As you begin your fat loss program, one thing that you’ll want to take into consideration is the form of cardio workouts you’re doing on a daily basis. While controlling your diet is going to be the most important strategy for producing weight loss, making sure that you’re burning off calories through regular physical activity is just as important.

We get months of cold weather in Edmonton, so it makes sense that you’ll want to take your cardio training outdoors to make it more interesting and stay engaged. With the clear blue Alberta skies filled with plenty of sunlight, slap on some sunscreen and grab a good pair of sunglasses and try some of these top outdoor cardio strategies.

Rollerblading

Rollerblading is a form of exercise that many people enjoy and when done intensely enough, can burn off just as many calories as running.

Focus on crouching as low down to the ground as possible. This will activate the quads to a higher degree while also engaging the hamstrings.

Tennis

Another form of cardio that you’ll want to consider is tennis. Tennis is great for those who prefer not to do their cardio alone and want to make a game out of it.

Since you’re constantly stopping and starting during a game of tennis, this activity will help spike up your metabolism. Just make sure you have a good pair of shoes and get active.

Hiking

There are a lot of great hiking trails in the River Valley and other areas of the city. But if you can get away somewhere scenic on the weekend and go for a good 2 hour hike, you can easily burn up to 1000 calories.

Hiking is excellent for increasing your lower body strength since it targets the glutes, quads, and hamstrings.

Swimming

Swimming is great since it’s a full body workout and will hit both the upper and lower body muscles.

Swimming can also be a good calorie burner when you go at an intense enough pace, so is perfect for those seeking fast fat loss.

To maximize the benefits you get from swimming sessions, alternate between the different strokes so that you work the muscles in a number of different ways.