Cardio vs Weight Training – Which is Better?

What is cardio?

Cardio is short-term for cardiovascular conditioning. Cardio is also referred to as aerobic workouts. Cardio or aerobic workouts raise your heart rate, which helps to burn more fat and calories. Cardio exercise also helps to pump blood at a constant rate and leads to improved overall health.

Apart from heart rate, the exercise will demand elevated oxygen flow, which makes you breathe harder. The exercise will also test a person’s perseverance, which will help them to improve the overall capacity of the body.

Cardio has various health benefits, but many people exercise solely for weight loss. Cardio can keep a person fully healthy and reduces the risk of heart disease.

Some of the common cardio exercises are

• Burpees
• Swimming
• Cycling
• Running
• Brisk walking
• Water aerobics

What is weight training?

Strength training is also called resistance exercise, which helps increase muscle strength. Resistance exercise is a form of anaerobic exercise, and different types of strength training include free weights and resistance bands. These exercises make the muscles work against a force or weight.

The primary aim of weight training will be to overload the musculoskeletal system over time and sustain the adaptations of strength training. These adaptations will be specific to the muscles that are trained.

However, the overloading of the musculoskeletal system should occur slowly and over time. This time frame will help maximise performance and build muscles.

The response of each individual will depend on the training stimulus. Thus, the strength training programmes will be individually tailored. The effect of training will be lost if the training is stopped for an extended period of time.

Some of the common equipment required for weight training are

• Sandbags
• Weight machines
• Free weights
• Resistance bands
• Suspension equipment
• Body weights

What is the difference between cardio and weight training?

Cardio and weight training are different exercises. Strength training, also called as resistance training, breaks down glucose for energy without relying on oxygen.

Cardio, also called aerobic activity, uses oxygen to increase the heart rate and breathing. Running is the most common cardio exercise. However, any exercise that increases your heart rate and makes you breathe faster counts as cardio exercise.

Benefits of cardio

Improved heart health and endurance

Cardio exercise increases your heartbeat, and you tend to breathe faster than usual. So, when you breathe faster, the body tries to get more oxygen from the blood.

For example, when a person is running fast, the body exchanges oxygen from the blood and increases endurance. These workouts will boost the aerobic capacity and helps the lungs and heart to exchange oxygen efficiently throughout the body.

Cardio can improve your stamina, and when you climb staircases, the huffing and buffing can be avoided.

You can burn more calories during your workout

The body uses energy during a workout session through which you burn calories. The calories you burn will depend on your body weight. For example, a 180-pound man will require more energy to run 3 miles when compared to a woman who weighs 120 pounds.

The major advantage of cardio is you burn more calories when compared to weight training. According to research, a 155-pound person can burn about 112 calories when lifting weights, whereas running for about 10 ten minutes can burn 372 calories. Vigorous stationary cycling for about 30 minutes can burn 391 calories for a person who weighs 155 pounds.

Faster weight loss

Cardio exercises will help burn calories faster, which promotes weight loss. If you choose to lose weight, aim to do cardio at least five days or 250 minutes per week.

Weight training

Weight or strength training involves moving body parts against some kind of resistance like weight machines, resistance bands and weights. Weight machines are the best way to build muscle mass and strengthen muscles. Additionally, strength training strengthens joints and bones, helps burn more calories and tones your muscles. Start with lighter weights to make the most of the weight training, and then go for heavier weights.

Benefits of weight training

Gains on gains

Weight training helps you burn calories, but they are excellent for your muscles. Strength training can help manage weight and increases metabolism, which helps to burn more calories.

Weight training also enhances the quality and improves the ability to do everyday activities. As we age, the lean muscle mass decreases, and the body fat percentage increases. Strength training will help reduce the percentage of fat cells and increase lean muscle mass.

You’ll burn calories all–day

Strength training will be increasing the metabolism and you will burn calories when you are at rest. When you concentrate on your muscles, the body tends to burn more calories when compared to fats.

According to a small study published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, a small study compared the resting metabolism of men and women who are strength trained. The results demonstrated an increase in resting metabolism in both genders.

Additionally, men had an increase in resting metabolism of about 9 per cent, and women had an increase of about 4 per cent.

So, if you strength train, you can chill on your couch binge-watching your favourite movie or series. Also, keep in mind not to binge eat.

You can prevent injury

Strength training concentrates on your muscles and strengthens your bones. These exercises increase bone density, which can prevent fractures and decreases the risk of osteoporosis.

Why choose when you can do both?

When a person does cardio and strength training, the calories can be burnt effectively, improves muscle mass and strengthens bones and joints. So why do you have to choose one when you can do both.

You’ll lose fat but gain muscle

When strength training and cardio are combined, you get to lose fat and build your muscles. The workout plans may or may not reflect on your weighing scale because muscles have greater density than fat.

You cannot incorporate both exercises in a single shot. But when you achieve the goal, you are unstoppable. You would get the body type you aimed for.

You’ll have even better heart health

According to a research paper published in the journal PLOS, when people combined strength training and cardio for 8 weeks, they were able to burn calories effectively. Also, they reduced the risk factor for heart disease.

Your mental health will improve

In general, exercise has the ability to improve depression and anxiety. People with mental health issues after their strength training and cardio exercises reported that their physical and mental health has improved to great margins.

Which should come first: Cardio or weights?

So, as you have reached the end of the blog, you will get the question, “which should be done first?”

The answer to the above question depends on your goals. If you aim to increase your aerobic endurance and lose body fat, then you should go for cardio first. If your goal is to increase your muscle strength, you should go for strength training. However, talk to your trainer about your goals and then decide which you should perform first.

Conclusion

Cardio and strength training contains both pros and cons. Cardio helps burn more fat during the workout session. So, it can be ideal for weight loss.  

Strength training helps build muscle and burns more calories all day, even when you are at rest. Cardio, like cycling and running, is good for the heart.

If you combine both cardio and strength training, it will be great for fat loss and muscle gain. It will also help to tone your muscle.

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