Low Intensity vs High Intensity Cardio Exercise

Low intensity vs high intensity cardio - which approach is best for weight loss? This is a common debate…so let’s take a look at the arguments.
Yes, it is true that during low intensity cardio exercise, more calories are burned directly from fat. However, the problem is, with low intensity cardio your overall calorie burn isn’t enough to really make a difference to your overall weight loss.

You must do at least some of your cardio with intensity if you want to lose weight and reduce your body fat. All forms of cardio exercise will contribute to fat loss, but in a linear fashion.

With high intensity cardio comes an exponential increase in results. Common sense alone says that if you work harder, you will burn more calories and therefore more body fat. The problem is many people still believe in the fat burn zone which suggests that you have to intentionally slow down and exercise at a low intensity to burn fat because when you exercise at a higher intensity, you burn more carbs.

The problem with this line of thinking is that the lower your intensity, the fewer calories you burn overall and therefore the less fat you burn. Most people think exclusively of high intensity interval training when they think of high intensity cardio, but the fact is that regardless of whether you use intervals or maintain a steady pace, either way, if you simply push yourself harder, you burn more calories and more fat.

So, if you want to lose weight - push yourself harder when doing cardio. Even more important than the low intensity vs high intensity cardio debate is that you focus on doing your cardio training with progression and variation. Your goal should be for each cardio workout to build on the previous one and not allow your body to adapt.