Cardio Through Lifting

Cardio through lifting is not a new concept by any means. It is just picking up the tempo of your lifts. You do that by decreasing your rest period and increasing your reps. I am sure you have heard that they say to build lean muscle you need to lift less weight and do more reps. I am not overly sure how accurate that is, I will have to do some research and post something about it later, but for now, we'll call it plausible that the statement is true.

Decreasing your rest period is probably the easiest way to burn more calories while you are lifting. If you usually rest, the time inbetween your sets, for a standard 60 seconds, then decrease it to more in the 30 to 45 second range. It allows you to spend less time lifting, increase heart rate, and increase muscle fatigue.

If you want to go the increase your reps route, then it's as simple as that, increase your reps. If you do a standard 8-10 reps then do more like 10-15 reps or more. In some or all cases you will probably have to lower your weights. In most cases you wouldn't want to decrease weight, but if you are in a leaning phase, then dropping your weight shouldn't be an issue. Lower weight will allow you to get in those extra reps you need to keep your heart rate elevated and burn those extra calories.

For the best results you should probably combine the two. Less weight with higher reps per set combined with a decreased rest period. One more thing to note, doing some circuit training is also a great way to get more of a cardio workout from lifting. The short of circuits is to do a little lighter weight but rotate through multiple lifts doing maybe a 30 second lift period for all lifts in succession. I will explain more about circuits in a later post.

I hope this little information helps and allows you to get 365 Fit. Keep it going.