When it comes to cardio workouts and weight loss, a lot of people want to know what the best cardio for weight loss is. That’s because over time, people have been convinced that the only way to lose weight and get in amazing shape is through hard, long, boring cardio.
Now don’t get me wrong – I’m not against cardio. If you enjoy real endurance running or like looking at the “calories burnt meter” on the elliptical machine, then by all means go for it. I actually think that medium-distance cardio can be helpful, but what is overblown is the desire to do marathon style long distance running or the belief that it is helpful. If you look at an athlete who sprints versus an athlete that does marathon running – you will see the sprinter has a much more “athletic looking” physique.
That’s why if you’re looking to get in amazing shape and to look and feel great (and not specifically training for endurance) – I highly suggest you stick with high intensity interval training or tabata training, with twice a week or three times a week of LIGHT cardio. I do not believe there’s any need to be running over 5 miles when you’re looking to reach your fitness goals – unless you specifically love running in it of itself.
The only exercise that I believe you should be doing when it comes to the best cardio for weight loss is swimming. That’s because of the following:
1. With swimming, you will burn a tremendous amount of calories when done long distance.
2. Swimming is naturally easier on the joints – and you don’t have to worry as much about getting joint pain or arthritis later on like some marathon runners get when they’re older.
3. Swimming is a tremendous skill that can save your life – and this is reason enough to have an exception for doing long distance, cardio style swimming.
Ultimately though – when concentrating exclusively on fitness, you should concentrate more on high intensity interval training (HIIT). Just to recap, there are two main styles of HIIT.
#1. Do 1 minute of an exercise at medium to high intensity followed by one minute of complete rest. Do from 4 – 8 times, depending on your level with the goal being to be doing it 8 times every time.
#2. Do the tabata method, or do 30 seconds of extremely high intensity followed by 10 seconds of active rest of very low intensity exercise. Do from 2 to 4 minutes with the goal being to do it 4 minutes.
In summary, while cardio can be helpful in helping you reach your fitness goals – long distance cardio is not necessary (although encouraged if you’re doing swimming!), and you’re better off doing high intensity interval training.
