10 Best Cardio Exercises for Weight Loss

Cardio exercises for weight loss are essential for good health. These exercises when combined with a healthy diet can help speed up weight loss. Cardio exercises can help improve your overall well being by making you feel better, fit, and healthier.

Most of these exercises do not require any fancy equipment or gym membership fee to start unless you want to. In addition to that, they can be done anywhere indoors or outdoor. All you will need are comfortable shoes and athletic outfits.

Benefits of cardio exercises.

Cardio exercises have many health benefits. These includes:

• Developing healthy strong bones,
• Improve sleep.
• It lowers your chances of developing chronic illnesses such as heart attack, high blood pressure, and diabetes.
• Accelerates weight loss when combined with a healthy diet.
• Improves mood, Reduces anxiety,  stress as well as depression.

All cardio exercises are not the same; therefore, they may not produce the same effect. Therefore, it is better to try most of them to find the ones suitable for you.

Could be you are wondering which activities to incorporate into your weight loss program to achieve your goals.

Here are the 10 best cardio exercises for weight loss.

1. Walking.

Walking is one of the best and safest cardio exercises for weight loss. It is one of the most important activities you can do without necessarily using any equipment. You do not need to pay for any gym membership fee either, especially when the weather is favorable.

According to one study taking a brisk walk of 30 to 60 minutes a day for 5 to 6 days a week and following a healthy diet can help your body burn extra calories a day without sweating much. You can walk any time of the day as much as you can when alone or with a companion.

You can walk outdoors or use a treadmill. Start at a moderate pace and then gradually increase the intensity to a fat-burning mode. Do this regularly for fast and best results.

Taking a brisk walk burns fatter than when you walk slowly. Please try to walk on different routes with different scenery to increase your motivation.

Invest in comfortable walking shoes and clothes before you start walking. Set your goals, be consistent, and remember to track your progress.

2. Jumping rope

Jumping rope is one of the most economical, effective, and fastest ways to burn fat. This exercise is effective for losing fat evenly all over the body.

It not only burns calories but also helps to tone and strengthen your muscles, joints, and ligaments in a short time.

Jumping rope will require an individual to alternate between periods of high intensity and periods of low energy within a short duration of time.

In other words, you switch between different levels of intensities-from low to high and vice-versa. For instance, you can have 15-30 seconds of jumping, followed by the same amount of time of rest before you restart.

The variation in intensity helps to improve coordination, decreases injuries, and strengthens your heart. You can burn 200 or more calories while jumping for as little as 10 minutes, which is why this exercise is excellent for people who are busy but want to be lean.

The calories you lose will depend on the intensity and time you put in and your body weight.

3. Running

Running has many benefits such as improved sleep, and mood as well as weight loss as it helps to target most parts of your body and muscles. Moderate to high-intensity running helps to burn calories, especially when done regularly and consistently.

Studies show that running on intervals of high and low intensity helps burn more fat. Try to run at a comfortable pace, and please do not make it too hard for you. Run at a pace that you can tolerate.

Running for weight loss requires patience and persistence since you may not see fast results. Have fun doing it to endure a few injuries and suffering.

Make running a daily exercise and try to interchange between intervals of high intensity followed by periods of low energy for better outcomes. Focus on controlling your pace and breaths too.

Make sure you seek the advice of your doctor before you start running for weight loss. Remember to get some comfortable running shoes and athletic clothing for your exercises.

4. Squats

Squats are a lower-body exercise that helps to tone muscles and strengthen your core while burning fat.

Squats mainly target your lower body parts, such as your butts, glutes, and thighs muscles. You do it by lowering your hips at a standing position then you stand back up.

Squats help to increase strength, improve posture and balance, especially when done in combination with weight lifting.

Lifting weights as you squat increases your endurance and your heart rate, which puts your body in a fat-burning mode.

5. Biking

Biking is a low -impact workout that can help you burn extra calories and improve your metabolism. The amount of fat you consume will depend on the intensity, speed, and the amount of time you take cycling.

Biking can provide excellent results if done briskly on a medium to high resistance level when done on a stationary bike or a bike outdoors. Cycling helps to increase your heart rate, which enhances fat burning.

Unfortunately, you will need to buy or rent a bike for this exercise.

6. Climbing stairs

Climbing stairs helps to tone and strengthen muscles in your butt, thighs, and legs. It helps to improve your bone density, which can lower the risk of developing osteoporosis.

Climbing stairs allows you to push and lift your body up the stairs and back downwards. It forces you to extend your hips, knees, and legs against gravity.

Doing so increases your heart rate and makes you breathe faster, and as a result, force your body to burn the stored fat and convert it to energy.

Climbing stairs is the most cost-effective exercise for weight loss. It does not require any equipment or training to start. It is free as well as low impact, and can, therefore, help minimize injuries if done correctly and confidently.

You can lose weight by integrating climbing stairs into your daily routine.

7. Jumping jacks

Jumping jacks is another effective exercise that can be done anytime and anywhere for free. It does not require any equipment, gym membership fee, or training to do it. You only need some space or a playground, a pair of comfortable shoes, and some athletic attire.

This workout involves the whole body, as it requires you to jump up and down while lifting and moving your arms and feet.

Stand upright with legs together and arms spread on your sides. Knees should be slightly bent before jumping into the air. Stretch your arms out and over your head then back to the starting position repeatedly.

If done consistently and regularly, jumping jacks can help you burn extra calories. It helps to tone, stretch, and strengthen every muscle in your body. Additionally, it helps to increase your heart rate and improve bone density.

8. Dancing

Dancing as a form of entertainment is fun, it helps to boost mood, reduce anxiety, and relax the body.

Dancing is one of the exercises that can help you burn fat if done regularly and consistently, especially when you choose the right type and style of dance.

Choose a song or dance style that requires high energy and movements – one that involves stretching, jumping, or swinging and works most of your body muscles.

Try various dancing styles like those involved in ballet, Hip hops, jazz, rumba, and salsa. The stretching and movements engaged in dancing help to increase flexibility and burn fat.

9. Push-ups

These are great for strengthening muscles and burning calories. Push-ups do not require any equipment to do, and you can do them anywhere on a firm, flat surface.

They are great for a total body workout as they work your chest, shoulders, biceps, and triceps as well as strengthen your core muscles.

Doing push-ups regularly and consistently while following a healthy diet can help you lose a substantial amount of weight.

10. Swimming

Swimming is a low impact exercise that helps to work most of your major muscles and enable you to lose weight. It targets the whole body and helps to burn fat.

To successfully lose weight, you need determination and will power. These will motivate you to try different styles that may require a lot of energy to burn fat.

Swimming faster and incorporating high-intensity techniques for 30 -60 minutes for at least four days a week can help you burn more calories than doing the more comfortable styles.

Is diet still important when you exercise consistently?

Exercise alone may not help you lose a significant amount of weight and keep it off for good. You still need to incorporate and follow a healthy diet to accelerate your weight loss.

But, did you know that the more you exercise, the more your appetite increases? This could be the reason why most people work out, but don’t lose any weight or lose it and gain it back within a short time.

Therefore it is crucial to watch your diet and to adopt a healthy lifestyle. To lose more weight, you have to burn more calories than you consume.

This doesn’t mean that exercising is futile but understands that both diet and exercise play a vital role in weight loss and your overall well-being. You can successfully lose more weight by combining both programs in your lifestyle.

Read more:40 Best foods for weight loss.

How many cardio exercises for weight loss should you do daily to lose weight?

Experts recommend at least 30- 45 minutes of moderate to high intensity work out for best results. However, results vary from person to person depending on the intensity of the exercise and their perseverance.

Please exercise in moderation and listen to your body. Too much can cause physical injuries and interfere with your health. Try to exercise consistently for the best results.

How long will it take to see results on cardio exercises for weight loss?

The time it takes to see results varies from one individual to another. Some people may experience results faster while it may take some time for others. I believe your determination and consistency in doing the exercises in addition to your diet choices can help you reach your goal.

Read more:10 Weight loss mistakes to avoid.

Never lose hope when you do not see rapid results, stay focused, and be consistent. Your hard work will eventually pay off.