Best cardio exercise

[mayanatsume]

For outdoor, for me its swimming, but when you are in gym, try cycling.

[Ashleygibbs]

Swimming and skipping is best cardio training that I would prefer on priority.

[Dzamto]

For cardio exercise I use rope jumping, swimming, running and cycling. To lose weight you need to workout at least 20 minutes to increase the heart rate.
When I do rope jumping I'm jumping for 30 seconds and rest for 30 seconds, that's normal cardio training. When I want to lose fat faster I'm using Tabata.
When I use Tabata as Cardio workout I mix several routines, for example rope jumping, running into the same place, fast squats.

The tabata workout goes like this 20 seconds exercising 10 seconds resting, you repeat this 7 times, that is one round, you need to do 8 rounds that's about 28 minutes.

Here is android timer you can find it very useful for cardio workouts.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... rkoutTimer

[Jeff85]

The most effective cardio exercises for me are the stair master or running stairs, swimming, jogging, hiking, and playing basketball. I use the stair master because it kills my legs and I always get off drenched in sweat. I try to make sure I swim after every workout because it takes away some of the soreness while working in some cardio. Jogging and hiking are good for leisure time because most of the time I jog to where I need to be or hike around the park and watch the sunset. Playing basketball is my favorite hobby because I am a basketball and sports fanatic, so on my off days that is my form of fitness.

[GMohawk]

The cardio exercises I use are sprinting, swimming, cycling, and jumping rope because they are all very effective for me. Usually I combine 2 of the 4 such as sprinting with jumping rope or cycling with swimming on off days or just one after a workout. Another thing I do for cardio is play basketball which is really good and fun at the same time.

[LJBaker79]

I just started to get into kick boxing. It's a great workout and it burns tons of calories. I believe it's around 400 calories per half hour for me.

[MarilynSuarez]

I love to go on long hikes. That way it feels like there is a point to my exercise rather then just burning calories. I want to get to the top of the mountain.

[Cindy348]

Bicycling, walking, running, elliptical, aerobics. (I love bicycling, so I do that almost everyday).

[ManOfSteel025]

I have been doing a combination of Stair Machine and Treadmill. 30 minutes of level 6 on the stairs. Slow enough to breathe, but intervalled for maximum fat loss. Not the "funnest" exercise, but I'm able to watch a training video, the news, or whatever while doing it, and I have lost about 15 lbs in two months with the stairs and treadmill.

[DanP71]

I've been doing a kick boxing workout for cardio as well. I like the energized feeling I have afterwards. I find it more fun, I guess that's the word Im looking for, than running. I get a bit bored with running/jogging so switching to kickboxing has really helped me maintain my desire to cardio train.

[SelfHelpFitGuy]

Yes, I agree with jacal1. For beginners, swimming is best for muscle toning as most people quickly get tired before they can really work up a proper sweat. Compare this to running, where someone new to the activity will be sweating within a few minutes (depending on general fitness levels, of course).

If weight loss is the goal of cardio, then it is imperative to work up a sweat. That's not to knock swimming as a great low impact workout, though (which, as I said, is great for toning).

Trust me if you push yourself in the pool after a few laps you are sweating just that in the pool you may not notice it. You do when you stop (or get out) though. If I can, I cycle or run to the pool and back and swim maybe 2-3 times a week. To me a good swim workout would be say 20 laps freestyle then a couple backstroke and say 5-10 breath stroke. I am not a competitive swimmer but I find if you pull your arm across your body instead of straight down the side in your strokes you get more resistance and hence work your arms more plus gain speed. I also tend to only use my legs for buoyancy and balance rather than propulsion in the water that way my arms get a better workout and my legs do the work on the run/ride there and back. combining swimming with the run/ride I find gets me in shape and fitter in a very short space of time.

[tufftechboxing]

I personally feel that everyone here is on the right track. In the world there are many different forms of training that can get the best out of people. I feel that no matter what the targets to keep your exercise longevity (hope that's how you spell that word) you need to change it up frequently.
Even Athletes (professional or amatuer) will have to change up their training on a regular basis so as to not be run down or go stale. They do keep it real with there forms they use to keep it as specific as possible to the end result they need though.
As for general Health and Fitness it would be an idea to change up training as much as possible. That could be a mix of running/swimming/boxing/high intense resistance training (weights).
I work a lot of functional training with clients from either a sporting world or even a general fitness goals and find that a good solid functional weights session can be as good as any cardio session.

[Jentry07]

For weight loss my personal favorite cardio exercise is High Intensity Interval Training as I feel it burns a high percentage of fat and calories in a fairly quick amount of time! Also if you are running on the treadmill, I'd recommend running on an incline!
I recently read that jogging on an incline raises your heart rate more than if you were going the same speed on a flat surface, not only that but it actually burns more calories as well! Here is the article source I'm referring to- http://www.nordictrackcoupon.com/articles/incline-workout-on-your-treadmill/
If you are short on time though I would recommend the HIIT workouts, they always leave me sweating in a short amount of time! I think they're your best best when it comes to cardio and weight loss. You can also mix in incline intervals for an even more challenging workout!