Which Cardio Exercises Are Best For You

Over time, numerous reports have revealed that cardio is important for weight loss, but the question remain, which exercises are best and how much do you really need.

The truth is, there really is no best cardio exercise. The best activity is the one you'll do on a regular basis. So, finding something you like is critical to reaching your weight loss goal, whether it's to lose a jelly-belly or simply to reduce the waist line a few inches. However, some exercises offer more intensity than others.

• Impact activities: Exercises that involve some impact, like walking, will usually boost your heart rate quicker than no-impact activities like swimming or cycling.
• High impact activities: Exercises that involve running or jumping, will often burn more calories than lower impact things like walking.
• Whole body activities: When you involve both the upper and lower body, as in swimming, it's often easier to get the heart rate up and burn more calories.

All these activities offer opportunities to burn calories and doing them all gives you a well-rounded program. Here is the number of calories burned by a 150-pound person in 30 minutes of cardio:

• Step aerobics: 340 calories
• Stationary bike: 238 calories
• Swimming: 270 calories
• Walking 4 mph: 170 calories
• Running 5 mph: 270 calories
• Mowing the lawn with a push mower: 200 calories

As you can see, everything from walking to cutting the grass can burn a significant number of calories, which is one reason cardio is so important for losing belly fat.