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What's the best cardio workout

The best cardio workouts are good for the heart and mood. We speak to sports scientist Jamal Ramsay to find out more.<br><br>

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What's the best cardio workout

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  1. What's the best cardio workout?

  2. The best cardio workout will be one that gets your heart rate up but more importantly, it will be an exercise that you enjoy and can fit into your training program. Some of the most common cardiovascular exercises include hiking, running — either outside or on the best treadmills(opens in new tab) — cycling, swimming, HIIT (high intensity interval training) and rowing.

  3. “Cardiovascular, or aerobic exercise, can be described as any exercise that gets your heart pumping. However, as most exercise does this, we need to look at the term ‘aerobic’, which basically means with oxygen,” explains sports scientist Jamal Ramsay.

  4. Aerobic exercise refers to any activity where your body is relying on oxygen to help with its energy supply. This is opposed to anaerobic exercise, where your body doesn't use oxygen and instead draws on stored glucose to provide quick bursts of energy. 

  5. Both types of exercise have their pros and cons, but usually when people say 'cardio workout' they mean aerobic exercise. Read on to find out more about different cardio workouts and which are best for calorie burn, muscle building and enjoyment.

  6. WHICH CARDIO WORKOUT IS BEST FOR CALORIE BURN? HIIT training is probably the best option for calorie burn. It has a high energy expenditure and it depletes the oxygen available to the muscles, forcing the body to burn fat to get more energy to function. This puts the body in an oxygen debt so you will continue to burn calories even after your workout has finished, a process known as the After Burn Effect. 

  7. But even studies like the above won’t be able to account for all factors when it comes to calorie burn. HIIT regimes may burn more calories than other sports because it requires a lot of force and it engages large muscle groups. However, its repetitive impact can cause joint pain, which means you might not be able to sustain it for very long. Regular cycling sessions or swimming may be a better option for some people.

  8. WHICH CARDIO WORKOUT IS BEST FOR MUSCLE BUILDING? Ramsay says that cardio isn’t necessarily designed to build muscle. “To build muscle, you need to be working against resistance. With that said, swimming is good because it’s a combination of aerobic and resistance training because you’re working against the resistance of the water. Cycling is also good for building muscles in the lower body.” 

  9. Remember, cardiovascular exercise doesn’t have to mean spending hours on the Stairmaster or running uphill. In fact long sessions of ‘steady state’ cardio (continuous, moderate effort) has been proven to increase the stress hormone cortisol and break down muscle, a study published in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology(opens in new tab) found.

  10. WHICH CARDIO WORKOUT IS MOST TIME EFFICIENT? Without a doubt, HIIT wins in this category. “HIIT training can burn up to 1,000 calories in an hour so is usually considered a great workout. Also, because you can fit HIIT sessions into very short periods of time, it is very effective for those that don’t have a lot of time to dedicate to exercise,” Ramsay told Live Science.

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