Only strength training is good; combining strength and cardio is fine, but performing aerobic and resistance training on alternate days is best for shaping your physique and enhancing your overall fitness.
Alternating weight and cardio workouts allows you to focus on building muscle on one day and enhancing your cardiovascular fitness on the other. However, you need a well-designed workout plan to achieve to reap the benefits of both.
In this article, I’ve shared an ultimate, easy-to-follow, and effective six-day split that involves performing 3 day weights and 3 day cardio training.
Anyone who is looking for a split like this should try this program for a few months. I believe you’ll see some progress over time.
Program Summary and Description
| Split Type | Cardio and Strength Workout Split |
| Strength Routine Type | Upper and Lower Split |
| Cardio Type | Low-impact, Moderate Intensity, and HIIT |
| Sessions/week | Six with one full day rest. |
| Program Goal | Improve Muscularity, Build Strength, and Enhance Cardiovascular Fitness |
| Target Gender | Male and Female Both |
| Workout Difficulty | Intermediate (Moderate) |
| Suggested Duration | 12-16 Weeks |
Cardio Days: In this program, you’ll do low-impact aerobic exercises on day one, medium-intensity interval training (MIIT) workout on day three, and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) on day five.
Resistance Training Days: It includes training chest and arms on day two, legs and glutes on day four, and back and shoulder on day six. You can shuffle this order according to your need.
Intensity (MHR) for Cardio Training: 40-60 percent for light cardio, 60-80 for MIIT, and 80-95 percent for HIIT. You can calculate your maximum heart rate (MHR) by subtracting your age from 220.
Rep Ranges for Strength Training: You can perform 10-20 reps per set. I’ve mentioned sets and reps for each exercise, so make sure you lift weights accordingly. For example, you should increase the load when the number of reps goes down.
3 Day Weights 3 Day Cardio Split to Become Strong and Aesthetic
- Day 1 – Low-Impact Cardio
- Day 2 – Chest and Arms
- Day 3 – Moderate Intensity Cardio
- Day 4 – Legs and Glutes
- Day 5 – High-Intensity Interval Training
- Day 6 – Back and Shoulder
- Day 7 – OFF (you can take a steam or ice bath for recovery)
Warm-up: Perform dynamic stretches and a few isolation exercises with light weights to activate your muscles before starting your main cardio and lifting exercises. For example, you can do bomber push-ups, leg swings, cat-cow stretches, the world’s greatest stretch, arms swings, and some lifting exercises for warming up.
Day 1 – Low-Impact Cardio
| Exercise | Activity | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Treadmill | 15 minutes at 40-60% of your MHR | 2-minute |
| Stationary Bike | 10 minutes at 50-60% of your MHR | 2-minute |
| Elliptical Trainer | 5 minutes at 50-60% of your MHR | 2-minute |
| Jumping Rope | 5 minutes at 50-60% of your MHR | 2-minute |
| Bodyweight Cardio | 15-20 minutes | – |
Day 2 – Chest and Arms
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Incline Bench Press | 3 | 15, 12, 10 |
| Seated Pec Deck Fly | 3 | 20, 16, 12 |
| High-to-Low Cable Fly | 3 | 15, 12, 10 |
| Triceps Press Down | 3 | 15-20 |
| 1-arm Overhead Triceps Extension | 3 | 15-20 |
| Cable/Barbell Biceps Curl | 2 | 15-20 |
| Concentration/Hammer Curl | 2 | 15-20 |
| Reverse Barbell Curl | 2 | 12-15 |
Day 3 – Moderate Intensity Cardio
| Exercise | Activity | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Treadmill | 10 minutes at 60-80% of your MHR | 2-minute |
| Stationary Bike | 5 minutes at 60-70% of your MHR | 2-minute |
| Rowing Machine | 5 minutes at 60-80% of your MHR | 2-minute |
| Battle Rope | 5 minutes at 70-80% of your MHR | 2-minute |
| Burpees | 3 sets x 10 reps | 1-minute |
| Kettlebell Swings | 2 sets x 20 reps | 1-minute |
| Barbell Thruster | 2 sets x 15 reps | 1-minute |
| Abs Workout | 15 minutes | – |
Day 4 – Legs and Glutes
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Walking DB Lunges | 2 | 10/leg |
| DB Front Squat | 3 | 20, 15, 10 |
| Leg Extension | 3 | 20, 16, 12 |
| Machine Leg Press | 3 | 15, 12, 10 |
| Machine Leg Curl | 4 | 20, 16, 12, 10 |
| Hip Thrust/Step-up | 3 | 15, 12, 10 |
| Calf Raises | 3 | 20-25 |
Day 5 – High-Intensity Interval Training
| Exercise | Activity | Rest |
|---|---|---|
| Treadmill | 30-second run @80-95% followed by a 45-second break x 6 | 2-minute |
| Battle Rope | 20-second swing @80-95% followed by a 40-second break x 5 | 2-minute |
| Bicycling | 20-second swing @80-95% followed by a 40-second break x 5 | 2-minute |
| Core Workout | 15-minute core exercises at high-intensity | – |
Day 6 – Back and Shoulder
| Exercise | Sets | Reps |
|---|---|---|
| Pull-ups | 3 | Till failure |
| Front Lat Pull-down | 2 | 12-15 |
| Close Grip Lat Pull-down | 2 | 12-15 |
| Seated Cable/Machine Row | 3 | 12-15 |
| Single-arm DB Row | 2 | 10/arm |
| Overhead Press | 3 | 10-12 |
| Side Delt Raises | 3 | 12-15 |
| Rear Delt Flyes | 3 | 12-15 |
| Shoulder Shrug | 3 | 12-15 |
The Alternating Cardio and Strength Training PDF
The Bottom Line
Resistance training helps build strength and mass, while aerobic workouts promote cardiovascular fitness and body composition, and doing them both helps yield better results than doing either one only when it comes to enhancing overall fitness.1 Ho, S. S., Dhaliwal, S. S., Hills, A. P., & Pal, S. (2012). The effect of 12 weeks of aerobic, resistance, or combination exercise training on cardiovascular risk factors in the overweight and obese in a randomized trial. BMC Public Health, 12, 704. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-12-704
The best way to utilize the benefits of cardio and strength training is to do them on alternate days.
Alternating cardio and resistance training allows you to focus on building muscle on one day and improving your cardiovascular fitness on the other.
In this article, I showed you how to design a cardio and strength training split so you can utilize both workouts effectively.
You can also download the program I’ve uploaded above, make changes if needed, and use it for a few months.
References
- 1Ho, S. S., Dhaliwal, S. S., Hills, A. P., & Pal, S. (2012). The effect of 12 weeks of aerobic, resistance, or combination exercise training on cardiovascular risk factors in the overweight and obese in a randomized trial. BMC Public Health, 12, 704. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-12-704
