Low Maintenance Cardio & Muscular Fitness Circuit

In one of our other blog posts titled, Three Simple Fat Loss Strategies, we suggested that you perform resistance training at least two days per week as a way of maintaining and/or building your lean muscle mass.  When seeking to add lean muscle mass, an ideal method of resistance training is lifting loads that challenge your current strength levels (i.e. you have a hard time completing the last few repetitions of each exercise because the weight is challenging to lift).

However, you won’t always have access to heavier weights to do this type of resistance training (for example, when traveling). Furthermore, in the interest of time, you might be looking for ways to combine cardio and muscular fitness training.

This blog post will provide you with a low maintenance cardio and muscular fitness circuit using only your body, your MYZONE heart rate fitness belt, and a resistance band. You can easily pack a resistance band when you travel, and it’s an easy tool to carry with you as you walk or run. The resistance band exercises in this workout will provide your muscles with a muscular endurance challenge that will help you maintain your lean muscle mass.

Cardio and Resistance Band Workout

During this workout, you will perform 2-minute walking or running intervals and integrate 10 resistance band exercises in between. If you have questions about how to perform the resistance band exercises, please tune into our Fitness Friday Broadcast on Facebook Live where we will demo the exercises.

Walking/Running Intervals: You have an option of making the walking/running intervals high (YELLOW) and moderate (GREEN) intensity, or moderate (GREEN) and low-moderate (BLUE) intensity. The interval will be 2 minutes in length with a 1 minute work phase and 1 minute active recovery phase.

Resistance Band Exercises: Perform 2 sets of 10 repetitions. If the exercise is unilateral (i.e. the lunge), perform 2 sets of 10 repetitions on each side. Your heart rate will probably be in the BLUE or GREEN Zones during these exercises.

The total time for this workout is 45 to 60 minutes (depending on how quickly you perform the resistance band exercises).

Warm Up:

Start with a walking or jogging warm up of 5 minutes in the BLUE and GREEN Zones to enhance your heart rate fitness.

Spend 3 minutes in BLUE and 2 in GREEN.

Circuit:

Perform the following cardio interval before each of the 10 resistance band exercises:

Walk/Run for 2 minutes: 1 minute in YELLOW or GREEN, 1 minute in GREEN or BLUE

After cardio, get started with the first resistance band exercise!

• Resistance Band Exercise 1: Squats 2 x 10
• Resistance Band Exercise 2: Lunge w/Bicep Curl 2 x 10 (each side)
• Resistance Band Exercise 3: Monster Walk 2 x 10 (each way)
• Resistance Band Exercise 4: Chest Press 2 x 10
• Resistance Band Exercise 5: Back Row 2 x 10
• Resistance Band Exercise 6: Lateral Shoulder Raise
• Resistance Band Exercise 7: Bicep Curls 2 x 10
• Resistance Band Exercise 8: Triceps Extension 2 x 10
• Resistance Band Exercise 9: Pallof Press 2 x 10
• Resistance Band Exercise 10: Chop from Low to High 2 x 10

Cool Down:

Walk slowly for 2 to 3 minutes until your heart rate is back in the GRAY Zone. Perform stretches for all major muscle groups you used during the workout: glutes, quads, hamstrings, calves, chest, back, shoulders. Check out our tips for static stretching here.

Share your experience with this workout on social media! Use the hashtags #effortrewarded and #myzonemoves when you post!

For more tips on how to use the MYZONE heart rate fitness monitor, follow us during Fitness Fridays on Facebook Live (subscribe on MYZONE’s Facebook Page) – 8 am PT, 11 am ET, and check out our MYZONE® Moves Podcast on iTunes or Google Play.

Keep moving forward!