When it comes to shed fat and stay in healthy weight, Cardio exercises are proven to be the most effective along with a clean calorie-deficit diet. Most of the cardio exercises can be easily done at anywhere without the requirement of any equipment. However, if you have to choose the best cardio for weight loss and for burning most of the calories then you need to use some equipment to your advantage in some particular exercises like rowing for example. Anyway, without further ado, let’s discuss about 10 best cardio for weight loss that you can include in your daily routine to lose extra stubborn fat & maintain healthy weight!
Running/Sprinting
Running in general is one of the best if not the best cardio for weight loss. Many people go for running in daily basis to lose fat and maintain healthy weight. Various researches over the years prove that one hour of moderate running can burn up to 1,200 calories which is surprisingly good for not only strengthen our heart and cardiovascular system but also for losing weight. You can run in two ways. Either you can sprint for few seconds to burn most the calories in that short time frame or you can jog for a longer time while keeping your heartbeat continuously high so that the heart muscle stays always pumped and activated.
However, we recommend you to sprint as it burns maximum amount of calories in shortest amount of time so it’s a better version of running and one of the best cardio for weight loss. As sprint is a type of HIIT exercise, you can go for sprinting 20-30 seconds for 3-4 times while resting for 15-30 seconds between each sprint. In that way, it will take much less time to do cardio & lose weight. Before starting to sprint, don’t forget to warm up your body with light jogging otherwise you may face some injuries as sprinting is a very high-intensity cardio exercise.
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HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training)
One of the many reasons behind Bodybuilding Legend, 6 Times Mr. Olympia, Dorian Yates’ granite condition was his training protocol which is high intensity training. If you want to gain muscle mass while staying lean without any extra fat and weight then HIIT is the best option for you. What you have to do is to include 2-3 resistance workout for each targeted muscle, 1-2 bodyweight exercise and 1 cardio in your daily HIIT routine. You have to complete every set with 30 to 45 seconds of interval while keeping your intensity of exercise high. In that way, you can achieve a lean muscular physique with a healthy weight.
On the other hand, if you want to focus only on weight loss via HIIT then include a bunch of aerobic exercises in your routine to get the job done. You can include some exercises from this list of best cardio for weight loss namely sprinting, rowing, swimming, cycling etc.
Cycling on Stationary Bikes
Just like running & swimming, cycling is another very common yet one of the best cardio for weight loss. If you already are a gym-goer then you may have seen stationary bikes in your gym. It’s quite a common machine nowadays but most people can’t take the real advantage of it. 1 hour of high-intensity cycling in this bike can burn up to 1,150 calories while 600+ calories can be burnt by using this bike in moderate intensity. But as you cannot easily keep up high intensity for 1 hour continuously, you have to get the job done using intervals and rests just like we have recommended for other exercises.
So, what you can do to burn most calories in least amount of time is to cycle for 15 minutes while keeping the intensity as high as possible and then rest for 30 to 60 seconds as an interval then again 15 minutes of high intensity cycling in the stationary bike then again rest. In this way, you can burn most calories because the rest you will take between each 15 minutes cycling, will keep you more energetic and less fatigued for the next one. 15 minutes cycling for 3 times would be enough for significant weight loss if you can keep up your intensity high.
Battle Rope Exercises
If you are a gym-goer, you may have seen a thick heavy rope. That’s called battle rope. Battle Rope is a heavy thick rope which is used for full-body workouts which aims at strengthening muscles at different body parts, increasing cardiovascular endurance and promoting fat loss. With the help of battle ropes, you can do various exercises such as Battle Rope Power Slam, Battle Rope Alternating Waves, Battle Rope Jumping Slam, Battle Rope Jumping Jacks, Battle Rope Double Waves etc.
If you are totally unknown about these battle rope exercises then as a beginner, you should start with Battle Rope Alternating Waves which is beginner-friendly and most people are habituated with this one. Try to perform this exercise for 1 minute as intensely as possible then rest for 30 seconds and continue like this for 4-5 times. Battle Rope exercises are some of the best cardio for weight loss because just in 5-10 minutes of intense exercise with battle ropes, you can burn lots of calories and you are gifted with muscular and cardiovascular endurance.
Swimming
Just like running, swimming is another very useful, excellent and obviously one of the best cardio for weight loss which helps you to get in shape and lose weight fast. 1 minute of swimming can burn up to 15 calories depending on the depth of water and your fitness level. If you already are a good swimmer then we suggest you to go to the swimming pool and tread in the water for 5 laps while resting for 30 seconds between each lap.
On the contrary, if you are a beginner then you may just swim on the surface level for 5 laps but in that way, you might not burn that much calorie so in that case, you can avoid this cardio exercise for now and you can try the exercise later after learning better swimming and treading in the water.
Rowing
When we are talking about best cardio for weight loss then how can we forget about rowing? It’s another very effective exercise for your cardiovascular health as well as for maintaining a healthy weight. Rowing also strengthens your posterior chain. Rowing for 1 hour can burn up to 1000 calories although 20 to 30 minutes of high intensity interval rowing is what we recommend you to do. Just like we have said for other exercises, intervals while exercising is great to keep up the intensity high.
So, what you have to do is to row as intensely as possible for 250 metres in the stationary rowing machine and then rest for 45 to 60 seconds. Just like that, continue up to 30 minutes. It would be enough to lose your stubborn fat as well as extra weight of your body. If you are not fit enough, you can go for 10-15 minutes of interval rowing then gradually increase your time as you become habituated with the exercise. While rowing, just make sure, your body is warmed up, your chest is up and try to use your entire body so that it works on all your muscles, joints and ligaments.
Burpee
Burpee is a type of basic full-body calisthenics workout that helps you to build muscular strength as well as endurance in your both upper and lower body. It is known for building strength in chest, shoulders, arms, hips, abdomens & buttocks. But, do you know? Burpee is a pretty good cardio too when it comes to shed extra fat from your body because as it’s a type of calisthenics exercise and so, it burns significant amount of calories in a less amount of time.
You can do Burpees anywhere as it requires only the ground and nothing at all. If you are not an active person or if your fitness level is not so high, then start doing 5 reps of Burpees in each set. Rest for 30 to 60 seconds between each set and in that way, go for 3-4 sets. Gradually, increase the reps to 10 and then to 15 for each set but make sure, your resting time should not be increased so that you can burn much higher amount of calories in less time. 15 reps for 4 sets daily would be enough for your weight loss if you do it in the proper way.
Jump Rope
There is no doubt that Jump Rope is one of the best cardio for weight loss otherwise boxers would not have prioritised this exercise. Jump Rope not only helps to improve the foot work and shoulder strength but also burns tons of calories. Researches shows that 30 minutes of continuous Jump Rope can burn up to 500 calories. However, an average human being may not continue this high-intensity exercise for that long.
That’s why, we recommend you to do this exercise as fast as you can for straight 1 minute and then rest for 30 seconds then again do another 1 minute of jump rope then again rest. In this way, jump rope 4-5 times daily so see results. You can gradually increase the time of your exercise depending on your fitness level. Don’t forget to warm up with some jumping jacks before jump rope. Just like running, burpees and some other cardio in this list, jump rope is also a very cheap, easy-to-do exercise that you can do almost anywhere and all you need is a jumping rope and a floor or a ground.
Stair Climbing
What made us include Stair Climbing in our list of best cardio for weight loss is the series of health benefits it provides if one person performs it in a regular basis. Not only stair climbing promotes fat loss & extra weight loss but also it helps to enhance heart and lung functions and if you can perform the exercise intense enough, it can increase the strength of the muscles in your lower body.
Various studies prove that stair climbing for 30 minutes can burn up to 270 calories which is decent for a basic activity like this. It’s so simple physical activity that you can do it in your office or in your apartment. What you need is tons of stairs to climb. Just make sure, you are performing it like an exercise that means you have to do it with intensely for 5 or more rounds while resting for a minute between each round. Climb stairs as fast and intense as possible for burning maximum calories. So, next time, when you go to your office, “take the stairs, not the elevator.”
Mountain Climber
Mountain Climber is another great cardio exercise for weight loss which can be done without any equipment in any place, at home or at gym. It’s a very basic cardiovascular exercise that many people do for losing fat and maintaining a healthy weight. You can burn up to 700 calories in one hour of mountain climber exercise.
But to get maximum calories burnt, you have to keep your intensity high and to keep up high intensity, you should take a minute break after some minutes. For instance, you can perform this exercise for 15 minutes continuously with high intensity and then take rest for a minute or less and continue like this for 3-4 times depending on your stamina and fitness level obviously.
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In The Concluding Lines…
Therefore, these are the 10 best cardio for weight loss that you can include in your daily routine to lose your extra unhealthy fat and weight significantly so that you can be lean as well as healthy. Include a few exercises of your choice from this list and perform as per the recommendation to see amazing results. Don’t forget to warm up your body with some stretching and light cardio like jogging before starting these type of high-intensity cardio exercises. Another important fact to keep in mind that only intense cardio exercises won’t do any significant change in your physique until you put extra emphasis on your diet. A clean calorie-deficit diet with proper macros & micros along with these type of cardio exercises is all you need to achieve a lean, fatless & healthy body. Anyway, we wish you all the very best in your fitness journey. Lastly, we hope that you have found this article about best cardio for weight loss helpful enough. If it really so then don’t forget to express your valuable thoughts in the comment section below. Thanks for visiting and appreciating our work.
Hmmm… That’s not tough