Cardio - What do you do?

I'm no expert at things, so I won't offer advice, but I can tell you what I do and why.

M, W, F - Stronglifts (barbell lifting program)
I alternate between two different workouts:

• A: Squats, OHP, Deadlift, Chin Ups
• B: Squats, Bench Press, Barbell Rows, Dips

I was originally just following the Android Apps' weight increase recommendation, but I have found that I've exhausted my "noob gains" period and my cut is now impacting my strength gains. So I'm now focusing more on form and making sure I'm doing the lifts correctly and only increasing the weight by 5lbs across the board every week.

Why I do this:
I like lifting, for one. It's like therapy, but I much more cathartic. It also is helping me develop my muscles. If you're looking to "tone" or look good when naked, weight lifting is necessary. As a woman, lifting doesn't make you look huge - I'm a short little lady and all it's done for me is get rid of arm flab and make my back look lovely. It's also helped with back pain and has drastically improved my speed and agility at karate, my sport of choice.

I plan to transition to kettlebell or bodyweight centric work outs once I reach my barbell lifting goals and reduce my barbell lifting to once a week. This is more so to see how other methods of training impact my performance at karate to see if there's a method that works better for me.

T, Thu - HIIT Cardio
I'm working through an 8 week HIIT progression that will take me from 60:15 second rest:work intervals to 15:30 intervals. I use the Stationary Bike (one of the ones with manual resistance - not one with a screen) because it's easier on my knee (Runner's Knee and Jumper's Knee in the right) and easier to switch intervals quickly. It also has more of a low-body position which uses similar muscle groups to the stance I take while sparring.

Depending on how my body feels or how rushed my morning is, I will sometimes throw in a Kettlebell Tabata routine. This is just clipped out of a magazine, so I don't really think it's that effective, but I like how the routine forces me to be conscious of my form and movements. Kettlebells are also similar to a traditional karate training tool, so I want to try using them more.

Why I do this:
Sparring for me is a lot of waiting and waiting, then a flurry of activity and chasing, then more waiting. It's 2 or more minutes of constant readiness and batting at the other person like a cat on crack. HIIT helps with recovery after bursts of activity and the use of a stationary bike helps me work on leg endurance in a low position. I've only just started this and I haven't had a chance to do extensive sparring in a while, so I'm not sure if this will pay off.

On the other hand, I like having a 30 minute work out that totally torches me.

But to answer the last question, my favourite form of cardio is endurance running with a podcast or Zombies, Run! playing in my headphones. There's just something great about letting the world run past and going for a good long run. I injured my knee a year and a half ago and have only just been able to start running long distances again and I love it even more now.

While on your bike why don't you try standing under as well as sitting down and also doing some jumps (where you stand up and sit down straight away, repeatedly over and over). Also if you want to increase your core strength, try cycling with your hands on your hips or behind your back.

You're doing everything right. Cardio followed by strength training, just remember, if you want tone, it's lower weights with higher reps. If you want to bulk up, it's higher weights with low reps.

So I would say, maybe try increasing the reps. Each day try and push yourself a little more by adding one of two more reps.
Hope this helps some x

Do a full body compound movement based strength program 3x a week. Then do your bike routine afterwards. And maybe 1 day instead of intervals do a steady state medium intensity bike day.