“I swear running on the treadmill is the best thing since slice bread! I have to lose 10lbs before my birthday so I can fit into this outfit I bought, and oh man all I do is treadmill and bike….you should join me!”
Now if this sounds like you, I first commend you for having an active lifestyle; however full disclosure, long intense bouts of cardio is not the only way to lose weight. Losing weight and keeping yourself healthy is an encompassment of physical activity along with healthy choices in the kitchen. Weightlifting and cardio should be equipped to your weight loss/ muscle gain arsenal in order to reach the pinnacle of what your genealogy will allow, but when it comes to specifically losing weight, what cardiovascular exercise is the best and most recommended to get the job done?
Cardio also known as aerobic exercise is defined as “physical exercise which varies from low to high intensities, and require the energy-generating aerobic process. The aerobic process relates to the involving and utilization of oxygen to adequately meet energy demands during said exercise.” With that being said, the honorable mentions of cardio exercises that are good but not in the upper echelon of calorie burning exercises are:
1. Kettle Bell Workouts
2. Stair Climber
3. Cycling
In no particular order, these 3 exercises all burn a decent amount of calories, however with cycling your intensity will have to triple in order to procure the same results you would with any of the other entries on this list. The stair climber is a good exercise due to you having more leg movement therefore more energy expended than other exercises. Lastly, Kettle bell workouts are not necessarily cardio, but with the utilization of lower weight and prolonged sets, these exercises tend to burn calories while building muscle mass. Though that sounds like the perfect combination, we are discussing the best cardiovascular exercise to burn weight, of which there are 3 more that are even more impressive than the last 3:
1. HIIT
2. Swimming/Jump Rope
3. Rowing Machine
Let’s break down the number 3 exercise on the list: Rowing Machine. Due to the low stress and impact on your joints while conducting this workout, along with the employment of both your upper body and lower body working in unison, this exercise can burn upwards of 800 calories per hour at a steady state, and increasing intensity in short bursts can climb this number to almost 1,000 calories per hour. Along with those benefits, this exercise also profits the posterior chain. All in all I give this exercise a solid 9/10 for effectiveness, as long as you are rowing with purpose and consistency for a decent period of time without giving up.
Next we have the second exercise on this list: Jump Rope/ Swimming. The reason why I have incorporated 2 workouts on this list is due to the similarities. Both utilize movement from the whole body, and have been proven to develop muscles in a very proficient way. 2b) is skipping, which is not only easily accessible anywhere and everywhere, there is also a reason why boxers engage in vigorous skipping routines within their training. This form of training strengthens your arms, forearms and shoulders while increasing foot speed and burning calories. There are many forms of skipping like high knees, patterns and quick feet which not only assist with the enjoyment of skipping, but also works alternate muscles. I give this exercise a 9/10 for effectiveness due to the ease and potential to master this exercise while burning calories and improving your foot speed. Swimming which is 2a) functions similarly to skipping by you getting a whole body workout while trying to swim through water. Both arms and legs individually work in order to propel you forward and excel at assisting the endurance of your muscles. Swimming is superior to skipping due to not only the enjoyment while swimming but also many more muscles are recruited in order to keep you moving through water. Also, with you fighting against gravity to keep your body afloat, you are constantly utilizing your muscles. It was stated that even a minute in water (treading) can burn in and around 14 calories. Alternatively, different strokes can either minimize and or maximize your caloric expenditure. For instance, the breast stroke burns fewer calories than the butterfly, which means if you are able to focus on one stroke more than another, you can maximize the amount of calories expended. I give swimming 9.4/10 for effectiveness, mainly because the muscle recruitment and the fact that the swimmer is under constant motion to keep afloat.
Lastly, and one of the best forms of cardiovascular exercise is something called HIIT or High Intensity Interval Training. HIIT is essentially a form of interval physical activity which alternates between brief periods of extreme and intense anaerobic exercise followed by a less intense recovery period. The reason why this is the best is because you are pushing your body to its limits for a short period of time and with that, as you continue to alternate and keep consistency with this training style, you not only burn a plethora of weight but you also train your muscle memory, so it is more comfortable with those intense bursts of energy you are expending. This means that the speed and velocity that you felt was your personal best last month, can be a warm up the next! A single bout of HIIT can burn anywhere from 500 calories to 1500 calories and studies have shown that even after HIIT workouts have concluded, the body was still burning calories hours after. I give this a 9.7/ 10 for effectiveness, and the only reason it does not receive a perfect 10 is because it is very strenuous on your joints/ ligaments to run, cycle, swim row etc at your full capacity and still want to partake in the regiment the very next day. Nonetheless, HIIT has been proven to assist the likes of normal gym goers to the highest paid athletes!
With my experience in weight loss and strength building, I found that HIIT not only supported the muscle I have gained through my resistance training, but it helped me focus on new goals and personal bests to accomplish. With that, I have incorporated this tactic in my scientifically proven system *The Spartan System* in order to give the best results to those wanting to improve their resistance training while gaining the best body they can achieve. Cardio is a great way to burn calories, and its about conducting the best kinds of methods in order to get the best results! Also, If you have hit a plateau in your weight training or just beginning your journey, follow me on Instagram @spartan_alliance25 and shoot me a DM!
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