Whether we like it or not, gyms are a part of our modern lifestyle. In an age when most of us have jobs which involve a lot of sitting and not enough movement, finding a place to burn all the calories we intake is paramount to staying fit and healthy.

One of the simplest and effective types of exercise when it comes to staying fit is cardio. However, many people simply hate it. It can be time-consuming and quite tiring, but not many are willing to dispute just how effective it is.

We consulted experts at www.gympalmdesert.com to tell us what the best cardio exercises are for people who don’t necessarily have much time on their hands, but want the results.

Jumping the Rope

This cardio exercise may remind you of your childhood and playing outdoors, but make no mistake – jumping the rope is no child’s play. Professional boxers use this exercise very frequently as it not only burns fat, but it also improves coordination and balance, crucial traits for a boxer.

On the other hand, it will help you tone the muscles in your arms, legs and glutes, which makes it a great all-round exercise.

Cycling

If you are a member of a gym, you might want to take a look at their spin class if you have the time. Cycling has numerous benefits apart from burning those calories, such as toning your leg muscles and teaching you proper breathing techniques.

Cycling is usually more fun when you are on an actual bicycle outdoors, but even a stationary gym bicycle can have a great effect. The fact that you can shift gears and change the resistance makes this exercise ideal for both beginners and seasoned pros. A single spin class at the gym, which is usually 45 minutes long can burn as much as 600 calories, and that is not a negligible amount.

Running or Walking

Even though cardio can be a lot of things, done on a lot of different equipment and machines, you should not neglect the simplest cardio exercise out there – walking, or if you are more devoted – running. The first benefit of running and walking is that it doesn’t require any equipment and you can do it pretty much anywhere, which cuts out the ‘lack of motivation to go to the gym’ excuse.

According to some of the best personal trainers, vigorous walking can burn a shocking amount of calories, as much as 200 for a half an hour long walk. Running is even better, as it increases the amount of calories burnt and the muscles used, not to mention the increased oxygen intake. However, you should be careful when running that your shoes are tied correctly in order to minimize the chance of an injury.

Burpees

This is yet another fantastic all-round exercise, as it combines a plank, a squat and a jump into one single exercise and one single motion. Most people do them as a warm-up workout for their strength training, as they trigger pretty much all groups of muscles, but burpees are an amazing exercise on their own, too.

HIIT

Finally, in recent years, there has been a rise of combined exercises which are done in quick succession and with very little rest time. In that way, the body is not given time to recover and shocked into burning calories.

This type of workout is called HIIT, or high intensity interval training and has been giving solid results combining several cardio exercises including some listed in this article.

Whichever cardio exercise you choose for yourself, make sure that you are doing it properly in order to reduce the likelihood of injury and to maximize the gains from the workout.