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Aerobics at home for beginners is still worth doing. Aerobics is cardio by definition, it needs no equipment and a living room floor is enough space for it. The NHS lists aerobics among its examples of vigorous activity, and low impact versions sit at a moderate effort that most beginners can start with.
Below is what aerobics actually is, how hard the different styles are and a first session you can follow at home.
Is aerobics cardio
Yes. The word causes some confusion because it names two things.
- Aerobic activity is the category. It is any movement that raises your heart rate and your breathing for a sustained stretch: brisk walking, cycling, swimming, dancing
- Aerobics is one format inside that category. It is the class style of exercise: repeating steps done to music, usually led by an instructor or a video
So aerobics is cardio, but cardio is not only aerobics. Cardio at home without running covers the other living room options. The World Health Organization defines physical activity as "any bodily movement produced by skeletal muscles that requires energy expenditure", and health agencies then sort it by effort rather than by name.
The NHS gives a simple way to judge that effort. At a moderate level, you can tell "if you can still talk, but not sing". At a vigorous level, "you will not be able to say more than a few words without pausing for breath". The weekly target for adults is at least 150 minutes of moderate activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity, and an aerobics session counts toward it like anything else.
Low impact vs high impact aerobics
Impact describes your feet. In low impact aerobics one foot stays on the floor. In high impact aerobics both feet leave it, as in jumping jacks or hops.
The Compendium of Physical Activities, which researchers use to estimate the energy cost of activities, lists both. Its values are METs, a multiple of the energy you use sitting still.
| Activity in the Compendium | MET value |
|---|---|
| "Aerobic dance, low impact, moderate effort" | 4.8 |
| "Aerobic dance, high impact, vigorous effort" | 8.0 |
| Aerobic, general | 7.3 |
| Step aerobics with a 4 inch step | 5.5 |
| Step aerobics with a 10 to 12 inch step | 9.0 |
Two things stand out. Low impact aerobics is not a lesser version of the workout. It is simply a moderate one. And the step height matters: the Compendium gives a 6 to 8 inch step a value between the two in the table.
For a beginner, low impact is the sensible place to begin. It keeps one foot on the floor, it is quieter for the people below you and you can still raise the effort by moving bigger and faster. The NHS puts it this way: "Most moderate activities can become vigorous if you increase your effort." If noise is your main concern, a no-jumping apartment workout goes through the quiet options in more detail.
What is aerobic dance
Aerobic dance is aerobics built from short, named steps that repeat to the beat of the music. A routine strings a few of them together and then repeats the combination. Common ones include:
- Step touch. Step to the side, bring the other foot in to touch, repeat to the other side
- Grapevine. Step to the side, cross the trailing foot behind, step to the side again and bring the feet together
- Knee up. Lift one knee toward your chest, lower it and alternate
- V step. Step forward and wide with one foot, then the other, then step back to center one foot at a time
It overlaps heavily with dance cardio. The difference is mostly the style of the moves: aerobics favours simple, symmetrical steps that a whole room can follow, while dance cardio borrows more from club and studio dance. Both count as aerobic activity. Does dancing count as exercise covers what research on dance programs found.
A first session at home
You need a clear patch of floor, supportive shoes or bare feet on a surface that does not slip, and something to play music on.
- Warm up. The NHS warm up guide says the routine "should take at least 6 minutes". It starts with marching on the spot for 3 minutes, then heel digs, knee lifts, shoulder rolls and shallow knee bends
- Learn two or three steps. Start with a step touch and a knee up. Do each one slowly until it feels automatic
- Link them. Do a block of step touches, then a block of knee ups, then repeat. Add a grapevine once the first two feel easy
- Check your effort. Use the talk test. If you could sing, move your arms more or step wider. If you cannot get a few words out, slow down
- Cool down. Finish with a few minutes of marching that gets gradually slower
Keep the first sessions short. A few songs is a fine start, and the habit matters more than any single session. How to stay consistent with working out has more on keeping it going.
No step? You can do the routine on the floor. A step changes the effort because you lift your body weight on every rep, which is why the Compendium gives higher values to higher steps. Without one, the same patterns become low impact aerobic dance: the basic step turns into a march, and a V step works on the flat floor. If you want more effort, lift your knees higher and use your arms rather than stacking furniture to stand on.
Where ShakeFit fits
ShakeFit is a rhythm workout game for your phone, and Aerobics is its largest genre. There are eighteen Aerobics tracks, built from grapevines, knee ups, front kicks, step jacks, knee drives and duck bobs. ShakeFit tracks run 3.1 to 5.4 minutes.
A few facts are worth knowing before you choose a track. The genre is a bundle name, so some Aerobics tracks also include jumping jacks and overhead punches. On camera tracks, the front camera follows you and each rep that counts gets a grade word. Some Aerobics tracks are guided follow along lessons instead, and those run without the camera or form grading.
If you want to stay on the floor, turn on low-impact mode. Every track can play this way: inside a session it swaps the jumping moves for no-jump versions. It is not a promise of a silent workout, so the floor and footwear tips above still apply. Not every track is open on the first day.
A grade word is a game score, not a measure of effort, so keep using the talk test. ShakeFit is entertainment and general fitness software, not a medical device. If you have a health condition or are new to exercise, talk to a doctor first, and stop if you feel pain or dizziness.
ShakeFit Plus adds adaptive weekly plans, long-term growth reports, custom sessions with tempo control and 5, 10 or 20-minute options depending on available movements, and full play of the 27 level 3 tracks
Questions people ask
Is aerobics and cardio the same thing?
Not quite. Cardio, or aerobic activity, is the whole category of movement that raises your heart rate and breathing for a while. Aerobics is one format within it: repeating steps done to music. Every aerobics session is cardio, but walking, cycling and swimming are cardio too.
Is aerobics still a thing?
Yes, as a way to exercise it is still in current guidance. The NHS names aerobics among its examples of vigorous activity, and the Compendium of Physical Activities lists aerobic dance and step aerobics with their own values. Whatever the trend, an aerobics session counts toward the same weekly activity target as any other cardio.
Can you do step aerobics without a step?
Yes. Do the same patterns on the floor, which turns the routine into low impact aerobic dance. You lose some of the effort that comes from lifting your body weight onto a step, so make up for it with higher knees, bigger arm movements and a faster pace.