“Cardio: to do or not to do? That’s the bloody question!” – ‘Bro’speare
One day you get a sudden notification of an important upcoming event. Maybe it’s a wedding or a family get-together, or maybe it’s a college reunion. No matter the occasion, the bottom line is that you want to look your best and make people drop their jaws.
So you rummage through your closet and find the best outfit that you’ve been saving for such occasions. You put it on and all your excitement goes down the drain……IT DOESN’T FIT!?
How can this be? What to do now?
You whip out your phone and start searching for weight loss strategies. You decide to give this Cardio thing a try but you don’t know where to start.
Trust me, we’ve all been in this situation. And I’m going to help you find your way through this situation. Don’t worry, this article has you covered.
What is Cardio?
Cardiovascular Activity (better known as ‘Cardio’) means any activity that elevates your heart rate. Yes, it’s that simple. Contrary to popular belief, it does not mean a bunch of complicated, hard-to-do exercises. It can be any activity that gets you moving and makes your heart beat faster.
Cardio is an easy tool to help you increase your daily activity which will lead to more calories burned in your TDEE (i.e. Total Daily Energy Expenditure). TDEE is a fancy fitness term which means the total amount of calories that you burn throughout the day.
The following things are often related to cardio:
- Increased heart rate
- Fast breathing
- Inability to hold a conversation
- Mild perspiration
- A strong urge to sell your soul to the devil to end this horrid activity etc.
Okay, the last one – maybe not.
Types of Cardio
Sports science has divided Cardio into 2 types:
1. Low-Intensity Steady State Cardio (LISS): In this type, you do a low to moderate-intensity activity for an extended period. E.g. swimming, jogging, brisk walking, etc.
2. High-Intensity Interval Training Cardio (HIIT): In this type, you perform 10 to 20-second bouts of intense activity (such as sprinting) followed by a short rest phase. This cycle is repeated many times in the session.
Which Type of Cardio is Better for Fat Loss
According to this Systematic Review & Meta-Analysis, the short answer is – both are equally effective when it comes to fat burning. Click here to read another Meta-analysis published in October 2023 that makes a similar conclusion.
Social Media has vastly exaggerated the effectiveness of HIIT cardio (to be honest, it does look cool in reels). But in all honesty, when you compare the total calories burned by both types, it’s fairly equal.
HIIT proponents like to boast about EPOC (Excess Post-Exercise Oxygen Consumption). EPOC is a fancy term to indicate the amount of calories burnt after you’ve stopped your exercise. But in actuality, this amount of calories burnt is insignificant. LISS provides EPOC, but at a much smaller recovery cost.
Although it saves time, HIIT Cardio can be hard on your joints and might take you longer to recover from. As per this Meta-Analysis, HIIT interferes more with muscle-growth than LISS. Therefore, HIIT is not the panacea that it is advertised to be.
So, it all boils down to whatever YOU ENJOY……
Do you like to sprint? Go for it!
A relaxing walk? Absolutely!
How about some groovy dance moves? As long as it increases your heart rate for a certain time…. Go for it!
There are no wrong answers!
Can Cardio be Enjoyable?
The short answer is – Yes. That is exactly what this article sets out to do.
Here are some things that you can do to make cardio more enjoyable:
- Step 1: Change your perception of Cardio – We often picture cardio as something taxing and bland. But that’s entirely wrong, Cardio is fun – picture yourself having fun, taking a brisk walk with your loved one or your pet, or playing your favorite sport with your buddies.
- Step 2: Pick your favorite activity – There’s no point in doing HIIT sprints that you hate just because some article told you to. Instead, you have the complete freedom to pick any activity that you enjoy doing. Consider the following activities as a small example:
a. Brisk Walk (8,000 steps per day is a good starting point as per this Meta-Analysis)
b. Walking on an inclined slope (my personal favorite)
c. Jump Rope (my second personal favorite)
d. Jogging
e. Swimming
f. Your Favorite Sport – badminton, basketball, etc. (basically any sport that involves moving around frequently – no, cricket doesn’t count)
g. Martial arts and combat, contact sports
h. Dancing (I bet you didn’t see that one coming, did you?)
- Step 3: Pick your session length – ‘How much Cardio should I be doing?’ you might be asking. I’d recommend at least 10 minutes per session.
- Step 4: Pick a weekly frequency – At the beginning, I recommend you start slow. Maybe 2 to 3 sessions per week. You don’t have to punish yourself to get in better shape. You can always scale it up to more sessions once you build a habit.
- Step 5: Enjoy the fruits of your labor (and many compliments that come along with it)
Benefits of Cardio
According to Alan Aragon, a leading pioneer in the field of nutrition, “Exercise is the only reliable fountain of Youth.” You can hear it straight from him here. Dr. Brad Schoenfeld, a pioneer Sports-Scientist, has also made a similar remark right here.
Cardio provides tons of benefits such as:
1. Increases blood flow
2. Decreases chances of stroke (Click here to read the Meta-Analysis)
3. Combats declining brain function associated with aging (Click here to read the Meta-Analysis)
4. Leads to clear and healthy skin
5. According to this Systematic Review & Meta-Analysis, Cardio improves sexual function and decreases the chances of erectile dysfunction in me.
6. Increases energy levels and enhances your mood
7. Improves joints and connective tissue health
How to make your Cardio more effective
If your goal is to lose weight as quickly as possible, then doing cardio is a good start. But you can do it more effectively. Just add a caloric deficit to the mix.
Wait a minute, what’s this caloric deficit you speak of?
Simply put, a caloric deficit means eating less than what your body requires in a given day.
Creating a caloric deficit in your Cardio regimen is beyond the scope of this article, but coupling the two things together consistently will melt the fat right off your body.
So there you have it, following this simple but powerful strategy will make you look sexy and fit in no time. Prepare to be surrounded by admiring folks asking you about your fitness strategy….. Cheers!
Author Bio: Hariprasad Sirsat is an Evidence-based Fitness & Nutrition Writer. He specializes in Fat Loss, Muscle-building, Diet-Planning & Workout Designs. He believes that fitness shouldn’t be complicated. His mission is to simplify scientific fitness research for the general population so that they can get into the best shape of their lives easily without falling prey to false information. You can reach out to him at – hariprasadsirsat1998@gmail.com
Written By Hariprasad Sirsat who is a Certified Fitness Consultant