BEST Cardio?

Whichever one you will actually do.

Whichever one you will actually do.

Per minute, running is one of the most effective ways of burning calories. The problem is that not many people can do it long enough to burn huge amounts without becoming injured. Don't know of many non-professional athletes that can run for 2-3 hours regularly.

If you're looking for the most calories burned in the least amount of time, spinning and swimming are great choices.

If you just want to burn the most amount of calories in general, I've found cycling (outdoors on a road bike with hills and flats, not in a gym) burns more calories overall because you can do it longer without hurting yourself.

For example, on a 5 hour weekend ride, I routinely burn 2,000 to 3,000 calories and am still able to walk the next day. If someone were to try to run for even half that time they would probably injure themselves. During the work week, I'll do three 2 hour rides where I can burn between 600-900 calories depending on the type of riding I'm doing that day. Since cycling is low impact, your joints and muscles don't take a pounding and it is easier for your body to recover from the activity from one day to another.

Here are a couple of recent examples.
Long weekend ride - 3500+ calories http://app.strava.com/activities/25605695
2 hour weekday ride - ~900 calories http://app.strava.com/activities/26668697

These numbers are all using a heart rate monitor and at my current weight of 135lbs. Someone heavier putting out the same effort would burn more calories because they're carrying more weight.

Not necessarily for weight loss because cardio doesn't make you lose weight, your diet does. But I would pick hiking. Because it's the most entertaining to me.

Not necessarily for weight loss because cardio doesn't make you lose weight, your diet does. But I would pick hiking. Because it's the most entertaining to me.