Top 6 Cardio Workouts for Sustaining Weight Loss

Cardio training should be an important part of any effective training routine. First, it’s super important for your overall well-being; cardiovascular exercise is linked to all kinds of benefits for your brain health, heart health, cholesterol and mood. Second, it helps you maintain great and consistent progress in your weight loss journey. (After all, cardio helps you burn calories and fat without exhausting your muscles as much as a typical strength session!) To help upgrade your cardio routine, I’ve rounded up six of the best cardio workouts to maintain weight loss.

Below you’ll find six productive workouts that are proven ways to improve your cardiovascular fitness and help you maintain your new goal weight. For best results, perform them three to four times a week, however you feel like it.

Workout #1

What you need: This is what is called a “Fartlek” run. The method is to do a steady jog and occasionally increase the intensity to reach the limit of your aerobic window, which is when your body switches from aerobic to anaerobic – this way, over time, you can increase your aerobic window.

For this you just need a good pair of running shoes. You can do this outside or even on a treadmill if you feel like staying indoors or if the weather doesn’t allow for outdoor exercise. (A heart rate monitor is another great useful tool, too.) Aim for 30 to 60 minutes.

The routine:

• Jog at an easy pace between 135 to 150 bpm.
• Increase your speed to run at 70% to 80% intensity for 10 to 20 seconds.
• Bring your speed back to your easy pace.
• Repeat an interval every few minutes.

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Workout #2

What you need: This may be the simplest yet most effective cardio workout because it keeps your heart rate in the perfect zone to strengthen your heart, improve your aerobic system and burn fat without stressing your muscles or joints. Just walk on a treadmill on an incline for a period – that’s it.

The routine:

• Set the incline of the treadmill to at least 10%.
• Walk at a pace where your pulse is between 135 and 150 bpm for the time.

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Workout #3

What you need: To turn a regular walk into a fat-burning workout, try “rucking.” Wear a weighted backpack or vest — called a “backpack” — and go for a long walk outside. The weight helps to strengthen the muscles in your body and increase the intensity.

Invest in a proper weight vest or rucksack instead of just putting weights in a regular backpack; it will sit better on your shoulders and take pressure off your lower back.

The routine:

• Wear a ruck and walk for 30 to 60 minutes. Never run with jerks.

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Workout #4

What you need: For this workout, you only need some dumbbells or kettlebells (preferably kettlebells). The beauty of a carrier is that it’s surprisingly simple: You just grab a weight, hold it, and go. Nevertheless, the benefits are huge as they improve your cardiovascular fitness, increase your strength endurance, increase your core stability and help build “farm strength”, which is extremely practical in your daily life.

The routine:

• Farmers Carry (5 sets of 20 yards per side)
• Waiters Walk (5 sets of 20 yards per side)

1. Farmers Carry

Farmers carry is a simple and effective way to increase your cardiovascular health and fitness without affecting your joints. In addition to that, this exercise helps improve your overall body strength, which is beneficial in and out of the gym.

1. Take a weight in one hand.
2. Keep your chest up and your shoulder blades pressed together.
3. Walk 20 meters.
4. Switch sides and repeat.

2. Waiter walk

1. Take a kettlebell or weight plate in one hand and hold it over your head.
2. Lock out your elbow.
3. Keep your wrists as straight as you can.
4. Keep your shoulders down and back and walk while keeping your hips and shoulders level.

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Workout #5

What you need: All you need is a step and either a suspension trainer or gymnastic rings. This routine is called “HICT” or “high-intensity continuous training.” The idea is to do strength training but turn it into an aerobic workout – that way you don’t push your body too hard, you strengthen your muscles and increase your cardiovascular fitness.

Do only one explosive repetition of one exercise every 3 to 5 seconds for the specified time.

The routine:

• Step-ups (12 minutes)
• Push-ups (10 minutes)
• Inverted Rows (10 minutes)

1. Rise

1. Place one foot on a box or bench.
2. Put all your weight on that foot and drive yourself up by pushing through the heel.
3. Avoid pushing off with the lower leg.

2. Push-ups

1. Get into a pushup position with your hands about shoulder width apart.
2. Keep your bottom flat and don’t let your hips hang.
3. Lower yourself and keep your elbows close to your body as you go down.

3. Inverted rows

1. Grab TRX straps or rings from below with your feet closer to the anchor point.
2. Squeeze the shoulder blades together.
3. Pull yourself up while keeping your body as straight as a plank.

Workout #6

What you need: This workout is a brisk walking interval, so all you need is your body. Walking is generally good for your overall health, but to maintain weight loss, a walk around the block may not be intense enough to burn lots of calories or put your body in the “fat burning zone.” By pushing yourself with single intervals, you will increase the intensity and get better results.

The routine:

1. Do a 5-minute warm-up by walking at a comfortable pace.
2. Walk for 1 minute as fast as you can without running.
3. Walk for 1 minute at a normal pace.
4. Repeat this 9 more times.
5. Cool down for 5 minutes by walking at a relaxed pace.