Cardio

30-Minute Cardio Workouts That Burn 300 Calories Or More

By Christian Heftel

September 06, 2016

Losing weight doesn’t have to be complicated. Here, we’ve rounded up number of ways that you can burn 300 calories in 30 minutes or less — perfect for squeezing into your busy schedule.

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What are you waiting for? Let’s get moving!

Related: Four Different Ways To Burn 700 Calories

1. Running

Simple, steady-state cardio can be a great way to clear your mind while burning calories; plus tracking your progress has never been easier. If you’re using a treadmill, simply input your weight, attach the heart monitor, and select a difficulty that will burn an estimated 10 calories per minute to maximize your workout.

If you’re an outdoor runner, input your distance, weight, and time you ran into this handy runner’s calculator to find out how far you need to go to burn 300 calories. For example, a 150-lb woman will burn around 300 calories running 2.6 miles in 30 minutes.

2. Swimming

Swimming is another great way to burn 300 calories, with less impact on your joints than running. Additionally, swimming engages a large number of muscle systems, which means that you’ll tone up and burn more calories in a shorter amount of time.

According to Fitness Magazine, the following pool workout can burn nearly 300 calories in just 22 minutes. Although the workout gives suggested time amounts, listen to your body and take rests if necessary.

Begin with freestyle, and try to swim four pool lengths (all lengths assume a 25-yard long pool) in two minutes. Then, alternate freestyle and backstroke for 8 lengths. Try to do this in four minutes. Next, kick across the pool using a kick board for four lengths (aim for four minutes). After that, do freestyle arm movements while holding a pull buoy between your legs. Complete four lengths in two minutes. Next, return to alternating freestyle and backstroke for another eight lengths in four minutes.

Then, perform your favorite stroke for eight lengths at a moderate pace (aiming for around 4 minutes). Then do two lengths of your favorite stroke at a sprint pace (aiming to complete these lengths in 1 minute). Finally, do two lengths of freestyle to cool down.

3. Rowing

If you haven’t tried the rowing machines yet, you’re missing out. Rowing is an amazing full-body workout that uses 84 per cent of your body’s muscles. According to researchers from Harvard Medical School, a half hour on a rowing machine can burn 300 calories or more.

4. Exercise Classes

Exercises classes can be a ton of fun, and they’re designed to use up a lot of energy fast. Get sweating and moving with a group, and you may burn a ton of calories without even knowing it!

Spinning and Zumba classes may have you burning 300 calories or more in a half hour — and up to 500 if you’re going at a very intense pace!

5. HIIT

If you want to know how to burn 300 calories fast, HIIT (high intensity interval training) is one of the best ways. In high intensity interval training, you alternate short periods of intense physical activity with short periods of rest. The intensity of the exercises burns quite a lot of calories, and it can help to temporarily increase your metabolism and burn more calories.

You can do HIIT exercises on your own with cardio exercises such as running, swimming or bicycling on an exercise bike. You can also find a variety of great HIIT exercise videos online. This video by Joanna Soh that claims to burn up to 300 calories in under 20 minutes. If you’re particularly pressed for time, you can try this exercise video from Fitness Blender. It only takes six minutes, and it’s estimated to burn between 50 and 70 calories. Fitness Blender recommends performing it multiple ties throughout the day (separated by at least 2 hours). If you perform the workout six times, it will take a little more than 30 minutes total. And far from just burning 300 calories, Fitness Blender estimates that this can help you burn up to 660 calories.

6. Get Creative!

There are almost an infinite number of ways to burn your daily 300 calories, because there are so many different ways to move. Going cross-country skiing, rollerblading and rock climbing can all help you to burn around 300 calories in about 30 minutes. Think about different ways that you can enjoy being active and go do them.

 

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