The Best Exercises Cardio Weight Training – Maximum Burn Fat

One of the perennial questions about exercise for weight loss (fat loss) is whether to concentrate on aerobic exercise Cardio weight or weight training and resistance exercise. Let’s settle this right up front: You should do both, concurrently, for the best outcome. Cardio doesn’t have to make you feel like a hamster on a wheel. Robert dos Remedios, C.S.C.S., head strength and conditioning coach for California’s College of the Canyons, uses fast-paced, metabolic dumbbell circuits with his clients to help them blast fat and send their fitness levels soaring—no running required.

A combination of cardio light weights makes this weighted cardio HIIT workout the perfect calorie-scorcher, muscle toner, butt-kicker. Dynamic moves perfect for the beginner or the advanced fitness buff, and a workout that can be done at home or in the gym.

And unlike slow-and-steady running, a cardio workout completed at a furious pace can speed your metabolism for hours afterward. That’s because your body uses more energy overall when training at high intensities for short clips than it does when working at a moderate intensity for longer.

Losing weight is easier said than done, and there isn’t a magic pill to take off pounds. Instead, you have to burn more calories than you take in. This involves a healthy diet, as well as a combination of cardio and strength training.

What Cardio Weight Training Can Do For You

Cardio weight training can help you burn fat and improve cardio in less time than a treadmill workout. While running is great for cardio and building lean muscle, you can get a cardio workout that’s more effective and done in less time with a couple of dumbbells. Want to know another benefit of dumbbell workouts? These strength training workouts will not only burn fat while you’re doing them, but they’ll keep your body burning fat after you workout, too! Strength training and cardio weight lifting workouts will have your body burning fat for hours after you’ve finished your workout. Another great benefit is that these dumbbell workouts can be done anywhere with little equipment and space needed.

The Key To Cardio Weight Lifting Workouts

The key to cardio weight lifting workouts with dumbbells is creating a high intensity workout with incomplete rests. High intensity and little to no rest is what creates the cardio aspect of the workout; it will get your heart rate up (and staying that way) throughout the course of your workout. And all it takes is 20-30 minutes!

You may see cardio and weights as two distinct types of exercise, but when you put them together, you have a powerful combination for fat loss success.

Kettlebell swings

This full-body, demanding workout will amp up your heart rate while increasing your arm and leg strength and helping you develop a strong core, explains Blozy.

1. Complete a two-handed kettlebell swing for 20 seconds.
2. Rest for 8 seconds.
3. Repeat 8 sets.

Blozy recommends lifting faster to boost your heart rate even more and have a more cardio-intense workout.

Weighted Stance Jack

Start with the weight held directly in front of your chest, feet in a wide second position (sumo squat), knees bent. Power up by hopping your feet together and lifting the weight overhead. Complete this movement repeatedly for 30 seconds. As a modification, omit the sumo squat in the first photo and replace with your feet out towards your sides without the bend in your knees like a jumping jack.

Curtsy Lunge

Using both hands, hold a dumbbell in front of you at chest height (hold it in close to your chest). Start by standing with your feet shoulder width apart and while keeping your core engaged, lift your right leg and cross it behind you and lower your body into a lunge. Then bring that leg up in front of you with a bent knee and hold for one second and then lower it back to standing.

Targets: Legs, glutes, hips

Goblet Squat

Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, toes point­ed forward. Hold a dumbbell vertically against your chest with both hands, cupping the dumbbell head like a goblet. Squat deeply, keeping your knees out, back flat, chest up, and heels on the floor. Pause, and then push back to the starting position. Do 10 reps.

Dumbbell Skier Swing

Grab a pair of dumbbells and hold them at arm’s length in front of your chest. Your feet should be hip-width apart and knees slightly bent. Without rounding your lower back, bend at your hips and simultaneously swing your arms backward. Explosively thrust your hips forward and raise your torso until you’re standing upright, letting your momentum swing the weights up to chest level. Swing back and forth for 10 reps.

Deadlifts

Deadlifts place a big emphasis on your lower body, including your glutes, quads, and hamstrings, resulting in strong and dense legs. Adding deadlifts to your training plan will take your leg strength to another level. One study found that subjects who did deadlifts twice per week for 10 weeks increased their rapid torque capacities in their knee extensors and flexors (aka quads and hamstrings), increasing their vertical jump.

Side Plank Burpees

Place one weight on the floor. Start by executing a traditional burpee by placing your hands on the ground (directly under your shoulders) and jump your feet out into a plank position. Grab the weight with your right hand as you lift it overhead and shift your bodyweight to your left arm, executing a side plank (feet still staggered). Gently bring the weight back down to the ground and jump your feet back in towards your chest. Finish by jumping as high as you can, arms overhead. Complete this movement repeatedly for 30 seconds.

Lateral Raises

Lateral raises have been a staple movement for bodybuilders looking to add quality shoulder size and width to their frames, and rightfully so. The lateral raise is one of the few movements that can hit all heads of the deltoid, based on the slightest of angles taken during the lateral raise. Increasing shoulder size and growth (hypertrophy) is key to any strength, power, and fitness athlete as it allows the newly built muscle fibers to learn skills like force production, movement integrity, and how to contribute greater amounts of work to bigger lifts like presses and gymnastic movements.

Start standing with a dumbbell in each hand and by your sides (palms facing in). Leaning forward a few degrees, raise the weights straight out to either side (your body will form a “T” shape) and slowly lower your arms back down. Be sure to raise your arms at the same speed and at the same time. Repeat this on your other side.

Dumbbell Squat Press

Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Hold dumbbells in front of you, your arms bent 90 degrees and palms facing each other. Squat until your thighs are just past parallel to the floor. As you stand back up, press the weights above your head, then bring them back to the start position. Do 10 reps.

Back Lunge Bicep Curl

Start in a standing position, weights rested in front of your thighs, palms facing up. Step your right foot behind your body executing a back lunge as you bend your left knee into a 90 degree angle. As you step back, simultaneously bring the weights in toward your shoulders, executing a bicep curl. Complete this movement repeatedly for 30 seconds.

Pushup and Row

Place a pair of hex dumbbells on the floor and set yourself in pushup position. Perform a pushup, but once you return to the starting position, row the dumbbell in your right hand to the side of your chest. Lower the dumbbell and repeat with your left arm. That’s 1 rep. Do 10.

Pushup can be combined with many exercises to give a unique combination of movement, which works more effectively on your body. Row renegade is one such cardio weight exercise which has been quite popular among fitness fanatics. It offers a wide range of benefits that includes back strength, core stability, and total fitness workout.

Fly Taps

Take the weight with your right hand, slight bend in your elbows and reaching slightly across your body. Your bodyweight should be distributed on your left leg, with your right toe tapped near the instep of your left foot, leaning forward slightly with your upper body. Next, tap your right toe out to the side as you lift the weight out to the side, directly in line with your shoulder. Bring the weight and foot back in to the midline of your body. Complete this movement repeatedly for 30 seconds.

Sumo Squat Forward Shoulder Press

Grab both weights and bring them to your hips (palms up). Start with your feet apart and bend your knees to bring yourself to a sumo squat position. Extend your right arm out and slightly across your body, weight directly in front of your left shoulder and elbow slightly bent. Next, extend your legs and bring your right weight back in towards your hips. Bend back in to the sumo squat position and extend your left arm simultaneously. Complete this movement repeatedly for 30 seconds.

As you progress, you can use a dumbbell held lengthwise or a kettlebell. Hold with 2 hands while extending your arms long, letting it hang down the center of your body. Be careful not to increase your weight on this movement too fast. With the feet in this position, it’s wise to start conservative with your weight choice and slowly increase resistance.