At-Home Workouts for Beginners: Endurance Training

You don’t need the gym to get a good cardio workout. Try these endurance exercises for beginners in the comfort of your home.

Getting Your Cardio Workouts at Home

Some days we just want to stay at home instead of hitting the gym. Or perhaps, wet weather conditions have put a damper on our plans to go for a run outside. That doesn’t mean we can’t get a good cardio workout!

It is recommended that adults participate in at least 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise per week.

What’s Endurance or Aerobic Exercise?

Simply put, endurance is our ability to sustain an exercise over an extended period.

Endurance or aerobic training builds our stamina so we can sustain physical activities that increase our heart rate and breathing.

Aerobic exercises include brisk walking, jogging, swimming, and cycling. And we’ll need great endurance to complete long-distance sporting events like the popular Marathon.

As with all physical activity, endurance training comes with benefits like weight management, better heart health, and lower risk of diseases like diabetes.

Include at least 2 strength-training sessions as part of your weekly exercise programme. If you do not wish to lift weights at the gym, you can do some simple bodyweight exercises at home. Examples of bodyweight exercises include push-ups, pull-ups, squats, and sit-ups.

Here are some endurance exercises you can do at home—yes, you can train while enjoying dramas on TV! Isn’t that an entertaining workout routine?

With each episode being one hour long, you’ll hit the recommended minimum 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity per week in no time.

Cardio Workouts for Beginners

For newbies, we want to start small and slowly build up stamina. Here are some very simple workouts any beginner can do.

Walk and Climb

Some beginner physical activities include walking on the spot while watching TV for 30 minutes, or climbing the stairs to your flat at a moderate pace.

Moderate-intensity workouts are those that increase breathing and heart rate slightly. At this pace, you’ll be able to chat but not sing.

Try singing along to the drama theme song; if you can’t catch your breath, you’re on the right track!

(House)work it Out

Simple housework, like cleaning the windows and making your bed, also counts as endurance training. You get to keep your house tidy too: win-win!

For example, you can get a good workout by mopping or vacuuming the floor. To burn more calories, increase the intensity of your (house) workout by challenging yourself with lunges while vacuuming!

Level Up with These Aerobic Exercises Anyone Can Do at Home

Fancy a challenge? Turn up the intensity with these exercises.

Skipping

Skipping, or jumping rope, is a cheap and simple high impact cardio workout to build stamina, tone the calves, and burn calories. Even at a slow pace (less than 100 skips per minute), you’ll burn up to 154 calories* in 15 minutes.

Skipping also increases your agility, which means you move quicker on your feet (and can chope that seat at the hawker centre faster).

As a bonus, skipping ropes are highly portable: stash one in your bag and exercise wherever you go!

Jumping Jacks

Another workout to try at home (and beyond) is jumping jacks (also known as star jumps), which can burn up to 140 calories* in just 15 minutes. Other than proper footwear, you don’t need any equipment! You can also perform variations such as power jacks or squat jumps in between your jumping jacks to shake up your workout routine.

Not sure what a squat jump is? It’s just like a regular squat, with an added jump! Be sure to land on your feet properly and quietly, and lower your body back into the squat position. That’s one rep.

Jogging on the Spot

Who needs a treadmill? All you need to do is stand with your feet hip-width apart and start jogging. Jogging on the spot is a good alternative to build stamina and burn calories—30 minutes of jogging in place burns up to 280 calories*.

See how easy it is to work out from home? It’s not just cardio workouts, you can even perform strength-training exercises and interval training right from the comfort of your own home. So don’t let the poor weather or an excuse to just stay home stop you from sticking to your exercise programmes.

*Number of calories burnt varies between individuals and is dependent on different factors, such as body weight and muscle mass.

Do consult your doctor before starting any exercise regimen, and practise caution when exercising. Remember, safety first!

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