Unfortunately, Cardio Is Not Considered a Leg Day.
Cardio is important to our health in many ways, and we should all strive for a minimum of 75-150 minutes per week . If you enjoy running, cycling, or hiking and do it more often, so much the better.
But we all need strength training as well. Both options are important , so if you are primarily an athlete you should do cardio a couple of times a week; and if you are a full-time jogger, you should still work with weights.
What if I run a lot?
This is where the dilemma comes in: if you want to spend more time on the trails and less time in the gym, can you use a lifting program that includes upper and lower body days and skip lower body exercises entirely? After all, running (or bicycling or hiking) uses your legs.
Unfortunately no. To make your legs stronger, you need to challenge them appropriately with heavy weights or other suitable strength exercises. Running is pretty much the opposite of this: you take thousands of steps, but each is just a small amount of work. Worse yet, the better you run, the more efficient you are and the less work you have in each of these steps.
How do cyclists have such big legs?
Well, this is often because they are training for strength in addition to all the miles of cycling . They also often do strength training using bicycles for resistance, which could probably replace part of a day for their legs. But you and I, climbing several hills during the trip, are not the same thing.
So, yes, you need to exercise your feet if you want to be a healthy, versatile athlete. But the good news is that if you take the time to train your legs, you will become faster, stronger, and perhaps even less prone to injury while running or commuting.
So instead of separating your upper and lower body, consider using full-body strength training and do it twice a week. Or check out the rest of our tips on how to combine running and strength training , which you can adapt to whatever cardio you like best.