Cardio exercises are the best type of workout routine for improving our cardiovascular health, losing weight, and improving our overall fitness. Depending on your fitness level, you can choose from a variety of cardio exercises and also select the level of intensity you want to engage in.
Those who are prone to injury or have a bad knee should avoid high-impact exercises and focus on low-impact exercises. If you’re unfamiliar, here’s how low-impact and high-impact exercises differ.
Long hours of running
Running is an excellent cardio exercise that strengthens muscles, improves cardiovascular fitness, and aids in weight loss.
Running for long periods of time with poor form, on the other hand, can put excessive strain on your joints, resulting in injury and pain. However, running too much before your muscles, bones, joints, and cartilage is ready for more can cause straining, increasing your risk of injury.
So, before you get started, consider gradually increasing the pace. Begin with long walks, then progress to brisk walking, and finally incorporate running into your workout routine. Make sure to go slowly.
Jumping jacks
Jumping jacks are full-body exercises that improve cardiovascular fitness and health. These not only strengthen the bones but also target major muscle groups. Jumping jacks, on the other hand, involve a lot of jumping, which puts a lot of force on the lower body joints. This is why jumping jacks are associated with a risk of injury, particularly to the knee and ankle joints.
To avoid such dangers, it is critical to first focus on strength and conditioning. Strength and conditioning exercises focus on muscle development and endurance. Squats, lunges, bridges, push-ups, dead bugs, and deadlifts are all part of it. If you want to continue doing jumping jacks, start without the jumps. It is known as a modified jumping jack.
Burpees
Burpees are a total-body workout that aids in fat loss, blood flow improvement, and the prevention of heart disease and diabetes.
Burpees, on the other hand, are difficult to perform. There is a lot to learn, and a lot that can go wrong. Burpees can wreak havoc on your body, putting strain on your back and shoulders as well as putting your knees at risk.
Jumping lunges from side to side
Side-to-side jumping lunges are an excellent lower-body exercise. It works on the quads, hamstrings, glutes, hip flexors, and calves, as well as the cardiovascular system.
However, there is always the possibility of injury with this cardio form. Because the movement involves a lot of balance, posture, and jumping, it can put a lot of pressure and force on the bones and joints.
To avoid such risky situations, you can always begin with simple lunges or side lunges, which are both low-impact and effective.
