Cardio
Cardio is a great addition to strength training to help lose body fat. Doing cardio first thing in the morning on an empty stomach is a great way to utilize fat as a fuel source and to rev up your metabolism early in the day. You may not want to do this if you are a diabetic or if you are trying to build muscle. If your goal is to build muscle you should keep the cardio to a minimum. Interval training is a better option for those that want to increase their cardiovascular abilities, but don’t want to lose muscle. A common way to do interval training is to work hard for 1 minute (8-9/10 on RPE scale) and then take it easy for 1 minute (5-6/10 on RPE scale) and repeat this for 20 minutes. Interval training is very intense and it should only be performed 2-3 days per week. If your goal is mainly weight loss, aim for 30-60 minutes of cardio most days of the week.
The more muscle groups you incorporate into your cardio, the more calories you will burn. The best cardio machines for weight loss are the treadmill and the elliptical trainer. The elliptical trainer is especially good because it doesn’t place any extra stress on the joints. However, if your idea of cardio is sitting back on a recumbent bike and leisurely reading the paper, you had better sit there until you’ve read the entire paper!