Weight Training for Cardiovasular Health

What is the key to getting our heart pumping and our blood flowing? Moving! Moving doesn't only have to happen on the the treadmill or elliptical, but can be accomplished while lifting weights! If we take a group of exercises, and do them back to back to back with minimal rest in between, we will be moving a lot! So our heart rate will be elevated at the same time that we are building muscular strength with each individual exercise.
 
This is called circuit training and it is perhaps one of the most efficient and effective exercise routines for building strength, improving cardiovascular health, and promoting weight loss. Just think… you are working fast and furiously to burn off calories, you muscles are pumping to increase strength, and the more muscles you gain, the faster your metabolism will be. And you don’t have to spend an hour of your day staring blankly at the display of a treadmill wondering why it feels as it time is frozen. During a circuit routine, flies by because you are constantly engaged, always changing directions on to a new exercise. Think of it as an obstacle course with resistance training. You have to be alert and on your game!
 
Learning how to put exercises together in a series such that you can achieve your specific fitness goals is extremely empowering. Circuits are a great way to start and at spice to your workout routine. So pick 8-10 resistance training exercises, preferably one exercise per muscle group so that you get a total body workout. Then get all of your equipment together in one spot in your house or a room in your fitness facility. And then go for it! Go through the whole circuit 3 times. If you bring some serious intensity, you are guaranteed to be just as (if not more) sweaty at the end as you would be from doing your typical treadmill or elliptical routine. The more often you do the circuit workout, the easier it will because your body eventually adapts to new challenges. In order to keep the pressure on and the gains coming, increase the number of repetitions that you do for each exercise and/or increase the level of resistance that you are using. Stay fresh and stay focused!