Eat Train Sleep

On my quest for a lean physique, I’ve tried many different machines for my cardio for weight loss workouts. - From rowers, to cross trainers, from exercise bikes to treadmills. And I’ve found that with any of these machines that I’ve used, the result has been exactly the same.

Let’s take a typical session on the treadmill for example. I’ll get on the machine, set my pace and start jogging happily. I’ll look around a bit, people watch in the gym, run through some thoughts in my head while happily jogging away. After a while, content I’ve ran a fair distance, I’ll look down at the clock expecting to be half way through my (modest) 25 minute session and get a shock realising only 2 minutes have past. The rest of the session then involves me forcing myself not to look at the clock, struggling to get through each following minute and wishing I hadn’t looked down so early in the first place.

If, like me, you don’t have a passion for cardio, you may find this little anecdote very familiar.

My cardio for weight loss routine

Well, a while ago I was chatting to a fellow gym-goer, who told me he swore by outdoor power walking performed first thing in the morning. So, I thought Id drag myself out of bed before work and give it a try. That was well over a year ago and now I wouldn’t perform any other form of cardio.

My routine started as simply a fast 30 minute walk. However, now a typical routine involves a jog over the duration of 45 minutes, broken into 4 stages. I jog each stage, and then take a 30 second walk to bring the heart rate back down a bit before embarking on the next stage. This helps break the session up a bit while ensuring a steady and moderate heart rate - important if you trying to lose fat and maintain the muscle.

Reasons why it works

And why do I prefer this over machine based cardio for weight loss? Well, it all comes down to the same rule that applies to anything in body building – consistency. You will only get somewhere if you perform any activity consistently over a period of time. And to be consistent in any activity, you must be happy to perform it day, in day out. For me, this form of cardio for weight loss is a lot easier to be consistent in, for the following reasons:

1. Progress through the session is visual – you can constantly tell by your surroundings how far you have progressed in your session. This is infinitely more satisfying than looking at a number on a clock.
2. By breaking a route into stages, you can use the divide and conquer approach to reach your end goal. Setting short term goals within a session makes it easier to manage and reach your end goal.
3. You can roll out of bed and straight into your workout – no need to travel to and from the gym.
4. The fact you are outdoors means you get fresh air and a change in scenery as you workout. You can even change routes to keep things interesting. Much better than being in a hot gym, looking at the same spot for 45 minutes.

Choose your cardio for weight loss routine

So, do I think that jogging outdoors is the only form of cardio that works? No. But my main point here is to definitely choose a cardio routine that you are happy to stick with until you reach yours goals. For you, this may be the rower, the treadmill or the cross trainer. But if like me, you dread the site of these machines - try hitting the streets in the mornings. You may find that cardio becomes as integral to your routine as the bench press.

Eat. Train. Sleep.