pushups, 100 air squats, 100 sit-ups.
• 30 push-ups, 40 sit-ups, 50 squats 5 rounds for time
• 5 push-ups, 10 sit-ups, 15 squats. each minute on the minute for 20 minutes.
• 5 push-ups, 15 sit-ups, 30 squats. as many rounds as possible in 15 minutes.
• Maximum number of push-ups in 30 seconds then the maximum number of
squats in 30 seconds. 5 Rounds.
• 50 Sit ups, 25 tuck jumps, 40 push ups, 25 vertical jumps, 30 squats, 25 burpees
• 10 Broad Jump Burpees each minute for 10 minutes
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Do some sit ups, push ups, air squats, jump rope, Burpees - and be done with it. Burpees and jumping rope would definitely do the trick alone.
 
masterxfob said:
get the insanity workout. no need for equipment, just a little space to move around. way better than running/jogging, full body workout, and you work up a real good sweat.
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This and for those moves that require jumping, just don't jump as high.
 
blackdogdeek said:
another vote for burpees. do 100 for time and it will be one of the hardest workouts ever.

here are some other workouts you could do without equipment (goal is to finish as quickly as possible):

• *snip*
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Heheh...that's a very useful pdf, no? Some great workout ideas. (crossfitkop away from home wod's)

I'm determined to finish this one: Tabata push-ups, sit-ups, squats, burpees.

Those burpees are NOT a fun 4th exercise in a group of Tabatas...ugh. They suck the wind out of you quick, and make each of the muscles used in the first 3 exercises scream for mercy. 😀
 
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Have you experimented at all w/ knee support? Even a cho-pat strap could be the difference between selecting activities that your knees can survive on its own vs whatever your endurance/skills can sustain. I've had previous problems w/ the left knee and most activities will bring it pain in 15-30mins, with proper support I have no problems riding through centuries pain-free.

As for cardio, how about a DIY stepper using boxes/phonebooks/whatever that works? It's a climbing motion so it could affect the knees, however.
 
Cerpin Taxt said:
liar!

😉
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Gimme a break, man, I've been working 12 hour days! 😛

Honestly, there are a TON of things you can do, OP. Depending on your fitness levels, you can do a bunch of bodyweight stuff with a set of olympic rings or TRX system. Single-handed, double-handed, pushing, pulling, assisted leg work (to reduce load on your leg - if it doesn't hurt, DO IT) - like reduced load squats, forward/backward/side lunges, calf raises, single leg balance work. You can also buy some bands and do rotational work like walking out sideways while holding the band straight out in front of you. You can push forward into those, pull them. You can honestly do a ton of stuff with just a few pieces of equipment. Go to exrx.net and look at their list of exercises. You'll find a ton of stuff.
 
tedrodai said:
Heheh...that's a very useful pdf, no? Some great workout ideas. (crossfitkop away from home wod's)

I'm determined to finish this one: Tabata push-ups, sit-ups, squats, burpees.

Those burpees are NOT a fun 4th exercise in a group of Tabatas...ugh. They suck the wind out of you quick, and make each of the muscles used in the first 3 exercises scream for mercy. 😀
Click to expand...

yes, the pdf was very helpful for me in the beginning when i didn't have any equipment yet.

and burpees are unpleasant ALL the time 😀.
 
Pia said:
No comments on my suggestion of walking with loaded backpack? Too simple? 🙂
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Not cardio-ey enough. I've been walking long distances with a heavy backpack since high school, never really got my heart racing.

Seems to me like jumping rope might be a little easier on the knees than running. At least when I do it, I don't flex my knees as much.
 
dave_the_nerd said:
Not cardio-ey enough. I've been walking long distances with a heavy backpack since high school, never really got my heart racing.
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Not enough weight, or not walking fast enough. If I wanted to produce resistance comparable to jogging while walking at normal speed, I'd start experimenting from a load of 1/3 bodyweight (25 kilos for me), add or remove some weight if necessary. Of course you can walk faster, and if you walk fast enough you don't need to add weight at all because walking actually becomes harder than jogging after you hit a certain speed (see olympic racewalking).

OP never said he wanted his heart racing, he said "cardio" and "alternative to jogging". Being in the cardio zone doesn't feel like your heart racing - it's a pace you should be able to sustain for many hours at a time. When I'm commuting on a bike, I have to very deliberately slow down at every uphill - no matter how small - to an unnaturally slow speed or else I go above the cardio zone (I'm using an estimate of 120-140). I only really start feeling that the heart is doing some work at around 160.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Exercise_zones.png
 
Call me weak, but I am really starting to love youtube fitness tutorials. Particularly Pop Pilates. I like it when there is something/someone to keep me going the whole way through. Not: here's how you do it, now repeat 50X.
 
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