Jump roping! May actually be better than running and it's fun!

No kidding! Talk about a brutal cardio workout... If you can do this for even 5 minutes, you are an animal!

Needless to say, I don't do it at all, hahaha.

I LOVE this game! It def gives you a cardio workout if you play it long enough and you play on a good level. It also has workout mode and records your calories! It you want something different and fun....TRY IT!

I don't have a playstation so I can't do the dance revolution thing. I can't run or jump b/c I've had a hip replaced. I really like the eliptical trainer, however, some of the fitness mags say that the eliptical overestimates calorie expenditure. For a good cardio workout the eliptical is my choice.

Here's the answer from Dr. Dean Ornish, a clinical professor of
medicine at UC San Francisco:

"All things being equal, you will burn more calories by running an
hour than walking an hour. It is true that walking a mile will burn
more calories than running a mile -- although it takes longer to do
so. When you run a mile, you're burning mostly sugar, or
carbohydrates, which is how your body gives you fast energy in bursts.
When you walk a mile, it gives your metabolism time to switch from
burning carbohydrates to burning fat."

I walk at a steady pace but not real fast 3xs a day ( after ameal ). I am beginning to jump rope again and swim a littlee. IMHO, it is the activity that is important not the workout.

I think you are on something here. I have a heavy bag (not my mother in law, you all just stop now!) in my shop. I also have a ring timer. I will work the bag for 3 minutes, and then do 1 minute of jumping jacks. 5-6 rounds of this can get your blood pumping. Also, I haven't read all of the posts, but apparently (notice I qulaified this with apparently) 10 minutes of jump rope is equivalent to 30 minutes of jogging. Try www.lifelineusa.com for your jump rope.

10-15 minutes of deep knee bends and push ups are alos very effective at building stamina.

There are a lot of variables you can use in building your level of conditioning.

Jon

I guess it depends. For a similar calorie burn for the same length of time, you'd have to do pretty intense aerobics, spinning, or swimming (which is PHENOMENAL cardio)

Walking fast is also an option. I read an article that walking at a 12 min/mile actually burns more calories than running at that speed, because that is a really fast walk and its actually easier for the body to run at that point. So if you don't mind the odd feeling, speed walking is a great option. Some speed walkers can finish a marathon close to the same time it takes me to run it!

I used to run but my knees are not what they used to be.

I know your looking for something to do at home, but my new favourite piece of cardio equipment is the stepmill. This thing is fantastic... gets my heart pumping just like I was running but without the heavy impact.

I'm a home exercise veteran, so I have a bunch of videos I like. You can check out the whole world of video exercise here:

www.videofitness.com

Some easy favorites of mine:
Leslie Sansone--any of her walking videos.
Rebounding--I use a cheap rebounder from Wal-mart, and get a great workout without heavy pounding. I use some audio walking tapes with Motown music at about 145 bpm. Choose your own beats!

I love to ice skate--outdoors in winter, indoors in summer. But that requires an investment in lessons and equipment if you don't want to hurt yourself

I don't care for Tae Bo, but for those who like it, there's no better cardio workout that also builds muscle and promotes general fitness.

I replaced running with the eliptical machine at the gym.. and I LOVE it!!

A few people mentioned DDR, if you go that route, unless you buy a console system and endlessly do the low intensity versions of songs STAY AWAY from the things if you have problems ~ the sole of your feet, or knees. I'm recovering from both such injuries (which weren't caused by playing the game but nevertheless), every time I think the injuries are gone and try a game the things flare up a day later. You're stomping around with far more irregularity than running, leaving you open to all kinds of bad things if you're not at good health.