Full body cardio-strength training for better fat burning | For women

Today we will look at a full body cardio workout, where our main goal will be to burn fat, using lightweight one-arms to increase the load and also to increase the overall energy expenditure. This workout plan is classified as a cardiovascular workout, also known as aerobic exercise, which increases heart rate, breathing and promotes burning. In general, for fast fat burning, you need to perform prolonged exercise at about 60% of your maximum heart rate ➜ For how to calculate your heart rate for fat burning and your maximum heart rate, see the conclusion at the end of this article.

So for this exercise you only need one-handed dumbbells and you can work out at home, outdoors or in the gym.

So what are the benefits of cardio-strength exercise?

• Effective calorie burning: the combination of cardiovascular exercise and strength exercises increases the intensity of the workout, leading to higher calorie burn in less time. This is ideal for those who have limited time to exercise.
• Improving cardiovascular health: It improves cardiac performance and the vascular system, while strength training strengthens the heart as a muscle and improves blood flow.
• Muscle growth: allows for stimulation of muscle growth. This is important not only for aesthetic appearance but also for the body's metabolism and functionality.
• Improving stamina and strength: It strengthens muscular endurance and increases overall physical strength, which can manifest in all aspects of life.
• Variety and fun: It offers a diverse range of exercises and options, which keeps the workout interesting and motivating.

Now let's look at the exercises. The training plan contains 10 effective exercises to strengthen and burn at the same time. Each exercise is performed for 45 seconds followed by a 15 second break between exercises. After working out the first set of all the exercises, there is a 1-2 minute break and we move on to the next set. In total we will do 3 sets.

Training plan

1) High knees + box

Jumping in place from one leg to the other, trying to lift the knees to about the point where the thigh and calf are at roughly right angles. In doing so, we box by lifting the leg with each exhale, with the opposite side of the arm going forward into extension. We keep our abdominal muscles slightly contracted at all times and breathe regularly.

2) Click + pull-up on the back

For this exercise, we can choose either a men's or women's push-up. So we are in a push-up position with the inhale we go to the ground and with the exhale up we do a back pull with one hand, then we do the push-up again and the back pull with the other hand. We try to keep a solid center the whole time, not bending at the hips and not pulling the hips sideways at the top.

3) Sit-lie + English

This exercise is one of the more difficult ones, but we can definitely do it together. Start lying down with legs bent, dumbbells in hands in front of chest. With an exhale, rise to a seated position and straight away do an English lunge with an inhale, laying completely on the floor on your stomach and rising with an exhale and a jump back to a seated position and then back to the starting position with an inhale

4) Squat with jump

Place your feet so that you have a wide stance, i.e. shoulder width apart, hold the dumbbells in your hands and be slightly bent over the whole time. With an exhale we do a lunge and with an inhale we go into a squat position. We try not to put our knees in and keep our center tight.

5) Romanian deadlift + lunge

Start standing with a slight forward bend, keeping your shoulder blades together and shoulders back and down, keeping your center of body activated. Slight bend in the knees, one leg is more behind and we always focus on the leg that is in front, trying not to lift the heel, rather trying to push more into it. The first thing we do is a Romanian deadlift, where we have the dumbbells in front of us, with an exhale we go up, and right after that we go into a lunge position, where we touch the mat with our knee and with an exhale we go back up to the starting position. We alternate exercises like this, doing one leg for the first 45 seconds and then the other for 45 seconds.

6) Jumping into a lunge

For this exercise it is important to maintain balance. Keep your whole body braced and jump from the incline lunge to the incline lunge with an exhale. To save the knees, land lightly and try to keep the knee behind the toe.

7) Forward lunge + biceps raise

Legs are hip width apart, keep your knees relaxed, don't bend them in the top position, with an inhale we go into a lunge, where we try not to lift the heel again, rather push into it, and in this lower position we do a biceps curl, with an exhale we go back to the starting position, and do the same on the other leg. So we switch legs and we do our 45 seconds.

8) Climber

You must know this exercise from my workouts, it's one of my favourite exercises where we can train both the middle and the whole body with different variations. So here we go into a one-arm stand and put the leg in a bent position with an exhale underneath us, going towards the opposite side, so in a cross the left leg goes to the right arm and vice versa. We keep our centre tight, our breathing regular, we don't rotate our hips and we are always straight, we don't drop our hips or have our butt too high. So we alternate legs and do the exercise for 45 seconds.

9) Clubhouse

Lie on your back, more precisely on your shoulder blades, with your head above the mat, legs bent upwards and pulled towards the middle of your body, one hand in your hands and your arms behind your legs. With a breath, we put the legs almost in extension and the arms go in an outstretched arc around the body to behind the head. With an exhale we go back to the starting position. We make sure we don't lift our hips off the mat and concentrate fully on performing the exercise.

10) Jumping + forearm

The last exercise is performed standing, where you jump with your legs apart while lifting your arms in front of you and back along your body. So, with an exhale, we jump into a wide stance while lifting our arms almost extended in front of us, and with an inhale, we go into a narrower stance and the arms go down towards the body. Again, we keep a tight centre, trying to breathe regularly and keep the pace.

Cardio-strength training is therefore a great way to combine the benefits of cardiovascular exercise and strength training into one comprehensive and effective regime. This method is suitable for people of different age groups and fitness levels. If you are looking for a fun and effective way to improve your fitness, strengthen your muscles and promote health, this type of exercise could be just the thing for you.

Heart Rate Formula:

How do you calculate your reducing aerobic band?
Formula for women: 226 - age x 0.6 and 226 - age x 0.7
Formula for men: 220 - age (0.6 and 0.7)
Two numbers come out, so the reduction band is the midpoint of the two resulting numbers.

How do you calculate your maximum heart rate?

Calculate the maximum heart rate for women 226 - age and for men 220 - age.