Most people approach fat loss by asking, 'Should I do more cardio or lift more weights?' When it comes to shedding pounds, cardio is famous for burning a high number of calories during your workout, strength training builds lean muscle mass that boosts your resting metabolic rate—helping you burn fat even while you sleep. So, which one is better for weight loss? The truth is that while both have unique benefits, the most effective fat-loss strategy usually involves a strategic combination of both. In this guide, we’ll break down the science of calorie burn, the "afterburn effect," and how to balance your routine to reach your goal weight faster.
Cardiovascular workouts are meant to balance intensity, frequency and duration and include a warm-up and cool-down period before and after the workout. Some examples of cardio exercises include brisk walking, jogging, running, swimming, treadmill, stationary cycles, elliptical trainer and rowing and stepping machine.
“Recent guidelines from the American Heart Association (AHA) say that, adults should get a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous cardio exercise per week.”
According to these guidelines, we can spread out our cardio workouts through the week to give us more flexibility in our routine.
The National Health Portal of India says that a minimum of 10-15 minutes of cardio everyday can significantly lower the risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, obesity, stroke, cancer and neuro degenerative disorders like Parkinson and Alzheimer.
**The number of calories you burn depends on multiple factors including: duration of exercise, type of workout, frequency, pace & intensity. Choosing a workout that you like makes it easier to stick to in the long run and make steady progress.
Is walking good for weight loss?
Walking is the most accessible and simplest form of a cardio workout. You don’t need any special equipment or a gym subscription for this. It helps to support fat burning. Cardio is also great for your heart health, cardiovascular endurance (this helps to make everyday tasks feel easier) and boosting your overall fitness.
Walking can be a good starting point for many people as its easier on the joints and can be fit in easily into a daily schedule.
The current WHO Physical activity guidelines (2020) suggest aiming for 150 to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity activity per week. This would mean roughly 30 to 60 minutes a day, most days of the week. Setting a step goal, such as 8,000 to 10,000 steps daily, can also help guide your progress.
Going out for a walk - clears your head, reduces stress, keeps you energetic and also helps to improve mood and sleep. Reduced stress helps to lower cortisol levels which make the weight loss easier especially if you want to work on losing belly fat. These are all important when trying to lose weight
What is the best cardio? The best cardio for weight loss depends on your lifestyle, fitness level and what you enjoy most. Some people prefer low impact workouts like swimming while others find faster HIIT movements more thrilling! Being consistent is what matters most here.
Having a mix of intensity, duration, exercise frequency and working in your target heart rate zones is helpful to achieve results with cardio as this helps your body to become more efficient at using fat as fuel.
Here are some of the best cardio for fat burning exercises:
Steady-state cardio, like brisk walking or cycling, supports active recovery and longer-term metabolic conditioning. Workouts with short bursts of intensity or HIIT is also an effective way to lose weight and improve how your body metabolises energy and increase your metabolism. HIIT exercise can also help your peripheral tissues become more responsive to your body’s own hormones. HIIT provides similar benefits to cardio and weights in less time.