Cardio is king for burning calories and losing weight. But are you doing enough of it in your fitness routine? We chatted with a fitness pro and learned how long your cardio workouts should be for weight loss, so listen up.
Performing regular cardio is chock-full of amazing benefits, especially for those looking to slim down and get fit. Cardio will bump up your heart and breathing rates, which will help your body burn fat. It’s an efficient route to weight management and enhanced metabolic health.
How Long Your Cardio Workouts Should Be for Weight Loss
Your cardio workouts should be approximately 30 to 60 minutes long to achieve effective weight loss. However, this range may vary depending on your workout intensity and fitness level.
“The duration of your cardio workout is important for two reasons: calorie burn and tapping into your body’s fat-burning zone,” explains Ronny Garcia, CPT, Blink Fitness. “The longer you work out, the more calories you will burn, which helps create the calorie deficit you need to lose weight. Longer sessions of low-intensity cardio can also help tap into fat stores for fuel, but this requires longer workouts.”
You should tweak the intensity and duration of your cardio workouts to best suit your schedule, personal preferences, and fitness level. “Low-intensity cardio, like walking or jogging, primarily uses fat as fuel, but it takes longer to see significant calorie burn,” Garcia tells us. “Sessions should be longer, around 45 to 60 minutes, to maximize fat burn while burning the right amount of calories to reach your goals.”
If you like shorter workouts, Garcia suggests performing high-intensity cardio, such as high-intensity interval training (HIIT) or sprinting. These training methods increase your heart rate and torch calories quicker, making short durations more productive for those looking to slim down. “HIIT workouts also create an ‘afterburn effect’ where the body continues burning calories post-workout,” Garcia adds.
In general, Garcia recommends starting with shorter, less intense workouts three times a week and gradually bumping up the duration and/or intensity of your sessions as you advance. If you’re already at an advanced fitness level, you should shoot for 45 to 60 minutes of low-intensity cardio or 20 to 30 minutes of high-intensity cardio four to five times weekly for weight loss.
