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“No weight training for me, I’m just going to do cardio today!”

How many times have you heard something similar to that or said it yourself. I bet a lot. I hear it all of the time and have been guilty of telling people to just do cardio today instead of weights. Looking back and thinking about it, many of us have missed the boat with our “cardio day.”

Let’s break it down…honestly. Why do most people do “cardio” in the first place? To get in better condition for their daily lives? Maybe some, but most, I would venture to say do their cardio during the week to lose unwanted weight. Seriously, poll people you workout with and ask them why they would walk, jog, or do anything for more than 30 minutes at a time on a machine. Most will tell you that they are burning calories or fat…something like that. Some may be working on the fitness, trying to strengthen their heart or similar, but most are really trying to lose unwanted weight.

It has been well established that resistance training is a major key to burning fat long term. There is really no argument about this anymore. If you want to change your body and burn more fat all day long, you have to have muscle. Resistance training is a must. If you just do “cardio” you are missing the fat burning boat.

However, there is more to this, much more. There are large amounts of people out there that believe that they must have a couple of “cardio” days in-between their resistance training sessions. These people believe that it is the extra cardio that is going to burn their fat stores into nothing and ultimately help them lose weight. It is such a strong belief that I have witnessed many people choose a “cardio” day over a resistance training day if they are strapped for time, or just don’t have the energy to train with weights, for example. Here in lies the mistake of many people and trainers out there in my opinion…they somehow separate resistance training and “cardio” days into separate things. In reality, if the major goal is to burn fat, and lose weight, your resistance training should be a cardio vascular workout in addition to a muscle-building workout. Let me explain…

If your resistance training session is set up the right way, you will get a major “cardio” training session while you are pumping iron. Most of my weight loss clients comment on how their heart rate is going through the roof during their weight training sessions. More so than when they do cardio. That is an interesting observation that I think many trainers should be making one way or another. If you are trying to burn fat, you need to put on some muscle, and increase your heart rate in the …metabolism.

The next time you are strapped for time, try this workout and see how you can get the benefits of a “cardio” session while still working on your lean muscle and ramping up your fat burning machine.

1. Squats to Lunges -
   1. Perform Dumbbell Squats (light weight) for 30 seconds straight
   2. At the end of the 30 seconds, Immediately, start alternating lunges (big steps) for another 30 to 45 seconds.

1. Push ups -
   1. Either start on your feet (”regular” push up style) or on your knees, depending on you fitness level and perform a push up. Do these as best you can for 30 seconds.

1. Dumbbell Swings – While standing, Pick up a light dumbbell (10-20 pounds), and hold it in both hands. With your feet spread a little wider than shoulder width, start with the DB hanging between your legs (in both hands), knees slightly bent, and swing the DB up to face level. Knees should start slightly bent and extend (straighten out) when you bring the DB up. Make sure you control the momentum of the DB in the downswing. Perform 25 of these in a row.

1. Dumbbell Push Press – With a light set of dumbbells held in each hand, at shoulder level, bend your knees to start, and then extend them with force while “pushing or pressing” the dumbbells over your head. Do these for 30 seconds.

1. Jump Rope – Jump rope for 30 seconds straight. If you cannot jump rope, just jump in place with both feet.

Perform 2 or 3 circuits of this. Take only 15-20 seconds rest between each exercise. If you are a beginner, you may need to take more rest as the set moves along. Try to limit your rest however to get the full effect.

This article was written by Keith Scott.

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