Fasted cardio, HIIT cardio, Steady state cardio, Low impact cardio. With all the information out there, it's hard to know which cardio workout is best for your goals. Let's take a look at a few different ways of doing cardio and what they are good for.
What is Cardio?
Cardio exercise, which is sometimes referred to as aerobic exercise (which is one form of cardio training - but it’s not the only one), is defined as any type of exercise that gets your heart rate up and keeps it up for a prolonged period of time.
What are the best types of cardio workouts to lose weight?
Swimming - Swimming is a total-body workout that starts the second you begin treading water.
Hiking- Hiking can build strength in your glutes, quadriceps, hamstrings, and the muscles in your hips and lower legs
Biking - Doing intervals on a stationary bike is a great way to maximize your calorie burn in minimum time.
Running - Running at a steady, moderate pace is a sure way to burn fat and calories, but it’s not the most economical way to build or even maintain muscle.
Bodyweight HIIT Exercises - HIIT cardio is a fat burning powerhouse; the short intervals ask you to push yourself much harder than you would be able to if you were doing longer duration bouts of movement.
Stairs - A stair climber offers another popular way to burn fat and calories, but only about 500-600 calories for an 180-lb. man at a moderate pace.
Jump Rope - There’s a reason the jump rope is a mainstay in a boxer’s training regimen: it’s cheap, easy to do, increases foot speed, and burns a ton of calories.
Cardio Styles You Can Choose From
Low Intensity Steady State Cardio (LISS)
This is the most common type of car you people think of. It usually entails something like getting on a treadmill and walking, riding a bike, or peddling the elliptical. Most people who do this are trying to burn fat, but you usually have to do a good duration of time. 30 to 45 minutes is about right for a real fat burning workout.
High Intensity Interval Training Cardio (HIIT)
This cardio is very intense and entails bursts of working extremely hard, followed by stretches where you catch your breath and recover. A good example would be doing a wind sprint for 50 yards, and then walking for 50 to 100 yards to recover, and then repeating. Another would be on the stair stepper working level 4 for two minutes, followed by level 8 for two minutes. Duration is generally shorter here than on low intensity training. 12 to 20 minutes should get the job done. This cardio style is better for training your cardiovascular system and performance.