The Best Cardio For Weight Loss: Fat Loss Exercises

Don’t be fooled. Endless tucks and crunches are not the secret to a flat tummy. Ab exercises will tighten the stomach muscles that lie under the fat, but they won’t burn it off. The best exercise for burning fat has got to be cardio. You need to raise your heart rate and get your blood pumping if you hope to see results.

Cardio is not hopping on a treadmill and plodding away on a low incline for 30 minutes or so before calling it a day. Using a treadmill on the daily does not equate to fat loss – all the gear and no idea, are we right? You need to find a high-intensity cardio workout that raises your heart rate for an extended period of time.

So, we just have one question for you…

Are you ready to break a serious sweat?

Read on to discover the best cardio for weight loss:

The Best Cardio Exercises for Weight Loss

1) High-intensity cardio

There is no one best cardio exercise for weight loss. While some exercise is better than no exercise at all, hig- intensity workouts have the most significant impact. Your body is having to work harder, your heart is beating faster, and it’s difficult to control your breathing. This is quite possibly the most challenging form of cardio for weight loss, but it is, in our opinion, the most effective.

It’s important to choose a high-intensity exercise that you enjoy, as you’ll be performing it for a long period of time. If you don’t like it, you are less likely to incorporate it into your routine. Even after you have reached your goal weight, you’ll have to keep it up to ensure you keep the weight off.

We have listed the top fat-burning cardio workouts according to Harvard Health’s Publishing data for 30 minutes of high-intensity exercise:

Cycling: 391 calories
Running: 372 calories
Swimming: 372 calories
Skipping: 372 calories
Rowing machine: 316 calories
Circuit training: 298 calories
Biking (12-14 mph): 298 calories

How to do it: Start by warming up for 10 minutes doing your exercise of choice – this could be an easy jog before your run or a gentle incline on an exercise bike. Then work at an intensity that’s 70% of your heart rate for 30 minutes. Complete this exercise three to four times weekly.

2) High-intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

High-intensity interval training (or HIIT for short) means doing short blasts of intense exercise, followed by a lower-intensity effort, so that your body can recover.

It can feel less challenging than high-intensity workouts (see above), because you’re not exercising for long periods of time without a break. Your body gets the time it needs to recover. This is required to push yourself to almost breaking point in the following session. The more energy you use up exercising, the more calories you burn, so HIIT is perfect.

How to do it: Warm up for 10 minutes doing your exercise of choice. Then structure your workout so that you push yourself (go hard!) for 1 – 4 minutes at a time. Recover for the same length of time, and then go again. For example, if you’re running on a treadmill, sprint fast for 4 minutes then reduce your speed for the following 4 minutes, and repeat.

3) Circuit Training

You may be after the best cardio for weight loss. However, strength training has a part to play in fat loss. A circuit training workout that builds muscle in all the right places is critical in making your body more efficient at burning calories.

How to do it: Plan your circuit with your insecurities in mind. Target areas where you are looking to lose weight: back, hips, legs, and abs. Give yourself time to complete each circuit, say 30 minutes with a couple of minutes of rest between each exercise.

Keep in mind that circuit training is not the best cardio for weight loss. However, it does train your body to respond well to weight loss. It will also help you tone and shape up your problem areas. For maximum results, combine circuit training with your cardio exercise of choice.

The Best Cardio for Weight Loss

So, now you understand what the best cardio exercises are for weight loss, you can try them out for yourself. Weight loss is an ongoing process, especially for those who are new to exercise, as your body needs time to respond to physical changes. However, once you start to see results – if you are persistent, it will happen – then it’s worth all the hard work.

Use our BMI calculator to track your progress:

We’d love to hear about your weight loss journey. What inspired you to lose weight? Did you try the above cardio exercises? Leave your experiences in the comments section or get in touch via hello@howtoloseweightfast.org.uk to contribute an article.