Cardiovascular exercise is essential whether you want to lose weight, tone up, or just improve your overall health and wellbeing.
But most popular forms of cardio require a lot of work from your lower body. This can present issues for people with disabilities, lower body injuries, or if you just want to prioritize your upper body.
So is it possible to do cardio without involving your legs? Luckily, it is. And there are a number of different ways to do upper body-focused cardio, so you won’t have to worry about your routine getting stale.
Keep reading and we’ll explain all you need to know about doing cardio while using your legs as little as possible.
Purpose & Benefits of Upper Body Cardio
Most people will tell you, if you want to do cardio, go for a run or a bike.
Yet for some people, traditional forms of cardio aren’t ideal.
Some may have disabilities that prevent them from using their legs.
Others may have a lower body injury that requires them to stay off their feet.
Alternatively, upper body cardio may simply be a choice. You could be looking to decrease the load on your lower body joints (ankles, knees and/or hips). Or you may be trying to tone your upper body more than your lower body, to achieve your body composition goals.
Or maybe you just hate running.
Whatever the reason for doing upper body cardio, it’s certainly possible. You can get many of the same benefits as traditional cardiovascular exercise, including:
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Lower risk of heart disease
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Improved blood sugar regulation
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Improved mood
Cardio also has a positive impact on body composition, helping you burn more calories and maintain a healthier weight and better aesthetics.
11 Cardio Exercises With Little or No Leg Involvement
If you want to do cardio while staying off your legs, or minimizing the use of your lower body, here are 11 of the best exercises that will get your heart pumping and give you an upper body burn.
Swimming
Swimming is probably the best cardiovascular exercise that focuses primarily on the upper body.
It provides a low-impact, full-body cardio workout that improves cardiovascular endurance and upper body strength, by using your arms, shoulders, and core to propel yourself through water.
While you often utilize your legs as well, you can modify your technique to minimize leg involvement by using a pull buoy or focusing on strokes like the freestyle or breaststroke.
Rowing
If the treadmill doesn’t work for you, try the rowing machine.
Though ideal technique involves some drive from the legs, there’s no impact on your lower body, which makes rowing suitable for people recovering from injuries (or a heavy leg day).
Suppose you need to avoid using your legs at all. In that case, the exercise can be adjusted to emphasize arm and core engagement while minimizing leg drive, by using only your arms and upper body to pull the handle in a controlled motion.
Boxing
Whether you’re hitting a heavy bag, a speed bag, sparring or just shadowboxing, boxing is a phenomenal way to elevate your heart rate using mostly the upper body.
Like many exercises on this list, proper boxing technique will have you generate power from your lower body. But as a cardio exercise, it’s fine to throw punches with your upper body only.
Battle Rope
Weighted battle ropes are a great way to get an intense cardio workout and build explosive upper body strength.
Either plant your lower body in a shallow squat, or sit on a bench if you need to stay off your feet altogether, and perform alternating or double-arm rope slams, waves, and circles using the arms, shoulders, and core to generate power.
Calisthenics (Push-Ups, Dips)
There are a number of bodyweight exercises you can do to engage the upper body and elevate your heart rate, with minimal or no leg involvement.
Push-ups and dips are among the best, primarily utilizing your chest, shoulders, and triceps in an easy to learn movement pattern.
Core Exercises (Sit-Ups, Crunches, Planks)
Similar to the previous option, a typical core workout gives you a cardio burn with little to no use of your legs.
Try a circuit of sit-ups, crunches and planks, ramping up the pace for more cardio benefits.
Hand Bike (Arm Ergometer)
A hand bike (sometimes called an arm ergometer) is an excellent upper body alternative to cycling.
Like the name suggests, it’s essentially a stationary bike you pedal with your hands. Hand bikes are a common fixture in rehab centers, and allow you to get a killer cardio workout with your upper body alone.
Low-Weight Dumbbell or Kettlebell Circuits
Dumbbells and kettlebells can also be used for a cardio-centric workout.
To train for cardio rather than strength, lower the weights and increase the pace and reps. A simple circuit of upper body exercises can be incredible at getting your heart rate up, while simultaneously helping you tone and strengthen your muscles.
Aqua Jogging/Aerobics
Partially-submerged exercises are a commonly used tool for rehabilitation, or exercising when you need to limit impact on your joints.
The resistance provided by the water requires your body, particularly your cardiovascular system, to work hard to power your movement, giving you a full-on cardio workout (as well as a sneaky good strength workout).
Sledgehammer/Mace Workouts
Sledgehammers and maces are growing in popularity as dynamic, functional, high-intensity workout tools.
Along with building upper body strength, you’ll also get a hell of a cardio workout.
If you have access to this equipment, try this workout:
Weightlifting
Finally, cardiovascular exercise isn’t limited to things like running, cycling or swimming.
Weight training provides cardiovascular benefits too, and may be the ideal way to improve cardiovascular health if you can’t put any weight on your legs.
You can do a host of exercises, like bench press, shoulder press, lateral raises, and hundreds more, while sitting or lying down.
If you want to focus more on cardio, lift more reps of lower weights. But even lifting heavy weights for low reps will still give you a cardio workout that’s no joke.
Sample Upper Body Cardio Workout
If you want a full cardio workout using almost entirely your upper body, here’s a sample routine to try out.
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Shadowboxing - start with 3 rounds of 3 minutes shadowboxing, with 30 seconds break in between rounds.
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Battle Rope - do a tabata-style workout with the battle rope, alternating between double-arm and single-arm slams for 20 seconds on, 10 seconds rest, for a total of 10 minutes.
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Dumbbell Complex - take two very light dumbbells, one in each hand. Either standing or sitting, cycle through front raise, lateral raise, hammer curls, tricep extensions and shoulder press, for 20 reps of each, repeating the circuit 5 times.
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Bodyweight Circuit - follow up with a circuit of push-ups, sit-ups, dips and planks. Repeat the circuit 5 times.
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Rowing Machine - finish with 10 minutes on the rowing machine at moderate intensity, with a small cooldown period at the end.
This simple routine should burn just as many calories as you would in the same amount of time on the treadmill, but can be done completely with the upper body alone.
