The Best Cardio For Fat Loss

Since I can remember, there’s long been a standing debate about which type of cardio is best for losing and managing body fat. 

On the one hand, some claim that slow and steady is best due to it’s high calorie burn and relative stress on the body due to its moderate intensity.

The other camp claims that high intensity and short duration is best. High intensity saves time because it doesn’t require as much duration, and it can also lead to other performance and health benefits, like an increase in VO to max beyond what you would get with the low to moderate-intensity cardio.

Both forms of cardio have pros and cons. Low intensity can be easier on the joints but harder on the schedule due to its time-consuming nature. High intensity can improve performance and strengthen the cardio system, but it can also be more exhausting and hard on the body.  

This article specifically discusses weight loss and weight management. A recent study suggests that neither high nor moderate-intensity cardio is superior for losing and managing body fat.

Fundamentally, this makes sense as the influence on managing weight from cardio boils down to the amount of calories burned rather than the specific mechanism through which they are expended. Burning 500 calories will have the same influence on your body fat levels regardless of whether you’re going for a casual jog or exhausting yourself in a HIIT class.

Therefore, The best application may be to use a variety of approaches instead of focusing on one best or supposedly optimal approach. There are benefits to many different forms of training, drastically limiting yourself to a very narrow range of disciplines and the chances of limiting your results. Both low- and high-intensity forms of training can help you minimize negative downsides.