6 Best Cardio Exercises to Lose Weight without Losing Muscle

Best and effective cardio exercises to lose weight without losing muscles. (Image via Unsplash/Omid Armin)
Best and effective cardio exercises to lose weight without losing muscles. (Image via Unsplash/Omid Armin)

The ability to lose weight without losing muscle with cardio exercises depends on several factors including diet, workout regime and intensity of cardio exercises.

One of the most effective ways to maintain muscle gain and lose weight in the body is to combine cardio exercises along with a strength training routine. Not only will this ensure maintenance of muscle gain, but the combination of cardio exercises and strength training will enable you to build better muscle mass in the body.

Too much calorie deficit is also one of the reasons that can lead you to lose muscle along with weight. Therefore, do not create a high-calorie deficit with cardio exercises to prevent muscle loss.

Here are some of the best cardio exercises that can help you lose weight without losing any muscle.


Cardio Exercises to Lose Weight without Losing Muscles

A study by Harvard revealed that cardio exercises are crucial for weight loss and maintaining heart health. An individual should do at least 150 minutes of moderate to high-intensity cardio exercise every week to maintain the overall health and fitness of the body.

On that note, here's a look at six such exercises:

1) Cycling

Cycling is one of the most popular cardio workouts that can help you lose weight while maintaining body muscles.

It's a form of recreational exercise that helps to both lose weight and reduce fat in the body. Besides weight loss, cycling helps in strengthening the leg muscles, such as quads, hamstrings and glutes along with toning them. Cycling is one of the great cardio exercises that can help in building endurance and reducing the overall fat percentage.

Cycling can be done both outdoors and indoors in the gym, whatever makes you comfortable. You can try either steady pace or interval training while cycling.


2) Running

Running is an excellent and versatile cardio exercise that does not require any equipment and can be done anywhere. Just some good shoes and an exciting playlist to get you ready to run. Running can help in crushing loads of calories and especially targeting the belly fat that is harmful.

Running can help you lose more weight than any other exercise, as it targets different muscles efficiently. Including high-intensity running in your workout regime can crush calories even after your workout session is over. To avoid monotony, you can also try trail running and hiking once in a while to lose weight without losing muscle in the body.

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3) Jumping Jack

Jumping jacks are one of the most efficient and dynamic cardio exercises that can effectively engage your entire body and help you lose weight without losing the muscles. It specifically involve the muscles of the shoulders, abdominals and core.

Besides helping you lose weight, a jumping jack will also tone your body and tend to be a good alternative to cardio exercises such as cycling and running. These exercises can also help you improve your running and other athletic performances.


4) Boxing

Boxing is one of the great cardio exercises to lose weight without losing muscle. Boxing is popular amongst celebrities due to the plethora of benefits it entails. It's a high-impact cardio workout that helps with significant calorie burn and will allow you to lose weight by working on the entire body.

Besides effective management of weight, boxing also helps in toning and strengthening the upper body. You should definitely try and incorporate boxing into your workout sessions to reduce weight and maintain body muscles.

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5) Jumping Rope or Skipping

Jumping rope is also a good option for weight loss as it helps in achieving the calorie deficit that's required.

It tends to be a full body workout that engages your leg muscles, arm muscles and core muscles. Skipping for 20 to 25 minutes can help in crushing high numbers and aid in training the abdominal and other core muscles.

Jumping rope can help you to lose weight without losing muscles. It's also a highly recommended cardio exercise, as it strengthens your lower and upper body.


6) Bear Crawl

Bear crawl can efficiently speed up your weight loss process by working on your entire body. There are different variations of the bear crawl exercise you can include in your workout session to avoid boredom. It can strengthen and tone the muscles of the body effectively with agility training.

Bear crawl exercise works on almost all the muscles in the body, including delts, glutes, core, hamstrings, chests, backs and quads. Regularly doing bear crawls will help in building the overall endurance and strength of the body.

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Additionally, bear crawl can enhance body awareness and movement skills that enable you to improve the coordination and balance of the body.

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