Cardio exercise, a crucial component for weight loss and overall fitness, encompasses various activities that elevate heart rate for extended periods. With approximately 1,600 people searching monthly for the best cardio exercises for weight loss, we know that while any type of cardio can be effective, the key lies in finding activities that are both enjoyable and sustainable for consistent practice, whether it’s walking, running, cycling, or using gym equipment.
What is cardio workout routine?
Cardio is short for cardiovascular exercise and simply means any type of exercise that increases your heart rate and maintains it. It’s also sometimes known as aerobic exercise, as it relies on your body’s ability to utilize oxygen to maintain efforts for a significant amount of time.
See more: Weight Loss Tips to Lose Inches of Stubborn Belly Fat in a Healthy Way
Cardio need a calorie deficit to lose weight
Cardio offers multiple health benefits beyond weight loss, including appetite regulation, heart health improvement, and immune system protection. These benefits should be considered primary factors when planning exercise routines. Weight loss fundamentally occurs through maintaining a calorie deficit, which means burning more calories than consumed. This can be achieved through dietary adjustments, exercise, or, ideally, a combination of both.
People lose weight when their energy input is less than their energy output. If someone is consuming the recommended amount of calories but burning more calories than that by doing cardio workouts, their output would be larger than their intake, resulting in weight loss.
Add resistance training
For those specifically targeting fat loss, including belly fat, experts recommend combining cardio with resistance training. This combination helps preserve lean muscle tissue while burning calories and fat. Different types of cardio exercises vary in calorie-burning efficiency and time requirements. Factors such as individual body composition and exercise intensity significantly impact calorie burn rates.
Try HIIT
If you’re short on time due to work and family commitments, then HIIT training is your go-to. If you have more time on your hands and enjoy the outdoors, then give running a go. Keep it simple and find what works best for you around your day-to-day demands.
High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) ranks as the most effective cardio for weight loss. It involves short bursts of intense exercise followed by rest periods, making it time-efficient and highly effective for fat burning.
See more: How to gain weight: Tips on weight gaining through proper diet and nutrition
More cardio workouts that are best to burn belly fat
Running follows as the second most effective cardio exercise, offering flexibility in intensity and duration. It requires minimal equipment and can be done anywhere.
Swimming ranks third, providing a full-body, low-impact workout that builds muscle while improving cardiovascular fitness.
Walking presents an accessible, low-impact option that requires no special equipment and can be easily incorporated into daily routines.
Cycling offers versatility in intensity levels and provides the added benefit of outdoor exposure. It can be adapted to different fitness levels and terrains.
Other effective cardio options include dancing, circuit training, skipping, hiking, elliptical machines, rowing, boxing, and trampolining. Each offers unique benefits and can be adapted to individual preferences and fitness levels.
What should be the duration of the workout?
Regarding workout duration, thirty minutes of regular cardio can be sufficient for weight loss if maintained consistently. If you can only fit in 20-30 minutes a day, then only do 20-30 minutes each day. Or, if on some days you can’t work out but the next day you have an hour free, do that. If this is the case and you can perform three 1-hour sessions a week, the calorie expenditure at the end of the week will be the same as if you were working out six times a week for 30-minutes.
The effectiveness of cardio for weight loss ultimately depends on consistency and personal enjoyment of the chosen activity rather than strictly following specific exercise types or durations.