I do a "Reaction Cycling" (Spin) class twice a week. It's a 55 minute class that totally kicks my ass. That's made the biggest improvement in my cardio conditioning, but I haven't really noticed an improvement in my physical appearance as far as fat loss. I also try to make myself run 2.5-3 miles on the treadmill a couple of times a week. Running outside is a much better workout, but with the combo of high temps, high humidity and pollution, I just don't want to do it.

 

++ = MONSTR CARDIO

 

HIIT is best for burning fat and increasing lung capacity. Cardio is good to build endurance, exercising your heart, and wasting time.

 

I do the Stairmaster for 45 minutes on Fat Burn at level 17 or 18 (out of 20) five or six days a week. I do level 17 if I did weights first, otherwise 18.

After that I use the Virtual Reality bike and do 11 miles on an uphill/downhill circuit.

If the weather's nice I also walk a mile at lunchtime, but not fast

 

Dave, what are you trying to achieve using the Stairmaster 45 minutes almost every day? That's not the most productive way to burn fat.

 

Being homeless on the streets trying to feed your craving for 7 spoons of smack every day can keep a person pretty fit.. so i heard.

 

I run and cycle, run about 10-20 miles on any given week and ride 100-250 or so depending on time, etc.

Your body really starts to shift into fat burn mode after 40 minutes of continuous exercise so I have found that cycling really does it for me...

 

I found it to be the toughest cardio machine that I actually like doing. It seems to build up my endurance and lower my resting heart rate (now around 48-50bpm) better than anything else I tried.

I'm down from 190lb to 154lb over the last two years, so I'm doing ok on the weight loss. I also lift weights three days a week and have toned up considerably.

I'm always open to options if you have something in mind that might work better.

 

Lifting weights is the best method to burn fat. Lifting heavy weights is even better. You will raise your metabolism for up to 72 hours, and the process to rebuild muscles burn a lot of calories. You will not get big when you're eating a caloric deficit (as you should be).. it's basically impossible. You can gain strength while losing fat, but not mass.

HIIT is the second best method. This too raises your metabolism so you will continue to burn calories long after the short exercise session has ended.

Static cardio comes in third because once you hop off the machine, for the most part you stop burning calories. Resistance cardio is better (stairmaster, biking up hill) than say running on flat.. but you'd be better served by interval training with stints up to 90% effort. Also, if you don't ingest enough carbs, your body may start to burn muscle, not fat -- this is definitely not what you want. Muscle burns fat. The more muscle you have, the more fat you can burn.

Everyone's goal during fat loss should be to maintain muscle mass. Lifting heavy weight is the best way to do this, and burning muscle during HIIT is not a possible hazard.

If I were you I'd consider trying to maximize effort during your 3x/week lifting sessions, doing 15 minutes of HIIT 2x a week, and maybe limit yourself to one or two sessions of cardio per week, prepherably a good amount of time before or after lifting, but certainly not right before.. and not on days when you do HIIT. You could fit everything in on seperate days. 3x lift, 2x hiit, 2x cardio = 7 days. I don't know what your goals are, but this is a a tried and true method to lose a healthy 8lbs/month.. but at 154.. you probably don't want to lose too much more This can be completely controlled by diet though. If you have some specific short/long term goals, I could help you out with a better routine & diet.

 

Ride and Tie.