Cardio should be a key component of any successful fitness routine. Not only is it crucial for overall well-being—boosting brain health, heart health, cholesterol levels, and mood—but it also plays a significant role in maintaining steady progress on your weight-loss journey. Cardio helps burn calories and fat without tiring your muscles as much as a typical strength workout. To elevate your cardio sessions, I've compiled six of the best cardio workouts to help you maintain your weight loss.

Below, you'll find six effective workouts that are proven to enhance cardiovascular fitness and support your goal weight. For optimal results, aim to perform them three to four times per week, choosing whichever ones suit your preference.

Workout #1

What you need: This workout is called a "Fartlek" run. The idea is to maintain a steady jog while occasionally increasing the intensity to push the limits of your aerobic capacity, allowing you to gradually expand your aerobic threshold over time.

All you need is a good pair of running shoes. You can do this run outside or on a treadmill if you prefer staying indoors or if the weather isn’t ideal. A heart rate monitor can also be a helpful tool. Aim for a total duration of 30 to 60 minutes.

The Routine:

  • Jog at an easy pace, keeping your heart rate between 135 to 150 bpm.
  • Increase your speed to 70% to 80% intensity for 10 to 20 seconds.
  • Return to your easy jogging pace.
  • Repeat the interval every few minutes.

Workout #2

What you need: This is one of the simplest yet highly effective cardio workouts. It keeps your heart rate in the optimal zone to strengthen your heart, improve your aerobic system, and burn fat—all without putting excessive strain on your muscles or joints. Simply walk on a treadmill at an incline for an extended period, and that's it!

The Routine:

  • Set the treadmill incline to at least 10%.
  • Walk at a pace that keeps your heart rate between 135 to 150 bpm for your desired duration.

Workout #3

What you need: To turn a regular walk into a fat-burning workout, try "rucking." This involves wearing a weighted backpack or vest—called a "rucksack"—while you walk. The added weight increases intensity and helps strengthen your muscles.

It's important to invest in a proper weighted vest or ruck, rather than using a regular backpack with weights. A well-designed ruck will sit comfortably on your shoulders and reduce strain on your lower back.

The Routine:

  • Wear a ruck and walk for 30 to 60 minutes. Avoid running with a ruck to prevent injury.

Workout #4

What you need: For this workout, all you need are just a few dumbbells or kettlebells (ideally kettlebells). The beauty of a carry is it's astonishingly simple: You just take a weight, hold it, and walk. Yet the benefits are vast because they improve your cardiovascular fitness, increase your strength endurance, boost your core stability, and help build "farmer 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)

Farmers Carry

The farmer's carry is a simple yet effective way to boost cardiovascular health and fitness with minimal impact on your joints. Additionally, this exercise builds total-body strength, which is useful both in and out of the gym.

The Routine:

  1. Grab a weight in one hand.
  2. Keep your chest up and your shoulder blades squeezed together.
  3. Walk for 20 yards.
  4. Switch sides and repeat.

Waiters Walk

  1. Grab a kettlebell or weight plate in one hand and hold it overhead.
  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.

Workout #5

What you need: You'll need a step and either a suspension trainer or gymnastic rings for this workout, known as "HICT" or High-Intensity Continuous Training. The concept is to perform a strength exercise at a steady pace, turning it into an aerobic workout. This way, you're not overexerting yourself, but you're still strengthening your muscles and improving cardiovascular fitness.

The key is to perform one explosive repetition every 3 to 5 seconds for the specified duration.

The Routine:

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

Step-ups

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

Pushups

  1. Get in a pushup position with your hands about shoulder-width apart.
  2. Keep your lower back flat, and don't let your hips sag.
  3. Lower yourself and keep your elbows close to your body as you descend.

Inverted Rows

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

Workout #6

What you need: This workout is a speed walking interval, and all you need is your body. While walking is excellent for overall health, a casual stroll might not be intense enough to burn significant calories or reach the "fat-burning zone" needed to maintain weight loss. By incorporating intervals, you can increase the intensity and see better results.

The Routine:

  • Warm-up with a 5-minute walk at a comfortable pace.
  • Walk as fast as you can for 1 minute (without running).
  • Follow with 1 minute at a regular pace.
  • Repeat this cycle 9 more times.
  • Cool down with a 5-minute walk at a relaxed pace.
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