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6 cardio exercises to do at home

1. We warm up by jumping. Without forcing, gently, we hop in place for 30 seconds, arms along the body, releasing the shoulders well. This first exercise aims to warm up our musculoskeletal system (muscles, joints, tendons, etc.) and our cardio-respiratory system.

2. We " applaud " in rhythm. Always hopping on the spot, we make lateral movements from bottom to top with outstretched arms, as if we were trying to applaud above our head. Excellent for coordination. We hold 30 sec. trying to keep a good rhythm.

3. We stretch the legs well. We leave the arms at rest and, at the same pace, we change the movement of the legs:still in place, we alternately advance the right foot, then the left foot, sliding them along the ground as if skiing background or elliptical. The movement is repeated for 30 s.

4. We do push-ups… in the air. While continuing the movement of cross-country skiing with the legs, we move our arms again by doing push-ups but in a vacuum:arms stretched out in front of us, palms open, we bring our elbows towards us then we push. 30 sec.

5. We raise the heels to the buttocks... We leave the arms at rest and, without breaking the rhythm, we change the movement of the legs:we resume the jumps from the beginning, but this time bringing the heels back to the buttocks, always while staying put. We hold 30 s by slightly accelerating the pace.

6. We race in place. While continuing the heels-buttocks with the legs, we add arm movements of great amplitude, as when running, again for 30 s. Beginner, we stop there. If we are in better shape, we recover 5 min then we start again from the beginning. And as many times as our physical condition allows.

Thanks to Renaud Longuèvre, coach of the French athletics team, author of " Le coach ", L'Equipe editions.