Cardio & Weight Training For Women

Cardio (aerobic exercises like jogging or cycling) and weight training (exercises focused on building muscle strength and size) should both be a regular part of most women's exercise regimens. Despite the myriad of health benefits associated with weight training, from lowering blood pressure to warding off arthritis, women often avoid strength training, many out of a fear of adding too many muscles to their frame. By combining strength training and cardio in your workout routine, you can strengthen and tone your muscles, as well as improve your cardiovascular fitness.

Significance

Women need to combine aerobic activity, like brisk walking or jogging, with strength training for total body fitness, according to the American College of Sports Medicine. The college urges both men and women to do moderate-intensity cardio 30 minutes a day, five days a week or vigorous-intensity cardio for 20 minutes a day, three days a week -- as well as eight to 12 repetitions of eight to ten strength-training exercises, twice a week.

Benefits

Weight training, coupled with cardio, can complement your weight loss program by helping you burn more fat. Although cardio increases your metabolism while you exercise, this increase often disappears as soon as you stop. Incorporating weight training into your workout, states Wayne Westcott, Ph.D., director of research at the South Shore YMCA in Quincy, Massachusetts, in an article on the "Women's Health" magazine website, can boost your metabolism for up to an hour after you finish exercising.

Considerations

Coupling weight training with cardio can help you lose fat and develop muscle. MayoClinic.com cautions that aging can cause you to lose muscle. Failing to replace the lean muscle can cause your body composition to shift to more fat than muscle. Weight training can help counteract these effects and help you build new muscle. Since muscle takes more energy to sustain than fat, Westcott reports that you can burn an extra 120 calories for each 3 lbs. of muscles gained -- by doing nothing at all.

Misconceptions

Many women avoid weight training in a mistaken belief they will end up bulking up like a pro wrestler. ACSM provides reassurance that the estrogen and other hormones in women's bodies make it difficult for them to build these types of large, bulky muscles. In fact, William Kraemer, PhD, a professor of kinesiology at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, tells "Fitness" magazine that combining cardio with strength training will only help women look leaner as they gain strength.

Potential

Women who want to add strength training to their cardio routines, but don't want to lift dumbbells or use strength-training machines can use non-traditional approaches to build lean muscle. Many gyms and fitness centers offer sculpting classes, which combine cardio with light weight lifting to introduce the principle theories behind strength training. You can also use resistance bands and medicine balls at home to help strengthen and build muscles.