Cardio how many times a week to lose weight

If you did that five days a week, you'd burn roughly 3, calories, which would bring you closer to losing one pound of fat per week. However, it's probably not a good idea to run for five hours a week because it places a lot of stress on your body. Instead, you could cross-train with other vigorous activities , such as fast cycling and swimming laps.

But many people don't have the time or inclination to exercise vigorously for an hour five days a week. If that's you, don't worry about it. You're still going to reap a lot of benefit from even half that amount. However, you will have to pay more attention to your diet. Cutting out sugary, fatty and processed foods will automatically reduce your calorie intake — significantly, if you consume a lot of those foods.

Increase your intake of fresh fruits and vegetables, lean protein, whole grains, and healthy fats from fish, olive oil, nuts and seeds. Nutritious foods tend to be lower in calories than junk food — you can eat more and feel more satisfied while still maintaining a calorie deficit. You'll also have more energy to slay your cardio workouts as many days a week as you choose to do them.

Andra Picincu is a certified nutritionist and personal trainer with more than 10 years of experience. Her mission is to help people live healthier lives by making smarter food choices and staying active. In her daily life, Ms. Picincu provides digital marketing consulting and copywriting services as well as nutrition counseling.

She owns ShapeYourEnergy, a popular health and fitness website. In , she launched a local nutrition office and partnered up with local gyms to help their clients take the steps needed to better health. Picincu is a regular contributor to these platforms where she provides either health-related content or coaching to those who are interested in achieving a balanced lifestyle. Department of Health and Human Services indicates that a minimum of minutes of moderate-intensity activity weekly may be needed.

If you modestly not drastically reduce your calorie intake in addition to exercise, this rate of physical activity per week is likely to improve your weight loss results. The number of calories you need to lose weight is determined by your age, sex, and activity level.

Once you've reached your goal weight, the CDC suggests continuing to get at least minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per week, 75 minutes of vigorous activity, or a mixture of the two. However, this amount varies by person, so you may need more to maintain your weight. Aiming to lose 1 to 2 pounds per week is a healthy weight loss goal. Losing 1 pound of weight generally requires that you burn about 3, calories.

Choose your favorite activity and see how much exercise you'll need per day to lose a pound of body fat. For example, a pound person would need to perform these activities to lose a pound of body fat:. If you're curious about how much exercise it would take to burn 1 pound of body fat for a different type of exercise, you can use this activity calculator.

This information can help you set your daily exercise goals for weight loss. Trying to lose 1 pound of fat with exercise alone can be difficult and time-consuming for some people.

For that reason, you may want to combine diet and exercise to reach the right calorie deficit for weight loss. How do you know whether you should set weekly or daily exercise goals if you're trying to lose weight?

The answer to this question depends on your desired workout routine. If you prefer shorter workouts, daily exercise is probably best for you. By working out for 20 to 35 minutes every day, you'll meet the expert recommendations for weight loss. Exercising every day will also help you make your exercise habit stick. Get up a bit earlier every morning and complete your exercise before even starting your day. Or use half of your lunch hour to go for a brisk walk. Another option is to hit the gym every day on your way home from work.

This helps you hit your weekly goal by doing a little each day. To shorten your strength training sessions, work out different parts of the body on different days. Do upper body one day and lower body the next, for instance. This helps you hit all of your muscle groups without spending hours in the gym.

Knowing how often you should strength train and do cardiovascular exercise to lose weight depends on how quickly you want to see results. The general recommendation is to lose no more than 1 to 2 pounds per week. That said, many people seek programs that are designed for faster weight loss. Dieting has proven to be an effective method of losing weight, but in order to maintain weight loss, you need to exercise.

If you really want to see results reflected on the scale and continue to make progress over time, you need to commit to working out at least four to five days per week. To start, you might only want to do two or three days per week and slowly work your way up to five days. Plan your workouts to include a combination of:. For maximum results, a workout program should consist of cardiovascular and strength training exercise. When you lift weights, you increase your lean muscle mass.

Cardio exercise can:. Generally, aim to do either :. If you want to lose weight, consider two days of moderate activity and two days of vigorous aerobic activity or high-intensity-interval-training HIIT.

Aim for two to three days per week of strength training. Include full-body workouts that focus on compound exercises. These are moves that work multiple muscles at a time. Examples include:. Do what works for you and your routine.

If you hate running with a burning passion, walk or hike. Combining cardio, strength training, and a healthy diet will put you on a path to weight loss. Starting with just 30 minutes of walking a day can get you going. Then you can build up to adding different types of cardio and strength training at least twice a week.

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