Many people consider cardio the secret to losing weight. And, although it will indeed bring benefits, losing excess weight is a delicate matter. For example, is it possible to lose weight if you only do cardio? According to some experts, for best results you need to combine cardio and strength training.
ContentCan you lose weight if you only do cardio?Myth: You should burn at least 500 calories while doing cardioMyth: If you do enough cardio to lose weight, you can eat anything want
There are other cardio myths to be aware of. WomanEL will dispel them for you so that you can quickly see progress in your weight loss.
Is it possible to lose weight if you only do cardio?
Does cardio burn fat and thus helps you lose weight? Yes, but this is not the only activity that can help you see results. You also need strength training.
Cardio and no strength training is not only boring, but also ineffective. “Strength training builds muscle mass, which simultaneously increases metabolism and reduces fat,” says Elizabeth Burwell, NASM-certified personal trainer and co-owner of High Performance Gym. “So the more muscle you build, the more calories you burn day after day,” she continues.
Some strength training can even be combined with cardio. A recent study by the American Council on Exercise found that kettlebell exercises can burn up to 20 calories per minute—that's the equivalent of running six minutes per mile! Maximize your weight loss benefits by incorporating up to four consecutive days of resistance exercise per week.
Myth: You should burn at least 500 calories during cardio training
Here's the thing: There's no one answer to how much cardio you should do to lose weight. Why? Because it's not that simple. Besides cardio, which boosts your metabolism, there are several other factors that can help you lose weight, such as maintaining a healthy diet and building muscle mass. And just as there is no one answer to how much cardio you should do to lose weight, there is no one answer to how many calories you should burn during each workout.
Working hard on the treadmill to try to hit some magic number is a waste of time and energy, especially since the machines can only roughly estimate your metabolic rate. That's what Lindsey Vastola, an NSCA-certified personal trainer, says. Ignore the red numbers on the console and instead focus on intensity while doing cardio for weight loss. If you exercise harder and in shorter intervals, you will burn more calories even after you finish your workout (called the afterburn effect).
Use a heart rate monitor (aim to keep your heart rate between 75 and 85 percent of your maximum heart rate) or a perceived exertion scale on a scale of one to 10 (aim for eight or nine for high-intensity intervals) to determine if you're working hard enough.
Myth: If you do enough cardio to lose weight, you can eat whatever you want
Although cardio helps you lose weight, you need to maintain the results with proper nutrition. Source: freepik.com
Most people (and the machines they train on) not only overestimate how many calories they burn during exercise, but also underestimate how many calories they eat .
Exercise on its own isn't effective enough to burn fat, says Bret Contreras, a certified strength and conditioning specialist. “A recent study shows that an obese person loses approximately 2.2 kg of fat over eight months just through cardio or resistance training,” he says. And depending on individual goals, it may seem like a lot of work to achieve the end result.
So don't forget the “calories” in the equation and eat a healthy diet that provides important nutrients and promotes effective weight loss.
Interested in learning about myths? Then we suggest you delve into the most common ones about your metabolism.
