THE MOST SUSTAINABLE FORM OF CARDIO TO LOSE WEIGHT
Have you ever wondered what is the best exercise to lose a ton of weight over time? A number of beginners dread or generally dislike hopping on the treadmill to burn calories because it is viewed as a boring and not sustainable. Other forms of cardiovascular exercises that we can do at home (for example burpees, swimming, jump rope and jumping jacks) are available to spice up your cardio routine but the easiest and most sustainable form of cardio that we perform everyday of our lives is walking.
Walking is the least stressful form of cardio that you can do to burn a significant amount of calories. It is requires minimal effort and it can be done for a longer period of time, compared to jogging or running. When compared to running, the calories burned over a short period of time (e.g. 5 mins) is not significant because running is a high impact and vigorous cardiovascular exercise. According to Webmd, a person weighing 160lbs will burn roughly 156 calories in 30 minutes, when walking at a speed of 3.5 mph (5.6 kph). Please see the table below to get an estimate of the number of calories burned in 1 hour, based on the given bodyweight and walking speed. (Source: Healthline)
Now that you know that, you might think running is the better option for you if you do not have a lot of body mass. I mean, if you weigh 120lbs for instance, and you can potentially burn 154 calories if you run for 20-30 minutes hour, why walk, right? Well, I mentioned earlier that running is a high impact exercise (you could also call it a HIIT exercise which basically means High Intensity Interval Training). It is important to know this because high impact cardio exercises can be really difficult for your body to handle and it could potentially cause some joint issues, if you are not careful. Walking is a lot safer, and you get the same health benefits, regardless. The only big con about walking is that it is time consuming.
Anyway, please keep in mind that you should combine your walking routine with some hypertrophy training (muscle building exercises) to efficiently lose weight. The more muscles you grow and work, the more calories you will burn over time, during your resting phase. This is also known as the calories burnt during resting energy expenditure. By now, you should also know that your diet is a huge player and an important factor to work on if you want to be successful in your weight loss journey.
Thanks for reading. Please watch the video below to help you figure out your weight loss diet. If you have any question(s), feel free to post your question(s) in the comment box below.
References
Gavin Van De Walle. (2020). Does walking 1 hour every day aid weiht loss? Healthline. https://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/difference-between-walking-and-running#:~:text=You%20might%20think%20of%20walking,three%20times%20your%20body%20weight.
WebMD. (n.d.). The difference between walking and running. https://www.webmd.com/fitness-exercise/difference-between-walking-and-running#:~:text=You%20might%20think%20of%20walking,three%20times%20your%20body%20weight.