How Much CARDIO Should You Do To LOSE WEIGHT & FAT?
May 14, 2018 / in Health and Fitness Coaching
This is a very popular question and I’m excited to write this follow-up article! Recently I’ve uploaded a youtube video ‘How Much CARDIO Should I Do To LOSE WEIGHT & FAT?‘ discussing Cardio for Weight Loss. It has been quite popular and there’s been several follow-up questions I’ve received, so let’s quickly cover cardio for losing weight!
As mentioned in the YT video I’m not a huge fan of hopping on a tread mill or bike, but those activities do serve their purpose. When my focus was primarely on weight loss, I ensured at least 15-20min of cardio each day! Typically this would be warmup cardio of 10min and cool-down cardio of the same (before and after workouts). Let’s be real folks, you need to move.. as the basic requirement of being a human, you need to move. If you’re not moving, you’ll get more than just fat – you’ll become generally lethargic (low energy) which can lead to depression and other health issues.
Weight loss isn’t just about calories in, and calories out.. it revolves heavily around lifestyle which includes more than just diet – stress levels, and how much quality sleep you get at night. Quality REM deep sleep is when your body produces hormones, and regenerates cells. In fact you do more damage to your brain in the waking state than you do when in the deep sleep state where it’s given free rein to regenerate and fire electrical signals without interference by our waking mind and activities. I did create a youtube video discussing How to Sleep Better and Faster – and I encourage you have a peak!
So sleep aside let’s talk diet – if you want to lose weight and limit the amount of required cardio vascular training, then do away with the processed carbohydrates and sugars. That means get rid of enriched wheat flower, and all those sugary treats and snacks we have come to enjoy. Don’t freak out too much – when you get to a certain point of metabolic efficiency you can still snack now and then in moderation, of course keeping in mind other factors outside of fat gain, such as inflammation. For now you don’t even need to think about any of that, I suggest focusing on the weight loss and ‘feeling healthier’ aspect of your day to day routine requirement.
How Much Cardio Do I Need To Perform To Lose Weight?
This entirely depends on your goals and objectives! How much weight do you want to lose? and how fast?
An effective strategy is to start with daily cardio vascular workouts which include walking, hiking, jogging, bicycling..etc. If you are heavily overweight I don’t suggest jogging, or anything high impact which would cause strain on the muscles and joints. If you are heavily overweight stick to steady-stay cardio which increases your heart rate, causes you to breathe a bit heavier, and builds up a sweat as you workout. You can also use equipment such as elliptical machines and steppers as they are both low impact and can allow you to comfortably achieve the desired results mentioned above.
If you are merely looking to shed some extra fat you are more open to other activities such as High Intensity Interval Training (“HIIT”) cardio workouts, which require you to intermittently perform high impact movements with minimal rest in between. An example of HIIT training would be Sprinting in a field for 100-metres, then walking 50-metres, then Sprinting 100-metres, then walking 50. You can perform any high pace movement then return to a lower pace and repeat – this approach is quite effective for weight loss.
I also suggest integrating Intermittent Fasting (“IF”) a few times into your weekly routine. Fasting has added metabolic benefits that allow you to burn more fat, especially if you are doing your cardio workout fasted.
How Do I Start Losing Weight?
It’s really quite simple – get up and move! Download some fitness tracking apps on your mobile device such as MyFitnessPal, which allows you to track activity levels and food you consume with a beautiful interface. You can check and measure graphs which will help keep you accountable. You can also download workout apps such as StrongLifts to track your workout. Of course I suggest grabbing my Android App for Health and Fitness while you’re at it! =)
Can I Ask For Help??
Absolutely! Please reach out to me on instagram or comment on any related youtube video and I’ll be in touch.