Look, we get it: lots of guys hate cardio.
We try to stay as exercise-neutral as possible here at Men's Health, since we really just want you to get up and moving to stay healthy and happy. But we've shared some perspectives that weren't particularly complimentary of cardio workouts and training in the past. There's certainly some justification to these views—they're not all just weight room bro science bluster, and actually enjoying your workout of choice is important—but ultimately, if you want a truly balanced fitness regimen, you're going to need cardio. No matter how much you despise the thought of it, you're going to need to get that system going.
And if you're working out to lose weight, cardio is even more important than just having a balance to your life. A study published in BMC Public Health found that people who were overweight and obese had more success in a 12-week program exercise program that consisted of both cardio and weight training than people who performed only cardio or only weight training protocols. Participants who used both exercise modalities together lost more body fat—including unhealthy belly fat, a.k.a. visceral fat, which puts you at risk of a long list of health problems—than the other participants.