Why Both Cardio and Strength Training Are Important
I was on both sides of the fence. As a runner, I wouldn’t lift weights or do any targeted strength training for months, because who has the time? And in my more recent life as a lifter, I would join in the jokes about over ten reps – cardio, har, har, dick. But here’s the truth: we all need strength training and real cardio.
I think it’s easy to focus on one type of exercise because we find it interesting or comfortable. Then when we feel that we have enough problems, there is no need to look further, right? I am already an athlete , I remember thinking during both extreme phases. But both times I was missing something.
What strength training does for you
It’s clear that strength training makes you stronger. This means you can lift weights better, but it also means building up your strength reserves to do better in other sports – like strong legs that help you run up hills. It also means you’ll get stronger in your day-to-day life, and housework like carrying groceries or clearing snow will be easier.
Strength training can mean lifting weights, but it can also include other types of resistance training. This is called “resistance” because you are literally pushing some kind of force. Maybe you are working with dumbbells or resistance bands , or maybe you are building strength to resist your own body, like in push-ups or air squats.
Our muscle mass decreases with age, but the more muscle you have, the better it will be. (There is no such thing as being “too old” to exercise, and in fact, the older you are, the more important this is.) The loss of muscle mass, called sarcopenia , increases the likelihood of falls and fractures. Exercise slows down and can possibly reverse this loss.
Strength training also promotes bone health and joint flexibility. People who do strength training also have better balance and can control their weight more easily.
What Cardio Does For You
Cardiovascular exercise includes sustained endurance work such as jogging, as well as interval training, when you work out and rest a lot. Ideally, you should do both, as each has slightly different benefits.
As the name suggests, cardio is good for heart health . Regular cardio workouts can help lower blood pressure, lower bad cholesterol, and raise good cholesterol. This can help you maintain a healthy weight as burning more calories gives you a little more room for the extra calories you might want to consume. Both cardio and strength training increase your insulin sensitivity , which is especially important if you have type 2 diabetes or if you are pre-diabetic .
Apart from these benefits, it also helps in other activities you do. Better cardio will help you recover faster between sets of weight lifting and will make it easier for you to perform daily activities such as gardening. You can also get more enjoyment if you end up doing exercise for fun, like going on a hike or walking around a new city while traveling.
How long will it last?
Many of the benefits of cardio and strength training are reciprocal, and there are definitely activities that combine both. (If you, for example, do CrossFit or train in a strongman, you may well be able to cover most of your bases.) But for simplicity , the physical activity guidelines for Americans are broken down into two different types.
Strength training is recommended for at least 20-30 minutes twice a week. (In most beginner programs, you train three times a week, which is fine too.) These sessions should work all of your muscles, so if you prefer to split your workout into upper and lower body days, make sure you have two each.
As you get used to strength training, you may want to do more – which is great if you work on it gradually. While you can make one-off videos or create a daily routine with exercises that you enjoy, in the long run you will be better off with a program that gives you the opportunity to progress as you get stronger. There are some great listings of programs in the r / fitness and r / bodyweightfitness sections if you want to choose from a few.
For cardiovascular exercise, the recommended minimum is 150 minutes of light exercise, such as walking, or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise. So if you take a 30 minute walk every weekday at lunchtime, you are following the rules. If you use this running time instead, you will exceed the norm in three sessions. Although the guidelines use minutes for exercise, the researchers estimate that if you prefer counting steps, 7000 to 9000 steps will get you right .
Again, the more the better, if you work on it over time. This summer I started working with an evening walk in my daily routine and as soon as the weather started to cool I went for a lunchtime walk and an evening walk. Then gradually I replaced some of the evening walks with jogging / walking and eventually jogging. I feel like my workouts are going better than before, but I’m also glad to know that in the long run I am tuning in to better health than if I were just sticking to one type of exercise.