How Much Cardio Should You Be Doing To Lose Weight?

26 Apr 2023 · 1 min

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In this concise fitness advice segment, the speaker outlines a practical cardio strategy for individuals aiming to lose weight while preserving or building muscle. The core recommendation is to first ensure a baseline of 5,000–10,000 daily steps, which can be accumulated through walking, errands, or treadmill use. On top of that baseline, the speaker suggests adding 2–4 sessions per week of low‑intensity steady‑state (LISS) cardio lasting 20–30 minutes per session, using activities such as cycling, elliptical training, or any cardio form the individual enjoys, while keeping heart rate modest. The guidance emphasizes realistic, sustainable activity levels rather than high‑intensity cardio that might compromise muscle retention.

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How much cardio should you realistically be doing if you're trying to lose weight and build muscle? Before you worry about any extra cardio, I would first make sure you are walking 5,000 to 10,000 steps per day. Now, this could be outside, this could be on a treadmill, this could just be when you're running errands. Then if you wanted to add on top of that, I would then say doing maybe 2 to 4 days a week of 20 to 30 minutes low-intensity steady-state cardio where you're not jacking your heart rate up super high and you're doing— whether it's the bike or the elliptical or whatever form of cardio that you enjoy. Hope this helps.