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The Best Cardio Exercise Equipment for Your Home Gym

In choosing the best cardio exercise equipment for your home workouts, you will want to select equipment that’s fun to use, gets your heart rate up, and is interesting enough that you’ll continue to use it year after year. Cardio fitness equipment differs from strength training equipment in that it’s necessary to get “winded” in order to put you in the Target Heart Rate Zone.

You’ve heard it before but it’s worth reminding you again of all the great benefits of exercising with cardio fitness equipment: weight management, burning calories, increased metabolism, strengthening the immune system, preventing high blood pressure and diabetes, increasing lung capacity, and making your heart -- the most important muscle in your body -- stronger.

Create a Cardio Corner in Your Home Gym

Using a variety of equipment is best for cardio training. The challenging cardio systems listed below allow you to increase resistance, speed, and intensity of your exercises to achieve a higher level of fitness:

Folding Treadmill 1. The best cardio exercise equipment that comes to mind is treadmills. The advances made in their technology and quality in the past five to seven years has been stunning. Home users can now buy machines that offer such features as advanced workout programs, mp3 plug-ins, power inclines, and cushioned decks for under $1,000. We’ve seen a number of decent machines on sale for as low as $800. You don’t even need a large amount of space in your gym since there are new fold-up treadmills that feel just as solid as non-folding units.

Click Here for Treadmill Reviews

Recumbent Bike 2. Before there were treadmills, stationary cycles were the hot item for aerobic capacity workouts, and still are for many people who want to work on power, cadence, and resistance when they can’t be on their road bikes. These bikes and recumbent cycles have a legion of fans who love to spin for hours and sweat out the calories.

Click Here for Exercise Bike Reviews

Elliptical Trainer 3. We would be remiss to talk about the best cardio exercise equipment and not mention elliptical trainers. They are not only calorie-blasting machines; they deliver an excellent level of training for your heart and lungs. People choose them over treadmills because they are easy on the joints and offer a more intensive workout.

Click Here for Elliptical Reviews

4. Another idea to consider is rowing machines. You may even have a rowing cable station on your multi-gym so you know the benefits this type of cardio exercise equipment provides in terms of both resistance and cardio training. The rowing motion will exercise all the major muscle groups and help you build stamina and endurance too. Rowers range from a few hundred dollars to several thousand so check around to find the one that best fits your needs.

Compare Rowing Machines Here

There is no “Best” Cardio Workout

In terms of the actual workout, there is no ideal cardio fitness regime; rather, the best workout for you is the one you enjoy doing and will keep doing. You can work at your own pace on any exercise equipment but to achieve the best cardio benefits you must crank it up and do at least moderately intense workouts. Just a half hour to an hour a day, three times a week, will give you fat-burning, calorie-zapping cardio fitness.

The best cardio exercise equipment is not necessarily the most expensive model; there are great values to be found in many budget machines, and the deals get even better when you keep an eye out for sales. Try different machines and vary your workout to get maximum cardio and fitness benefits.

Exercise Bike Reviews

Smooth SB4 Recumbent Bike - Fully adjustable seat and backrest eliminates back and shoulder strain, tired arms; easy to mount and dismount.

Smooth UB4 Upright Bike - A smart choice for cardio workouts and sweating off the pounds. Highly recommended.

Smooth UB5 Upright Bike - Ergonomic seat dispenses your body weight evenly. Heavy flywheel and magnetic brake system combine for quiet, friction-free ride.

Smooth RB5 Recumbent Bike - Quality construction, ergonomic feel, oversized pedals, solid performance.

Schwinn 203 Recumbent Bike - A well-designed beginner’s model for low-impact cardio workouts. A good buy if $400 is your maximum budget.

Schwinn 231 Recumbent Bike - A quality exercise bike with good back support, well padded seat and easy step-in design.

Recommended Sites

Home Fitness Equipment Ireland - Treadmills, rowers, bikes, ellipticals and gym equipment. Free delivery in Ireland & optional installation!


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