How Cardiovascular Exercise Can Help You Lose Weight
June, 2025
One of the main reasons people come to me for help is because they want to lose weight.
Weight loss is probably the number one reason people seek out the help of a personal trainer. It can be easy to give up on your weight loss journey when you aren’t achieving the results you want. I find a lot of people stick with a routine for a while then taper off. Hitting a fitness plateau is another reason I find affects people negatively and causes them to give up.
While losing weight can be difficult. Cardiovascular exercise is a highly effective way to start shedding those extra pounds. Let’s find out why.
What is Cardiovascular Exercise?
Cardio is exercise that raises your heart rate and increases your blood flow. It can range from fairly low intensity (such as walking) to high intensity exercises (you might have heard of HIIT).
Jogging, using a treadmill or cross trainer, going for a walk, cycling and swimming are all forms of cardiovascular exercise. While it isn’t the only workout that will help you lose weight – strength training can also be beneficial – it is the most common way for people to get in shape.
The Science Behind Weight Loss and Cardio
Cardio exercise burns calories. This is the cornerstone of losing weight and the key is to burn more calories than you consume. This is called a calorie deficit and it is a tried and tested method of achieving weight loss.
A mistake I see people making is thinking that they don’t need to follow a good diet because they do cardio a few times a week. Cardio should be used alongside a balanced diet and calorie reduction and all three together will help your body lose weight.
Most Effective Cardio Workouts to Lose Weight
If you’re a bit worried about starting strenuous cardio exercise then you’re not alone. Even if you don’t have a high level of fitness or you feel that something is holding you back (like an injury or condition), you can still use effective cardio workouts.
For those of you who don’t have any limitations, the higher intensity exercise the better. This will burn fat quicker and more effectively. Things like HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training), running, and using a jumping rope are all good options.
If you struggle with the higher intensity workouts, other forms of cardio exercise such as swimming, walking, or cycling can also be highly effective. These let you go at a more relaxed pace.
Making Cardio Part of Your Routine
While other workouts can help contribute towards losing weight, cardio is the most effective because it burns calories quicker and you’ll also burn more in a session than with strength training.
However, while cardiovascular exercise is ideal for burning calories, you need to combine this with a balanced diet and a calorie deficit. Just doing cardio in isolation won’t produce the results you expect.
Making a cardio workout part of your weekly routine takes work, both physically and mentally. While you might find this hard in the beginning, regularly exercising with cardio will produce results particularly if you keep an eye on your calorie intake.
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