Numerous studies have showed that to get any real benefit out of your low intensity cardio workout, you must carry out the activity for at least 20 minutes. To be honest, if you are doing low intensity cardio, the exercise should last at least 30 minutes for sufficient fat loss. The reason is because initially your body takes a while to get 'warmed up' to losing fat. It initially uses carbs for energy because it is efficient and instantly available, then as you continue, you utilize oxygen more and you start to burn off the fat.

If you really want to exercise for fast weight loss, you can actually increase the cardio to as high as 45 minutes or even one hour per session.

You do not want to go over the one hour per session mark though. The reason is that if you do, your muscles start to break down. And remember, you want to protect your muscles at all costs.

If you are a beginner, and can't do 30 minutes yet, start by exercising as much as you can and increase it by 5 minutes increments until you can get to 30 minutes.

If you are there thinking you are going to find it hard to find 45 minutes to 60 minutes in the day to do cardio, stick to the 30 minutes. Something is better than nothing. You might want to fit in two, 30 minute sessions a day. That will really speed up your fat loss.

So that's some more information on putting together an exercise program but, I know some of you want some more detailed information on putting together your own exercise program.

So where can you find this information?

As far as particular exercise programs go for controlled, long lasting weight loss, I recommend two programs.

Tom Venuto's "Burn The Fat" ebook is the first recommendation because apart from containing a great section on exercise (he's a natural bodybuilder and personal trainer), he also has the best overall book on weight loss - from the many I've reviewed.

If you're only interested in the exercise section, then I believe Craig Ballantyne's "Turbulence Training" is best for you. His nutrition package may not be as comprehensive as Tom's book, but his exercise section is just killer. It is the best one I've seen that's targeted for weight loss. He even covers bodyweight exercises in his course (which is using your own bodyweight to simulate weight training without the weights).