To create a cardio workout, you'll need to exercise at 70 to 80 percent of your maximum heart rate and keep it there. To do this, you can decrease muscular resistance and work at a very fast pace, or you can increase resistance and work harder. The latter method helps build muscle but may fatigue you quickly if you use too much weight. Finding the right amount of weight to build muscle while working out at a high intensity for 30 minutes or more is the key to creating a muscle-building cardio workout.
Step 1
Calculate your target heart rate range for aerobic exercise. Subtract your age from 220 if you are a male, and 88 percent of your age from 206 if you are a female to get your maximum heart rate. Multiply that number by .70 and .80 to get your heart rate range for a cardio workout.
Step 2
Experiment with a variety of equipment that takes effort to lift or resist, such as dumbbells, resistance bands, kettlebells, barbells, exercise machines, home gyms or weight machines. Adjust the incline, resistance or stride length settings on machines such as treadmills or ellipticals and work out for several minutes to see which settings will allow you to maintain a workout for 30 minutes.
Step 3
Write down the various weights, settings or number of wraps of resistance bands you feel will allow you to work out in your cardio heart range for 30 minutes or longer. This will let you cross train or circuit train without stopping your workout to experiment with unfamiliar equipment or settings.
Step 4
Begin exercising with little or no weights or resistance to warm up for several minutes. Use arm and leg movements such as jogging in place or jumping jacks to raise your heart rate. This will help create better muscle contractions during your workouts, according to performance coach Brian Mac.
Step 5
Exercise at your aerobic heart rate once you are warmed up. To prevent fatigue when using exercise machines, program peaks and valleys that provide easier recovery periods every five minutes. Do this by decreasing resistance or incline on the machine. Perform sets of body-weight exercises, such as push-ups, pull-ups, squats, crunches and chair dips with only one-minute breaks in between sets to keep your heart rate in your cardio zone.
Step 6
Perform weight or resistance band exercises using proper technique, including lowering weights with your muscles, not letting gravity drop the weights and pausing in the middle of each rep. This will require more muscle stress, helping you build muscle, according to fitness author Dr. Gabe Mirkin.
Step 7
Cool down with your warm up exercises, performing them at a pace that lets you lower your heart rate. Stretch all muscles you used during the workout. This will help with post-workout recovery, prevent soreness later and improve flexibility, according to Mac.
Tips and Warnings
- Take a day off between exercises to let your muscles repair and grow larger before you stress them again. If you wish to work out on consecutive days, work on your upper body one day, then your lower body the next.
Things You'll Need
- Heart rate monitor
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