Cardio & Weight Loss

Cardiovascular exercise is an important component to any weight-loss program. Physically active people may be less likely than those who are sedentary to become overweight, according to a 1993 "Annals of Internal Medicine" study published by Steven N. Blair. Combine diet with exercise and the pounds will come off even more quickly, according to a 1997 study published by W.C. Miller and colleagues in the "International Journal of Obesity."

Identification

The Cleveland Clinic states that aerobic exercise, or cardio, typically has three parts. A warm-up is three to five minutes of low-intensity exercise to warm up your muscles and gradually increase your heart rate. Then, you should achieve your target heart rate in 30 to 45 minutes. Finally, you perform a three- to five-minute cool down to slow your heart rate and reduce risk of injury. Cardio exercises, such as jogging, swimming or riding a bike, should work the large muscles.

Comparison

Lifting a weight may burn more calories than performing cardio exercise for the same amount of time, but when you weight lift, you typically take breaks between sets. Cardio is more efficient than weight-lifting at burning calories when you look at the entire exercise session, according to the Washington Post. You can also do cardio exercise every day, while the American College of Sports Medicine recommends beginners do strength training no more than three times a week to allow for days of rest. However, strength training helps you lose weight because it tones your body to use calories more efficiently, MayoClinic.com states. Lifting weights also helps you build stamina to exercise for longer. You should include both strength training and cardio workouts in your routine for optimum weight loss.

Types

Some people believe they should exercise at lower intensity to burn more fat. While lower-intensity cardio exercise burns more fat, higher-intensity cardio activity burns more calories, according to the U.S. News and World Report. Many of those calories will be fat calories, perhaps even more than if you had stayed in the "fat-burning zone" for the length of the activity. The best type of exercise to engage in is the kind you'll stick with for a longer period of time.

Calories

Exercise can induce appetite in some people. The effect is usually only temporary and often occurs in thinner people, according to the BlueCross BlueShield Association. Especially intense workouts may trigger the effect. Still, if you're trying to lose weight, you'll need to make sure you don't compensate for the calories you've burned by eating more that day. Set a goal for how many calories you want to consume each day and try not to go over that number.

Recommendations

To lose weight or maintain weight loss, you should perform 60 to 90 minutes of physical activity five days a week, according to the American College of Sports Medicine and the American Heart Association. You should aim to reach 60 to 80 percent of your maximum heart rate. Maximum heart rate is 220 minus your age. Try interval training to burn more calories in a shorter amount of time. If you have heart disease, consult a health care provider before beginning an exercise routine.