Five Tips for a Balanced Cardio and Strength Training for Women

Working inside the home or out, life is busy for all women; and it can be hard to find time to work out, let alone time to work out multiple times a week. However, that is exactly what you have to do if you want to create a balanced cardio and strength-training workout. The idea behind a balanced workout is that cardio will allow you to whittle away the inches (and melt away the pounds), while strength training will give you the definition that your newly toned body deserves. With a minimum of just 30 minutes a day, five days a week, you can add cardio and strength training to your daily routine and improve your quality of life overall.

Tip #1: Start and end your week with a walk or a run.

On average, women should allow three of your five days of exercise to be cardio. Since you will want to alternate your cardio workouts with your strength training ones, it is a good idea to do your cardio on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. For the first week or two, stick to just the cardio. Once you get into the routine of that, you will be better equipped to add your strength training.

For many women, the weekends are just as busy (if not more so) that the weekdays, so it is a good idea to coordinate your workout routine with your daily "work" schedule. Then, if you miss a day you have the weekend to make it up, regardless of whether it is cardio or strength training. Never feel bad about missing a day. Life happens! As long as you do not let it break your habit you will be fine.

Tip #2: Pull out the weights.

Once you have added your cardio workout to your daily to-do list (and you feel comfortable with it) you are ready to include strength training on Tuesday and Thursday into your routine. To begin, you will want to use five to ten pound weights. If five is too much for you in the beginning, feel free to try three pound weights with the goal of increasing to five pounds by the end of the month. If you already feel that a ten pound weight is not challenging enough, you can move up to twelve pounds. However, once you reach twelve pounds it is better to increase your reps or sets instead of adding more weight.

In general, most workouts will include two sets of 10-15 reps. The number of reps you complete per set will depend on how you feel during your strength training. If you barely feel a struggle you should add reps or increase your weight.

Tip #3: Gauge your level of intensity as you go.

Some people believe that just getting a cardio workout in will help you get fit. While that is true, women should always strive to increase their level of intensity during a cardio routine. If you continue to push your self during your workouts, you will increase your speed, endurance, and the amount of calories that you burn.

There are two ways women can gauge their level of intensity during a cardio workout. First, you can run in intervals during your daily routine, which can allow you to run at higher levels of intensity for short periods of time. Secondly, you can run at the same speed on multiple workouts, increasing your speed and distance each week.

Tip #4: Utilize a strength training routine that works multiple trouble spots at a time.

Strength training is a great way to increase your definition once you start to melt away those extra layers. However, we all know that women have busy schedules and the idea of combining strength training exercises makes staying with the routine even more doable.

For example, while doing squats, add bicep curls with weights. With this exercise women will work the lower body, the biceps, and the core (through stability). If you can include the lower body and the upper body in your strength training exercises you will effectively tone more of your body in less time.

Tip #5: Find a cardio companion.

The best way to make yourself run is if you have someone to go with you. This someone could be your husband, your dog, your best friend, or a woman from work. When you hold someone accountable or someone holds you accountable for working out you are more likely to stay with it. In addition, it is always nice to have someone else to push you harder or to talk to while you exercise. Regardless of your reason, a cardio companion is always a great idea.

Listen, women! Balancing a cardio and strength training routine is not difficult. But it does take time, determination, and work. Without the effort you will not get results. Monday through Friday you CAN dedicate thirty minutes (or more) of exercise time for yourself.