Choose to lose: drop pounds—and a clothing size—with our calorie-blasting, fat-burning four-week cardio plan

Shape, March, 2005 by Leslie Ryan

The fact is that to drop pounds, you must burn more calories than you consume each day, and regular cardio workouts are proven calorie blasters. But that doesn't mean you have to run endless miles on a treadmill to nowhere. The key to our four-week fat-blasting cardio program? Variety!

"It gives you lots of choices," says Alicen Cisco, a certified personal trainer at Structure House, a residential weight-loss center in Durham, N.C., who created this workout exclusively for Shape. "You don't get stuck in a rut when it comes to the same activity or intensity every day. This program gives you a lot of variety, which is a real plus when it comes to losing weight."

The plan challenges you with five or six different cardio workouts a week, but it's worth the effort--in only four weeks, you'll lose up to 8 pounds of fat. You'll see the difference in how your clothes fit, and you'll look leaner and more toned. Just use our handy Cardio Calendar for daily instructions, and count your way down to weight loss!

cardio rules

The program

Choose a cardio activity and follow the intensity and time instructions on our 4-week Cardio Calendar. If you're a beginner, do the minimum duration listed for each day and modify the intensity as necessary. You can do this program indoors using cardio machines and group exercise classes or outside in your neighborhood or at a park.

Strength Rx

Strength train 3 times a week on your shorter cardio days (try our "Power Up Your Weight Loss!" program on page 156). Maintaining or increasing muscle mass will help you keep the pounds off, as well as give you a leaner, more toned look.

Warm-up/cool-down

Begin each session with 5 minutes of low-intensity cardio, such as walking at a normal pace or using any cardio machine at level 1 or 2. Finish your workout with 5 minutes of low-intensity cardio, then stretch your lower-body muscles, including your back; hold each stretch for 30 seconds without bouncing.

fat facts

To lose 1 pound of fat, you need to burn approximately 3,500 calories. You can safely lose 1-2 pounds a week on this cardio plan (if you also strength train for about 30 minutes 3 times a week, it will accelerate the pace by burning approximately 340-360 more calories a week). The easiest way to achieve this is to create a calorie deficit of 500 per day through exercise and meal management. For example, let's say you burn 250-350 calories in each of the workouts you do in this plan. That means you only need to cut 150-250 calories from your daily diet in order to lose 1 pound a week. To lose 2 pounds a week, you'll need to create a calorie deficit of 650-750 a day from your diet.

Use this work sheet to calculate the number of calories you need to maintain your current weight, then reduce that number by 500 calories a day to figure out your goal intake for losing weight. (For lasting weight loss and to retain muscle mass, you should never lose more than 2 pounds a week. In the first week or two, however, you may lose slightly more than 2 pounds, but it will be water weight, not muscle or fat, so that's OK.)

1. Your weight in pounds______ / 2.2=______

2. Your height in inches______ X 2.54=______

3. 9.6 X # from step 1______=______

4. 1.8 X # from step 2______=______

5. 4.7 X your age in years______=______

6. 655 # from step 3____ #from step 4____-#from step 5______=____(this is your Resting Metabolic Rate)

7. Multiply your RMR by the appropriate activity factor:

* If you are sedentary (you do little or no activity): RMR X 1.2

* If you are slightly active (you perform light exercise/sports 1-3 days a week): RMR X 1.375

* If you are moderately active (you enjoy moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days a week): RMR X 1.55

* If you are very active (you engage in strenuous exercise/sports 6-7 days a week): RMR X 1.725

RMR______ X activity factor______=______ (This is the minimum number of calories you need each day to maintain your present weight.)

8. # from step 7______-500=____(This is the minimum number of calories you need each day to lose 1 pound a week.)

cardio calendar

Each day lists a cardio plan, including length, intensity and calorie burn. Days marked with a plus sign ( ) indicate when you should follow your strength-training routine that day as well. Times shown do not include warm-up and cool-down, so allow approximately 15 more minutes for those.

If you choose an outdoor activity such as running, biking or inline skating, find a route that includes uphill sections where you can up your intensity. On a cardio machine, make your workout more difficult by speeding up the pace or adding an incline.

"Everybody has to find what activities work for them," says trainer Alicen Cisco. "If someone goes to a class and hates it, it's never going to be effective." The same is true if someone hates the treadmill but loves classes. To choose activities you'll stick with, ask yourself: Do I prefer to exercise inside or outside? What kind of activities do I like to do? Would I rather exercise with a friend or alone? Try substituting a cardio-focused group exercise class such as hip-hop or kickboxing, take that Spinning class you've been eyeing or sign up for an hour-long tennis lesson.