Two times a week, which means roughly eight cardio workouts a month, is what you need to get the maximum weight loss benefits of cardio exercises. However, considering over a dozen health benefits of aerobics proven by studies (Business Insider), more of it in your life definitely wouldn’t hurt. You also need to remember that while cardio is the best at fat burning (CBS News), it’s only one of the components of an effective weight loss program.
Cardio for Weight Loss: How Much Exercise Do You Really Need?
To stay healthy and lose as much weight as possible, you need all the exercise you can get. There isn’t a single formula of a perfect workout routine that would fit all. The ‘standard recommendation’ from the majority of personal trainers is:
2 days of cardio + 3 days of strength training + 2 days of rest
The rest days should be active too, but instead of exercising you should go for a walk or a hike, or a swim. Try to do some active recreation so you can enjoy yourself while keeping your body active. Even a bowling night will be good, but don’t plan it after the days when you work your upper body muscles.
However, if you love cardio and want to make your heart super-healthy while losing weight, you definitely should do it more often. The versatility of this type of exercise will allow you to do this with ease. After all, running, dancing, swimming, biking, and even going up the stairs are all variations of cardio. Therefore, you can easily make sure that you do some kind of aerobics every day. Use these opportunities to enhance your regular workout routine to achieve maximum weight loss benefits.
Is Cardio Exercising Enough to Lose Weight?
Unfortunately, no type of exercising is ‘enough’ when you want to lose weight (Vox). Diet is key to this. Therefore, one of the most important questions to ask is what to eat to lose weight? The second most important question is how many calories a day should you eat to lose weight?
A well-balanced diet that provides you with a good mix of proteins, carbs, and healthy fats is what you should eat. Choose more protein over carbs to both enhance the efficiency of your workouts and control your appetite better. Eggs for breakfast, salmon for dinner, and cottage cheese or Greek yogurt for a pre or post-workout snack are what you need.
As for the number of calories, the situation is the same as with the number of cardio workouts per month. How many calories you should consume depends on your weight loss goals, current weight, current activity level, and health. It’s always best to develop a healthy weight loss diet plan with a professional dietician. At the least, you should consult your doctor about the meal plan you want to use, especially if you have some chronic health issues.
However, there can be no doubt that regular cardio workouts are fantastically efficient for enhancing your weight loss program. This type of exercise allows you to burn the greatest number of calories per session. By doing at least some cardio every day, you’ll be able to see that excess fat melting off you quite fast. But never forget that for this exercise to be truly effective, you’ll need to get your heart pumping, so the exertion must be quite intense.
I hope we were able to answer your burning questions about cardio workouts in today’s article! Let us know your favorite cardio workout in the comments below!
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