Achieving a tight and toned physique is all about balance. Weightlifting without cardiovascular exercise will build muscle underneath the existing layers of fat on the body, and cardio by itself is beneficial to your heart and lungs, but does not burn fat. Think of your muscle mass as the furnace for increasing your metabolism and burning fat. Cardio fires up the furnace to burn fat. Combine weighttraining and cardio for a balance of muscle building and fat burn.
Step 1
Weight train three days per week. You can see significant improvement in your strength with just two or three 20- or 30-minute weight-training sessions a week, notes MayoClinc.com. Choose a variety of compound exercises. Compound or multi-joint exercises allow you to work several muscle groups at the same time. Performing exercises that recruit multiple muscle groups can also shorten your workout time.
Step 2
Train with heavy weights. Lifting heavy weight with lower repetitions is one of the fastest way to build muscle. Keep your repetitions to around 10 to 12. Your muscles should be failing by the last repetition.
Step 3
Add burpees to your upper body workout. Burpees work your chest, arms, back and shoulders. Start with your feet shoulder-width apart with your arms at your sides. Squat down and place your palms on the floor. Kick your feet back until you are in a push-up position. Perform one push-up. Jump, bringing your feet back to the squat position. Stand up and perform a rocket jump straight up with arms overhead. Land and repeat the movement for four sets of 10 repetitions.
Step 4
Add weighted squats to your lower body routine. Squats work your quadriceps, hamstrings, butt and calves. Place feet shoulder-width apart with dumbbells in each hand. Sit your hips back until your thighs are parallel to the floor. Keeping your weight in your heels, press yourself back up to the starting position. Repeat for four sets of 10 to 12 repetitions.
Step 5
Perform low-intensity steady state cardio after your weight-training workouts. Post-workout cardio burns more fat than cardio alone. Glycogen, or sugars in the muscles, becomes depleted after lifting weights, so your body turns to your stored fat as fuel.
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