Introduction
One of the biggest myths in the fitness industry is that strength training and cardiovascular training are two completely different things. In fact, those workouts that include both types of training can be shown to provide additional overall fitness benefits and numerous health rewards, while making the exercise regime more varied and enjoyable. In this article, I will give five tips to help you maximize the use of strength and cardio workouts in a perfect fitness program.
1. Understand the benefits
The first thing to know as you prepare to incorporate both strength and cardio training workouts is knowing more about each of them separately and how they relate to each other.
Strength training also called resistance or weight training involves efforts to develop muscle hypertrophy, the enhancement of bone density and joint strength. Most of these exercises are usually designed to target only certain muscles while others assist in building strength, power and endurance. Incorporation of strength training increases metabolism, increases the number of calories that can be burnt even when you are idle and leads to development of beautiful muscles.
Conversely, cardiovascular exercise that is often referred to as cardio is activities that help enhance the heart and respiratory system. Some of the cardio exercises include; jogging, biking, swimming and power walking among others. The general gains of cardio are enhanced heart and lungs, proper weight loss or maintenance, and lowered probability of deadly diseases such as heart diseases, hypertension, and diabetes type 2.
To get a total-body workout and to make the most of your exercising regime you have to practice strength and cardio exercises. Strength training assists you in your efforts to acquire lean body tissue hence assists in modifying your metabolism, cardio training assists in increasing your cardio endurance and total stamina.
2. Make sure your workout plans are well choreographed in order to avoid extreme workouts for a long time without rest.
The organization of the workout, therefore, should consider the right proportions of the strength and cardio exercises in order to satisfy the right proportion of training time. A daily regimen of training might include three or four strength training sessions with two or three cardio sessions in between.
Another thing to consider is that muscles need time to grow, so if the workout routine is too intense, the results will be slowed, and there is a high chance of repeating an injury. An example of a proper weekly timetable could be: three strength workouts – upper body and lower body and full body – and two or three cardio sessions – high-intensity interval training, steady-state cardio or sports-related activities.
Introduce also that the training plan should include rest and recovery as key stages in the process. Muscles require time to build and recover after strength exercising and thus it is advisable to wait for at least 48 hours before working out on the same muscles. In other words, if you are targeting leg muscles during particular training session you should not target them again for at least 2 days.
3. Increase efficiency of the workouts and combine the two modalities
Laura suggests that to get the most out of the strength and cardio training programs, a person should perform both in one session. This is popular known as ‘circuit training’ and can actually be time efficient and provide a total body workout.
In Circuit training you go through a set of strength and cardio exercises for a fixed number of repetitions or circuits and then switch to the next exercise or station. This approach lets you take your body to the limit, build your stamina and keep your heart rate rate up while exercising.
An example of a circuit training exercises like:
- Squats (strength)
- Jumping jacks (cardio)
- Bench press (strength)
- Burpees (cardio)
- Lunges (strength)
- High knees (cardio)
Each of the following exercises should be done for 30 seconds to 1 minute with little to no rest between sets. The client then continues moving from one exercise to the next until all the exercises within the circuit have been completed; the individual is required to rest for about 60-90 seconds before they perform the circuit two to three more times.
Secondly, one could also include both strength and cardio by performing what are referred to “compound movements” during strength training. Complex movements involve a number of joints thus work several muscles at once and may or may not include a cardiovascular activity. Some examples of compound movements are; pull, deadlifts, squats, as well as push. Of course, all of these exercises engage several muscles and increase the pulse making it possible to have both strength and cardio exercises in one.
4. Employ suitability in exercise and diet and Last but not the least stay well hydrated.
Programing does not just involve the combination of strength training and cardio vascular exercises. Still, to achieve the best effect, you had better focus on nutrition and your water intake.
Eating the right foods and supplements is crucial to provide energy for your training and in the process of muscle repair and build up. Proper nutrients such as proteins, carbohydrates, and fats needed by the body to support your activities will be provided through the right into of foods. Besides, the right coordination of meals will go a long way in determining the outcome of your workouts and the rate of your body’s recovery system. For instance, while in the gym, the type of food one eats, such as carbohydrates and lean proteins are perfect sources of energy for strength and cardio.
Another very important factor when integrating strength and cardio work is the issue of taking liquids. Maintaining water intake during exercise and other activities assures temperature regulation, nutrient transportation as well as joint friction. However, it is important to increase this minimum fluid intake, especially and after exercise to about 2-2.4 liters or 8-10 cups daily.
5. It’s essential that you watch out for your progress and adapt to the workouts you set.
The last advice one should take into account when trying to integrate strength and cardio into training is to track progress and modify if necessary. Maintain record in terms of the intensity of exercise, length of the training session and other aspects such as increase in strength or frequency. You can achieve this by using a fitness diary or an application that is used to maintain records on the routines and exercises.
You can determine which tasks you are good at in your job and which ones you are lacking in doing them effectively. For example, if, in strength training, you realize that the progress has stagnated, you should add more weight or change the sets to take on the weaker muscles.
If you discover that you have hit a plateau in your cardio you should try changing your cardio routines, increasing the frequency of the cardio sessions, or the intensity at which you exercise.
Thus, it can be stated that both strength and cardio training may produce the improvements that are necessary for health enhancement and training effectiveness. That is exactly where the five essential benefits come: Understanding the benefits, developing a balanced workout schedule, optimizing your workouts, Nutrition and Hydration, monitoring your progress – A system that will be tailor made just for you. So make sure to be consistent, be patient and have fun while you fit in everything that you have planned for you to help you achieve the fitness goals that you have set.
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