What is the best at-home cardio option?

Cardio, short for cardiovascular exercise, refers to any form of rhythmic physical activity that increases heart rate and breathing so that the heart and lungs can deliver oxygen to working muscles. Essentially, it’s the kind of exercise that makes you huff and puff and leaves many people scared.

People often do aerobic exercise to lose weight, but this is associated with a variety of health benefits, including reduced risk of heart disease, stroke, and falls. Research shows that cardio also improves cognitive function and mental health. The World Health Organization recommends a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity cardio or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity cardio per week.

There are many ways to do cardio, from playing a team sport, biking to work, or running. If you’re willing and able to invest in equipment, you can also do cardio at home. The treadmill, stationary bike, and rowing machine are the most popular pieces of cardio equipment you’ll find in a typical gym, and you can buy any of them for your home, too. Here’s how to know which one is best for you.

The treadmill

In terms of exercise effectiveness, it’s hard to ignore the treadmill. Running uses most of the major muscle groups and therefore leads to greater increases in heart rate and energy expenditure compared to other activities such as cycling.

As a bonus, because running on a treadmill requires you to support your body weight, it also helps build and maintain your bones, keeping them strong. This becomes even more important as you age, as your risk of developing medical conditions such as osteopenia and osteoporosis, where bone density is reduced, increases.

But the treadmill may not be for everyone. The weight-bearing nature of running can exacerbate pain and cause swelling in people with common joint conditions such as osteoarthritis.

Additionally, a treadmill is likely to require more maintenance (since most treadmills are motorized) and can take up a lot of space.

Stationary bike

The exercise bike offers another convenient means of achieving your cardiovascular goals. Setting up your bike correctly is crucial to ensuring you are comfortable and reducing your risk of injury. A general rule of thumb is that you want a slight bend in the knee, like in the image below, when your leg is at the bottom of the pedal stroke.

Although cycling has significant benefits for cardiovascular and metabolic health, since it is non-weight bearing, it does not benefit your bones to the same extent as walking and running. On the other hand, it offers a great cardiovascular workout without straining your joints.

rowing machine

If you want to get the best cardio workout in the shortest amount of time possible, the rowing machine might be for you. Because rowing requires you to use all of your major muscle groups, including your upper body, your heart and lungs have to work even harder than when running and cycling to deliver oxygen to your working muscles. This means that the energy expended when rowing is comparable to running and greater than when cycling.

But before you rush out to buy a new rower, there are two questions to consider. Firstly, the technical challenge of rowing is arguably greater than that of running or cycling, as the skill of rowing is often less familiar to the average person. While a coach or trainer can help with this, remember that good rowing technique should be felt primarily in your legs, not your arms and back.

Good rowing technique should be felt mainly in the legs. (Photo: Unsplash)

Secondly, the non-weight-bearing nature of rowing means it misses out on the same bone health benefits offered by the treadmill, although there is some evidence that it can still increase bone density to a lesser degree. However, like cycling, this disadvantage of rowing can be offset by offering a more joint-friendly option, providing a great alternative for those with joint pain who still want to keep their heart and lungs healthy.

So what is the best option?

It depends on your goals, your current health status and, most importantly, what you enjoy most. The best exercise is the one that is done. So choose the equipment that you find most enjoyable, as this will make you more likely to keep it in the long term. DM

This story was first published in The conversation. Lewis Ingram is professor of physiotherapy at the University of South Australia. Hunter Bennett is Professor of Exercise Science at the University of South Australia. Saravana Kumar is Professor of Allied Health and Health Services Research at the University of South Australia.