According to Gam, you can—and should—do light cardio, like walking, every day; however, engaging in moderate-to-high intensity cardio seven days a week is not advised. “I would recommend everyone, even the fittest athletes, be taking at least one rest day per week for recovery,” says Gam.
Yes, it is okay to do cardio every day. Desirable, in fact. Daily doses of cardio is the best way to provoke positive metabolic adaptations having to with mitochondrial function, which is the primary problem you need to solve if you are trying to optimize health & longevity.
The more you exercise, the more calories you'll burn. If you're trying to lose weight, you should aim for doing cardio at least five days per week for a total of at least 250 minutes (4 hours, 10 minutes) each week. Contrary to what many believe, you can do aerobic exercise seven days per week.
Typically, rest days aren't necessary for light cardio... But if you're doing moderate or vigorous aerobic activity, rest days are essential. It's recommended to take a rest day every three to five days. If you do vigorous cardio, you'll want to take more frequent rest days.
Beginners: If you're new to cardio, aim for at least 1-2 rest days per week to allow your body to recover. Moderate Intensity: For moderate-intensity cardio (like brisk walking or light cycling), you can generally do cardio 3-5 times per week with rest days in between, depending on how your body feels.
According to Gam, you can—and should—do light cardio, like walking, every day; however, engaging in moderate-to-high intensity cardio seven days a week is not advised. “I would recommend everyone, even the fittest athletes, be taking at least one rest day per week for recovery,” says Gam.
Is a 20-Minute Workout Enough? Guidelines from the American Heart Association (AHA) also back up these research findings. The AHA recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity per week, which equals around 21 minutes per day.
However, skipping a workout here and there typically doesn't cause weight gain, and taking regular rest days is healthy for muscle recovery and preventing injury.
When you overdo it on cardio, your body can also start to use its lean muscle as fuel, which decreases overall strength and muscle mass. Meaning you could be losing muscle in addition to body fat.
To burn off visceral fat, your first step is to include at least 30 minutes of aerobic exercise or cardio into your daily routine. Studies show that aerobic exercises for belly fat help reduce belly fat and liver fat. Some great cardio of aerobic exercises for belly fat include: Walking, especially at a quick pace.
The recommended amount of cardio is 150–300 minutes at moderate intensity or 75–150 minutes at vigorous intensity spread across the week. You can divide this into sessions lasting from 10 minutes to over an hour, depending on how hard and how often you work out.
In most cases, cardio shouldn't prevent hypertrophy (muscle growth) nor cause you to lose the muscle you have.
Too Much Cardio 🏃♀️ Endless cardio sessions can actually make you feel “fluffy” rather than toned. While cardio has its place, excessive cardio can strip muscle mass, leaving you with a softer look. Strength training should be the foundation of your routine if your goal is a lean, toned physique.
But in some cases, extreme exercise can damage the heart. Research is showing that a small percentage of middle-aged and older athletes who compete in endurance events over many years may be at higher risk for developing atrial fibrillation – an irregular heartbeat – and other heart problems.
If you want to increase your endurance, do cardio before weights. If you want to build muscle strength, do weights before cardio. If you want to improve your overall fitness, you can do either cardio or weights first.
According to their research, funded by the National Institutes of Health, the optimal length of exercise per week is: minimum of 5 to 10 hours of moderate physical activity (42 minutes to an hour and 25 minutes daily) minimum 2 hours and 30 minutes to 5 hours of vigorous physical activity (21-42 minutes daily)
Therefore, sustainable weight loss requires patience and consistency. Consider a person who wants to lose 20 pounds. By following a healthier lifestyle approach that incorporates a balanced diet and regular exercise, they could meet their goal in approximately 10-20 weeks, exhibiting a healthy weight reduction.
Improved cardiovascular health
Cardio exercises can help improve the health of the heart, blood vessels, and lungs. It reduces the risk of heart diseases, lowers blood pressure, and improves circulation in the body.
As a rough guide, you'll probably notice some initial changes in the first four to six weeks, but longer-term changes (what you're working toward) will often take around eight to 12 weeks. The good news is that you're likely to start feeling better quickly.
Aerobic exercise includes any activity that raises your heart rate such as walking, dancing, running or swimming. This can also include doing housework, gardening and playing with your children. Other types of exercise such as strength training, Pilates and yoga can also help you lose belly fat.