With the summer nearing an end, it is not too late to get into a little better shape. This usually comes with a combination of better diet and exercise regimens. From my experience of having treated over 8000 patients, the diet accounts for about 75% of the weight loss and the exercise accounts for most of the other 25%. Knowing this, the diet is absolutely the most important part of the puzzle but don’t underestimate the value of daily cardiovascular exercise. This improves energy levels and stamina as well as heart and lung function. A few of the better cardio exercises will be discussed below.

Running would have to be listed first simply because of the number of calories burned. I typically don’t recommend running to our weight loss patients due to the amount of stress it places on your knees and feet, especially if you are overweight. Every 10 pounds of weight puts 40 pounds of pressure on your knees and this is even worse when running due to the pounding of your weight onto your feet. This can lead to a great deal of knee damage and pain later in life depending on how often you run and what type of surface you are running on. Running for 30 minutes can easily burn 300 to 500 calories depending on your speed.

Elliptical training is also very good and will burn nearly as many calories as running but without the wear and tear on the joints. Elliptical machines come in different varieties but even the smaller ones will work for most people and the resistance can be adjusted individually. This allows for variances in the workout and is nearly equivalent to running but is low impact. 30 minutes on the elliptical trainer can also burn 300 to 500 calories depending on your size, age and the amount of resistance.

Swimming is great exercise and is very low or no impact. This allows you to work nearly every muscle group in the body as well. It is great for those with injuries or arthritis that are limited with weight bearing exercises. This is the perfect time of the year for swimming and if you don’t know how, it is never too late to learn. Many fitness centers offer indoor pools for year-round exercise. 30 minutes of swimming will burn about 200 to 400 calories.

A cross-country skiing machine offers great full body exercise for all the major muscle groups and is perfect for building up your endurance. It is also low impact on the joints and burns a great deal of calories as it is a good combination of resistance and cardio exercise. 30 minutes of cross-country skiing will burn about 300-500 calories.

A rowing machine also offers great cardio and resistance exercise and works the upper body some but can also work the thighs a great deal. A moderate 30 minute workout on a rowing machine can burn 250 to 400 calories.

Bicycling, either stationary or outdoors can also burn a great deal of calories and be very effective for weight loss while working mostly the calf and thigh muscles. You can easily vary the speed of the workout as well as resistance with inclined areas. 30 minutes of bicycling can easily burn 250 to 500 calories depending on the resistance/incline and the speed of the workout.

There are many other cardio type exercises that can be done to help with weight loss such as step aerobics, dancing or Zumba but the main idea is just to get up and do something to become more active. Doing anything is typically better than doing nothing. If exercise alone is not enough to help you get your weight where it needs to be, feel free to call our office for a free weight loss consultation. Our weight loss and body shaping programs have helped thousands of people just like you achieve their weight loss goals while also getting rid of disease processes like diabetes, high blood pressure, reflux, sleep apnea and joint/back pain.

This article was reviewed and approved by Dr. Sattele. Dr. Sattele received his medical degree from the University of South Carolina, School of Medicine in Columbia, SC in 1995. He completed an Internal Medicine residency at Richland Memorial Hospital in Columbia, SC from 1995 – 1998, serving as Chief Resident in 1998. Read his full bio