Are you a creature of habit that makes a beeline for the treadmill every time you go to the gym? Or maybe overcrowded places aren’t your thing, and jogging or hiking is your poison of choice? Regardless of how you choose to work out, you may be surprised to hear that doing the same exercise day in and day out could see your results plateau.
Does this mean you now have to take up yoga, dabble with weightlifting, or join a completely new fitness class? The short answer: Yes. As with most things, our bodies need variety – variety in the foods we eat, the mental challenges we face every day, and variety in how we move our bodies.
This brings us to the cardio vs strength-training debate. Cardio activities include walking, running, cycling, swimming, and rowing. On the other hand, strength training refers to HIIT (high-intensity interval training), CrossFit, using resistance bands, dumbbells, kettlebells, or barbells in your workouts, or any other exercise that – you guessed it – requires heavy lifting. It’s suggested that you mix it up and incorporate a little bit of both in your workouts – but why exactly?
The benefits of cardio vs strength training
Let’s start with cardio. As the name suggests, these types of exercises target the cardiovascular system, meaning your heart and blood vessels. When you walk, jog, run or sprint, your heart goes to work to pump blood quicker through your body, forcing it to use more oxygen. In turn, cardio activity helps improve heart health and endurance, boosts blood flow, lowers blood pressure, and burns calories.
Strength training targets a particular muscle group to increase strength and enhance muscle mass. You can either choose to go for high-intensity training with low reps and longer rests or high-volume training with short breaks between sets.
One of the many great benefits of weight training is that it increases your metabolism, helping you burn calories throughout the day. Cardio only burns calories during the session because it doesn’t target your resting metabolism like weight training does. Also, weight training can help you prevent muscle loss which is commonly associated with ageing, dieting, or cardio workouts.
But why choose when you can do both?
Now imagine reaping the benefits of both cardio and strength training. Your heart, muscles, and waistline will thank you for it. If you’re looking to slim down and tone up at the same time, you can’t go wrong with a combination of both. This is why HIIT training is such a hit (pun intended!), as it combines high-intensity training with short bursts of cardio like running or rowing, offering the best of both worlds.
And apart from the physical changes you will start to see, mixing it up will also positively affect your heart health. A 2019 study showed that participants who did both cardio and strength training for eight consecutive weeks saw a greater improvement in heart disease risk factors than those who just did one or the other.
Getting started and mixing it up
Join a HIIT class, mix it up at the gym, or try something a little more convenient.
Cardio and strength exercises offer different benefits but come together perfectly for an all-around winning fitness regime. By combining them and finding your own groove, you’ll be able to keep hitting those fitness and health milestones one after the other.
– Striide lifestyle and fitness
