How Can You Lose Weight With Cardio Exercise and Weight Training?

Cardio and strength training work the best together to get the most burn. Many people like to do either “cardio” or “weights” to build a better body, but experts agree it is better to combine the two for best results.

People will choose cardiovascular exercise because walking, running or biking seems to fit in a daily schedule easier, and this is better than doing nothing at all, but really the goal is to make both a part of your fitness program.

In a perfect world, we all would be doing both cardio and strength training in very workout we do. By so doing, we would burn the maximum number of calories possible.

Just lifting weights will certainly help build muscle mass which increases metabolism and burns calories, but doing both burns more calories and builds muscle to burn more calories in the future.

To lose weight, you need to burn more calories than you're eating, but the benefits of cardio and strength training extend beyond losing pounds. You will lower bad cholesterol and blood pressure, while boosting good cholesterol and your overall mood.

Strength training helps with injury prevention and combats two issues everyone encounters as we get older, and that is loss of both bone and muscle mass.

Strength training can be misunderstood and as a result totally avoided, even though there are many benefits.

People think they must be in a gym using weights or machines for strength training. You can use your own body weight, tubing or hand weights which can be inexpensive and effective.

You can also use a buddy for resistance.

Face a partner, placing your hands on their shoulders and have them resist while you push them across the gym floor or a school field if outdoors.

People need to do things they like, or they will not stick to it. You may have to try a few things before finding something suitable for you.

Why not try teaming up with your spouse or friend and this winter try snowshoeing, cross-country skiing for cardio and for strength use your own body weight or sign up for a gym session with a trainer? It's easier when you have a partner to be consistent,, and it will also be more fun.

Don't consider your workouts to be cardio or strength based only.

Instead, choose a full-body strength workout with short cardiovascular bursts mixed in to get the maximum effect of your workout session.

Weight Loss Basics

Change the speed of your workout regularly. For example, when doing cardio, switch between walking and running. When doing weights, do your exercises at a faster repetition speed one day and then at a super-slow speed on the next workout.

Change the length and quantity of your workouts regularly. For example, do six 30-minute workouts one week, and then do only three 1-hr workouts the next week.

Change the order of the workout. For example, don't always do your weights in the same order, switch them around every workout.

Change the type of exercises in your workout after 4-8 weeks. For example, monitor your progress in increasing weights for each exercise every workout. Once you stop improving in doing those exercises, begin a new set of exercise for the next 4-8 weeks.

Weight Training Schedule.

Day 1—Do each exercise 3 times (3 reps) and repeat 10 times (10 sets) with 20 seconds rest between sets.

Day 3—Use a fairly heavy weight and complete each exercise 6 times (6 reps) and repeat 6 times (6 sets) doing a 3-minute sprint between each weight lifting set.

Day 5—Use a weight near your maximum capability, complete each exercise only once and repeat 10 times (10 sets) with 30 seconds rest between sets.

Day 7—Use a lighter than normal weight and do each exercise 50 times (50 reps) only once with no rest in between.

Day 9—Do only one full-body exercise, such as squat & presses, and do nothing but that exercise for an intense 20 minutes.

Day 11—Do a workout based on body weight exercises such as push ups, pull-ups, chin-ups, dips, body weight squats, lunges, up and down stairs, etc.

Day 13—Do a circuit of 12 different exercises once each covering the entire body without any rest between exercises and then repeat for 20 minutes.

Day 15—Do the same circuit workout as above, but in reverse order.

Cardio Exercise Schedule

Warm-up for 3-4 minutes at a fast walk or light jog

Interval 1—run at 8.0 mi (ca. 13 km)/hr for 1 minute

Interval 2—walk at 4.0 mi (6.44 km)/hr for 1.5 minutes

Interval 3—run at 10.0 mi (ca. 16 km)/hr for 1 minute

Interval 4—walk at 4.0 mi (6.44 km)/hr for 1.5 minutes

Focusing on exercise, in most gyms today, you will no doubt find numerous pieces of cardio or aerobic apparatus—stationary cycles, recumbent cycles, treadmills, and different types of stationary stair climbing machines being the most common, and if you are brave enough to go into a gym on any given Monday, you will also probably find endless queues of members lining up at each cardio machine station, waiting their turn to “burn off” the Weekend's indulgences.

And here we have the "first “rule” of exercise-for-fat-loss—that to burn fat, requires an emphasis on endurance-type, cardio or aerobic exercise—i.e. a minimum of 20 minutes of continuous cardio activity. The “second rule” of fat burning is that we need to get into the ideal “fat burning zone"—approx 60%-70% of our MHR (Maximum Heart Rate—calculated by subtracting your age from the number 220)—and maintain this level for the duration of the cardio session.

Based on these two “rules”, most people attempting to lose weight can be forgiven for thinking that to lose more weight, they must simply extend the duration of their exercise sessions—the logic being that if 20 minutes is good…45, 60, or even 90 minutes must surely be better? The longer the session, the more fat will be lost?

However, this is precisely the WRONG thinking…thinking that may not only lead to potential overuse injuries, but may also lead to slowing down of weight loss.

Another classic misconception within the world of exercise, is separating cardio activities from resistance or weight training. Most gym trainers or exercisers see the 2 disciplines as separate entities, believing that resistance training “works the muscles” and cardio training “works the heart & lungs and burns fat”.

Hence, the typical combination of weight training and low-intensity aerobic exercise being a popular approach prescribed for losing weight. It may be a popular approach—but it is certainly not the best or most effective approach.

One Set Of Muscles—2 Different Tasks

First, we need to understand one thing. Our bodies have a single muscular system. We do not have one set of muscles for aerobic or cardio work, and another, different set for resistance training. We have a single set of muscles that we use differently.

So, although we may think that a cardio workout focuses on our heart and lungs, it is the muscles (usually the legs) that are doing the primary work (the leg muscles contracting against a relatively light resistance for an extended period).

Similarly, progressive resistance training done with sufficient intensity can place very high demands on the cardio system.

So, it is important to not separate the “cardio” and “weights” when thinking about exercise. What is significant though, is to look at the reason for exercising in the first place.

This will then dictate which approach to exercise is best and most suitable. Most people exercise to control or lose weight. Some want to get into peak physical condition, others would like to add muscle to their frames, and still others want to just maintain a good level of general fitness.

Once you have identified your exercise objectives and goals, you can then look at putting together a weekly exercise plan that meets these goals.

Purely Weight Loss

If your reason for exercising is purely to lose weight, then you need to rethink your approach completely.

The first and most important step to remember is this.....

Exercise is best used to prevent weight gain…a corrective eating plan is best used to initially lose weight.

Now, naturally there is merit in doing both at the same time, and we'll discuss how to do this shortly. However, depending on how much weight you need to lose, an exercise program may place too much stress on the body in the early stages of a weight-loss program, especially if done at the same time as dieting.

The reason for this is that the body responds to extreme physical changes as a stress. If you suddenly reduce your daily calorie intake, your body reacts as if it is under stress and “holds on” to weight the same way it would if you suddenly moved to a freezing climate.

Similarly, if you suddenly started an exercise program, the body perceives the change as a stress. It is wise then to start with a gradual corrective eating plan. Once this is in place, gradually begin an exercise program….EXCLUDING aerobic activity.

The key reason for this is that as mentioned earlier, the body reacts to dieting as a stress, and “holds on” to its fat reserves. This is why when dieters begin a diet they feel that they have lost a lot of weight, however this initial weight loss is usually water.

The body next “sacrifices” muscle tissue, burning muscle tissue and only then starts to utilize its fat reserves. By starting an exercise program with mild resistance training, you will preserve and strengthen your muscle mass, encouraging the body to utilize its fat stores.

Well-conditioned muscles are key to assisting in weight loss, as your resting metabolic rate (RMR) is largely determined by how much muscle you have. So to lose muscle will almost guarantee a slowing down of your metabolism.

The key is that the resistance program must be light initially and build progressively. Furthermore, each session must work the full-body, initially with one light set per body part with sufficient rest between each rest. When starting out, a twice a week program is best, and this can increase to three times per week as fitness improves.

Once general fitness increases, the next step is to GRADUALLY increase the intensity level of each workout by gradually increasing the weight of each exercise, and also reducing the amount of rest between each set—the exercises can remain the same.

Suggested 10 Exercise Routine:

Leg Extensions

Leg Press

Hamstring Curls

Bench Press

Lat Pull downs

Shoulder Press

Seated Row

Triceps Push downs

Biceps Curls

Stomach Crunches

When fitness and strength levels begin to improve (not sooner than 2-3 months), a cardio program can also be included in the weekly schedule to assist with fat loss, however, not the typical low-intensity/long duration aerobic approach.

The best route for cardio is to approach it as a resistance workout, and to think of “burst & rest” when doing cardio. To start off, only do a maximum of 15-20 minutes—no more than that—and alternate 2 minutes of low-intensity, with 30 secs of higher-intensity.

As your fitness gradually improves, increase the intensity and gradually reduce the lower-intensity intervals—i.e. 1 minute lower-intensity, 1 minute higher-intensity, 20-30 secs recovery.

Your total cardio session should not ever exceed 20-25 minutes, and ALWAYS increase intensity levels gradually—NEVER push yourself hard until you achieve a relatively higher level of conditioning. Regarding frequency, aim to do the cardio routine 2-3 times a week, and not on the same day as the resistance routine.

Naturally, the results of your training will be largely determined by your eating program—if you ignore your diet, the program outlined above will not produce ideal results.

General Fitness

For those who are just “out of shape” and are just keen to maintain a general level of all-round fitness, it's best to aim to make exercise sessions as multi-faceted as possible, to aim to cover most areas of fitness in a single workout.

For those looking to maintain a general level of fitness, time spent exercising should be as economical as possible—to get maximum exercise value out of each session.

Ideally, each session should include an element of cardio training, strength training and general conditioning, and should not take too long in duration.

Circuit training is the answer here—and most gyms have at least one, if not two, varieties of circuits. Circuit training—done correctly—can be a very demanding form of exercise as, by definition, it combines both resistance and cardio training aspects.

The key lies in HOW to use the circuit properly to gain maximum benefits.

Most circuits have a timer buzzer (and colored light system) that in most cases buzzes to signal when to move from one exercise station to the next. There is also a 10-15 second gap to allow for setting up/adjusting each station before the next buzzer goes to signal when to commence the set.

Most trainers tend to approach circuit training with a very low-intensity approach, taking full advantage of the time allowed between sets, and also using very light resistance on the machines

To improve general fitness levels, it is better to use challenging resistance levels, and also limit the rest period between each station. When the buzzer goes to change exercise stations, it is better to move quickly and start the set immediately, before the buzzer goes off that signals the START of the set.

Then perform the set and only react to the buzzer that signals the END of the set, again, moving swiftly to the next station and commencing immediately. Furthermore, keep resistance levels at a level that is challenging and aim to do 12-15 reps at a slow pace (rather than the usual high-rep approach associated with circuit training).

If your gym has different circuits, then alternate the circuit, but ensure that you apply the same approach to each circuit. Remember, aim to keep rest periods between exercise stations as short as possible, and use controlled form on the resistance machines, going for challenging resistance that allows a maximum of 15 reps. If you can do more reps within the allowed time, then the resistance is too light.

After doing the circuit, end off with 2 supersets of push ups & chin-ups, performing maximum reps (i.e., 1 set of push ups, immediately followed by 1 set of chin-ups—rest and then repeat), and then cool off with some light stretching.

This routine will provide a solid cardio base of general fitness and good strength levels, and will ensure an above-average level of all round conditioning.

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