2. Gives You A Mood Boost

Cardiovascular exercise causes your brain to release endorphins, the feel-good chemicals responsible for balancing your mood and keeping depressive thoughts at bay. Many people cite beginning an exercise regimen as one step they’ve taken to help their overall mental health. Even a brisk walk can noticeably alter your attitude.

3. Boosts Your Immunity

Unless you are jogging through smog, the notion that you’re harming your immune system by getting in cardiovascular exercise outdoors is nonsense. On the contrary, a cardio exercise in most environments makes your immune system stronger, helping you to reduce your body’s risk of bacterial infection and prevent disease.

4. Helps Your Circulation

Cardiovascular exercise improves your blood circulation, which helps your body rid itself of toxins better and keeps you healthy. Poor circulation long-term can lead to problems such as heart attack or stroke, but keeping your circulation functioning properly can help keep these problems from occurring.

5. Boosts Your Weight Loss

And yes—cardio workouts help you lose weight like none other! If you start a new cardio regimen, you can see results quickly. Yes, you need strength training to maintain a healthy metabolism, but if you’re pushing yourself to a moderate to high intensity, you’ll burn calories and fat effectively during each and every cardio workout.

7 Best Cardio Workouts For Weight Loss

So what’s the best cardio to lose weight? Here are seven unexpected cardio workouts that will help you lose weight (without losing interest)!

1. Walking [300-400 calories/hour]

Yes, walking! Perhaps the simplest, most available exercise around is walking. Walking is not only a great way to burn calories, but it’s also a low-impact workout so almost anyone can do it. Now, if you’re searching to burn calories and lose weight you can’t just head out for a slow evening stroll. In order to see results, you need a brisk, moderately-fast pace in order to get your heart rate up and torch those calories. But it goes even deeper than that! 

• Maintain a healthy weight
• Prevent or manage various conditions, including heart disease, high blood pressure, and type 2 diabetes
• Strengthen your bones and muscles
• Improve your mood
• Improve your balance and coordination
• The faster, farther and more frequently you walk, the greater the benefits. So get out there and get walking!

2. Running Stairs [1000 calories/hour]

3. Kettlebells [800-900 calories/hour]

Kettle-what? Kettlebell! It is a cannonball-shaped weight that produces a powerful, effective workout like you’ve never experienced before! Kettlebell workouts combine strength training with cardio for a complete workout. And if you want a calorie burn, look no further. These babies can help you burn up to 20 calories per minute, which is equivalent to running a 6-minute mile. Now that’s called getting the most from your workout time!

Kettlebells can provide a higher intensity workout than the usual strength training routine in a shorter amount of time. This is because kettlebell training simultaneously works your cardio endurance, strength, balance, and flexibility. Try our 10-minute Kettlebell-Bell Inspired Workout for a great introduction for how to use the kettlebells as well as a powerful 10-minute workout that will leave you dripping in sweat and satisfaction Not enough? Go through it twice!

4. Jumping Rope [600 calories/hour]

One of the best cardio exercises for weight loss is jumping rope! It’s not only a calorie blaster but helps build bone density, strengthens your legs and makes your heart stronger. You have to run an eight-minute mile to work off more calories than you can burn jumping rope. Worried about the impact of jumping? Jumping rope is something that fit adults can add to their fitness routine. Done properly it is a lower impact than running.

Jumprope is also a great form of plyometric workout, where both feet are off the ground. Plyometrics get your heart pumping and burn calories like none another! Check out this check Jump Around Cardio Workout you can do at home:

10-Minute Jump Around Cardio Workout

Perform each move for 1 minute and then take a 1-minute rest after you’ve gone through all four. Repeat the entire circuit one more time for a 10-Minute Jump Around Cardio Workout.

• Jumping Jacks
• Jump rope
• Split jumps
• Box jumps (you can use any step or safe, elevated platform)

The mighty mushroom has twice the amount of protein than most vegetables, making it a great addition to pasta, pies and all sorts. The chewy texture gives you something to really sink your teeth into, making larger Portobello mushrooms a satisfying replacement for burgers! Combine with other protein-rich foods such as eggs, tofu, and pulses for a super healthy meat-free meal.

5. HIIT [600 calories/hour]

HIIT, or “High-Intensity Interval Training,” has grown by leaps and bounds over the last several years. What was once used to train only elite athletes is now mainstream and can be found in any gym and all over in online workouts! High-intensity interval training comes in many forms, but the goal remains the same: go all-out with your highest intensity for a short interval, then take a brief recovery and do it again. These higher intensity periods increase the body’s need for oxygen, causing your system to search for that oxygen and therefore burn more fat than lower intensity training.

How do you do it? You choose! This training can be done with running, cycling, elliptical machines an even with weights. The form is less important than the goal: HIGH INTENSITY. Most programs will have you push hard for between 20-30 seconds, with a short 10-20 second rest in between. Done correctly, you will be breathing through your mouth and should NEED the recovery in order to continue. The best news of all when it comes to Hiit is that 20 minutes is plenty of time to get this done! A 20-minutes Hiit session is more effective burning calories and fat overall than a 60-minute jog.

6. Cycling [600 calories/hour]

Remember when you were a kid and riding your bike was the best part of the day? Hop back on that bike and start peddling! Cycling is an excellent way to get exercise, increase your heart health, strengthen your leg muscles and burn some serious calories. Outdoor cycling is fantastic and fills your need for fresh air and vitamin D. But not everyone feels comfortable biking outside or has the money to purchase a brand new bike (that one with the banana seat from 1974 might not work anymore). In that case, let me introduce you to the notion of indoor cycling!

If you’ve never been to an indoor cycling class, it’s time! An average person burns between 400-600 calories in a 45-minute class. Sound like torture? It’s actually super fun! Take riding a bike, add a room full of people, mix in some motivating music and top it off with a great instructor. Now you’ve got something fun that will push you to your limits, but in a good way. And remember—cycling is a low impact!

7. Rowing [500-600 calories/hour]

You know that machine in the corner of the gym that all-too-often sits unused? The rowing machine is something you should definitely be using! People might stay away from this machine because they don’t know how to use it, or perhaps because they wrongly assume it is just an upper-body exercise! That notion couldn’t be more misguided.

Rowing is a full-body exercise that works the biceps, triceps, shoulders, back, glutes, quads, hamstrings, and corer body. In addition to all this strength training, keep in mind that the cardio benefits of rowing are intense! Rowing burns between 250-300 calories in a 30-minute session. 

Give some of these cardio workouts a try to burn calories, keep your heart healthy, and speed up your weight loss. Paired with strength training, it’s an unbeatable combination that will have you feeling healthy, lean, and strong.