Walking around Dedman on any day of the week, the average student might begin to notice a patter. Most of the treadmills, ellipticals and stationary bikes are used religiously by women.

On the other side of the gym, the student might also notice that the free weights and other weight machines are mostly used by packs of men.

Every so often a student might see an anomaly where a man climbs onto an open cardio machine or a brave woman jumps onto the bench press. These gym-goers might be the smartest of the bunch.

By integrating both cardio and strength training into a workout routine, the body burns more calories. This creates a more efficient workout program and can help reach long-term weight loss goals.

Most people get on a cardio machine and perform a workout at a steady rate for 20 to 40 minutes. When performing this basic cardio workout, the body expends calories as the heart rate increases past its resting rate.

But, the second somebody stops a cardio workout his or her heart rate begins to slow back down and eventually reaches its normal resting rate.

Once this happens, the body starts burning calories at its resting metabolic rate, which is the rate in which the body burns calories while it is resting.

Strength training, on the other hand, increases the body’s normal metabolic rate by building muscle. The more muscle the body has the more fuel, or calories, the body begins to burn when it is resting.

By increasing the body’s metabolic rate, long-term weight loss goals are being met because more calories are being burnt.

This means that by having a good strength training routine students can help themselves burn more calories, even when they are sitting on the couch or studying for a big exam.

One of the reasons that women do not use the free weight side of the gym is because they are afraid of gaining bulky muscles. This is a myth that seems to never go away.

If a woman works just as hard as a man, lifting the same amount of weight and spending the same amount of time in the gym, she will not be able to bulk up like a man.

This is because women have one-tenth the amount of testosterone as males. This hormone is the key ingredient in muscle building. Because of this, women put on lean muscle, which most women desire.

If women are still afraid of becoming as bulky as a body-builder, there is a simple solution.

To gain lean muscle, you can jump onto a weight machine and set its resistance a little lower than normal and complete more reps.

Lean muscle can also be built by preforming body weight exercises like squats and lunges. Just remember that because less weight it being used, the amount of reps being completed should increase.

For men that are trying to gain muscle mass, cutting out cardio is not the answer. Cardio workouts will increase the body’s metabolism and help build new, stronger muscle at a faster rate.

Cardio will also reduce the body’s fat mass, which may increase when on the high calorie diet needed to gain muscle tissue. Just keep in mind that calories burnt will need to be replenished to keep up muscles mass.

Instead of preforming cardio at a steady pace, a person trying to gain muscle mass might enjoy the results they will get from high intensity cardio like sprints. This high intensity cardio will need to be preformed for 20 minutes or more to get the body’s heart rate to the point where it burns fat.

Whether there’s a want to lose weight or gain muscle, there is always a way to include strength and cardio into a workout routine.

By being more educated in how the body works, anyone can make their workouts more efficient and affective.