Rising Star Fitness

Firstly let me congratulate you on making the connection between cardio and weight loss. It still amazes me how many people think they can lose weight in the long run simply by eating less or taking some fad diet pill. The general principle behind how much cardio is needed to lose weight is simple. The more cardio you do, the more weight you are going to lose. This is governed by the rule of creating a caloric deficit. Let me explain.

More Cardio = Bigger Caloric Deficit = More Weight Lost

A caloric deficit is achieved by burning more calories than you consume in a single day. If you eat less or exercises more you’re going to create a caloric deficit. Now I’m not going to go into the dieting side of things but I do want to stress that you will need to adopt a healthy eating lifestyle in order to ensure you keep your caloric intake at a healthy level. By this I don’t mean starving yourself but it also means not eating so much that your calorie deficit just disappears.

So how do you increase the amount of calories you burn during the day? Yup you guessed it, exercise! That magic word that so many people same to hate. Cardio is the most effective way to lose more calories. This is a fact and something I will argue to the grave about. The more cardio you do, the more weight you are going to lose! Remember that.

How Much Cardio Is Needed To Lose Weight?

Now I know you’re going to hate me for saying this but I really do recommend you do as much cardio as you possibly can. However you first need to establish your starting point and your goals. Are you largely overweight? Or are you trying to lose a bit of weight or simply maintain your current weight? I’m going to go out on a limb and say you’re reading this because you want to lose a substantial amount of weight. So here are my recommendations.

If you have time, do 30-60 minutes of cardio 4-7 times a week. Mix it up and keep it interesting. Remember you want to aim for aerobic cardio exercises such as running, cycling, or rowing. A gym is a great way to mix up your cardio workout. You could do 15 minutes on three different cardio machines and you’ve got your 45 minutes of cardio for the day.

Don’t Have Time For Long Cardio Sessions?

If you don’t have time for a long cardio workout then don’t stress there is an alternative. It does however mean you have to work harder for a shorter period of time. This is done by using a technique known as High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). This method requires only around 12-20 minutes. In this time you will alternate between jogging at a slow pace for around 1 minute following by sprinting for 1 minute. You should be sprinting at about 85% of your maximum capacity. You should be running out of breath and working hard in that time. You then alternate back to a 1 minute slow pace jog. It looks something like this:

0-5 minutes: warm-up

5-6 minutes: slow pace jog

6-7 minutes: sprinting

7-8 minutes: slow pace jog

…

18-20 minutes: slow pace jog

19-20 minutes: sprinting

20-25 minutes: cool down

This simple HIIT workout consists of 10 minutes warming up and cooling down and 15 minutes of pure hard interval training.  The calories you burn with this workout will equal roughly the same as a 30-60 minutes jog (depending on intensity). On top of this it has been found that HIIT training causes you to burn calories after the actual work out for the rest of the day.

Cardio & Motivation

Knowing how much cardio you need to do to lose weight is not the be all and end all. Maintaining your motivation in order to keep doing your cardio sessions is probably the next most important part. Getting in the mood to do a cardio session can be hard sometimes. Mixing up your cardio exercises does help a lot. Also some may have different opinions on this but I think a good portable music player to listen to can really help pass the time. I personally look forward to filling up my iRiver with my favourite tracks and going for a 30 minute jog.

Your mindset is also important. Once you’ve done your cardio session go home and keep eating healthy. At the end of the day go to bed KNOWING you’ve accomplished your goals for the day and have lost a bit of weight. Get up the next the day ready to go again. This is how you maintain motivation and a positive attitude towards cardio workouts.

Check Out The Following

Beginning Jogging & Running Guide – Great guide on how to use jogging and running as an effective cardio workout. It covers everything from technique to how long you should be jogging to achieve fitness and weight loss results. It will teach you how to jog, when to jog, how long to jog, and how you can maintain your motivation to stay on track. Definitely worth having a look!