The Best Cardio For Weight Loss

If there's one question people ask me over and over when it comes to getting in shape it’s, “What is the best…?” This goes for everything from, “What is the best exercise to sculpt your abs,” to “What is the best thing to eat for breakfast,” to “What’s the best kind of cardio to lose weight?”

When it comes to fitness, people want the greatest results in the shortest amount of time. I get it. So do I. A big part of my job is helping people do just that, achieve their best bodies as quickly as possible with as little risk of injury as possible. Why waste time?

When it comes to cardio exercise we now have a huge variety of machines to choose from. The treadmill, elliptical, BowFlex MAX, TreadClimber, to name but a few. We also have a whole host of workout options to confuse us even further: fat-burning, tempo workouts, interval training, random and more. So which is the “best when you want to lose weight?”

My response to the vast majority of the “What is best?” questions is that it is simply whatever you do frequently, correctly and at the appropriate intensity. It really is that simple. It doesn't matter how challenging the cardio and how many calories are burned; if you don't do it frequently, you won't see real, sustained results.

Thus, for cardio, the "best for weight loss" answer is threefold: It is whatever you do consistently, correctly and at a significant intensity.

Consistently: Again, this is rule number one and the most important factor. What's most crucial is that you choose a type of cardio that you'll do on a consistent basis.

Correctly: This means no cheating. The treadmill delivers a phenomenal cardiovascular workout, but not if you use it while holding onto the handrails and performing a modified dip for 30 minutes. That will build strong triceps, not burn significant calories.

At a Significant Intensity: You need to push yourself. Not all the time, just some of the time. Just like with your strength workouts, it needs to challenge you to change you. You get out what you put in.