Cardio vs. Strength Training

Engaging in regular exercise is an essential part of having a healthy lifestyle that helps you function at your best. If you’re new to fitness or are trying to optimize your workouts, you may find yourself wondering which type of exercise is best–strength training or cardio? 

The answer isn’t as simple as you may think. Both strength and cardio workouts have their own benefits for anyone looking to improve their fitness and overall health. 

Keep reading to learn more about the benefits of strength and cardio exercises for your health and which may align with your fitness goals the best.  

The Benefits of Cardio Exercise

Cardiovascular exercise, or cardio for short, is a type of exercise that raises your heart rate and breathing rate temporarily. Aerobic cardio stimulates these in a way that can be sustained for a prolonged period because you have enough oxygen available. This includes exercises like running, swimming, cycling, or dancing. 

Studies find that aerobic cardio exercise is beneficial for supporting heart health in many ways, including supporting normal blood lipid levels, reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease, and supporting overall cardiorespiratory fitness (i.e., how the body takes in and uses oxygen). These are all important for supporting stamina during exercise. 

Since aerobic exercises require more energy to complete, cardio workouts can also be effective for burning more calories. This can lead to a lower body fat percentage or overall weight reduction. 

Engaging in cardio exercise can also be beneficial to your mood. Research finds that even a single session of aerobic exercise can help support your mood in the short term.  

The Benefits of Strength Training

Strength training exercises, also known as resistance training, improve strength and muscle endurance. The most common strength training workout is weightlifting, but strength training also includes bodyweight exercise, plyometrics, and isometrics. 

A primary benefit of strength training is increased lean muscle mass. Greater lean muscle mass supports your basal metabolic rate or the number of calories you burn at rest. 

True to its name, strength training can increase the strength of your muscles, making it easier for your body to lift heavier loads or put more power behind your motions. As a result, regular strength training can benefit performance in exercises or sports that require strength and power, such as sprinting, wrestling, or even gymnastics. 

Strength training isn’t just for stronger muscles–it also supports muscle coordination during physical activity and balance. Having a stronger sense of balance can prevent injuries from falls or other uncoordinated movements. 

Strength training is also protective for long-term health. Current research shows that resistance training can help reduce the risk of all-cause mortality and is protective against cardiovascular disease and age-related muscle loss.

The Bottom Line 

As you can see, no matter what your fitness goals are, including both strength and cardio exercises in your routine is beneficial to your health. 

According to the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, adults should do at least 150-300 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75-150 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic exercise throughout the week in order to get substantial health benefits. 

The guidelines also recommend that adults do moderate or high-intensity muscle-strengthening activities involving all major muscle groups 2 or more days per week. 

To help you meet all of your performance needs, the Garden of Life Sport product line offers clean nutrition to fuel your workouts and your body.  

References: 

1. Wang Y, Xu D. Effects of aerobic exercise on lipids and lipoproteins. Lipids Health Dis. 2017;16(1):132. Published 2017 Jul 5. doi:10.1186/s12944-017-0515-5 

2. Pinckard K, Baskin KK, Stanford KI. Effects of Exercise to Improve Cardiovascular Health. Front Cardiovasc Med. 2019;6:69. Published 2019 Jun 4. doi:10.3389/fcvm.2019.00069 

3. Franklin BA, Eijsvogels TMH, Pandey A, Quindry J, Toth PP. Physical activity, cardiorespiratory fitness, and cardiovascular health: A clinical practice statement of the American Society for Preventive Cardiology Part II: Physical activity, cardiorespiratory fitness, minimum and goal intensities for exercise training, prescriptive methods, and special patient populations. Am J Prev Cardiol. 2022;12:100425. Published 2022 Oct 13. doi:10.1016/j.ajpc.2022.100425 

4. Basso JC, Suzuki WA. The Effects of Acute Exercise on Mood, Cognition, Neurophysiology, and Neurochemical Pathways: A Review. Brain Plast. 2017;2(2):127-152. Published 2017 Mar 28. doi:10.3233/BPL-160040 

5. Ralston GW, Kilgore L, Wyatt FB, Baker JS. The Effect of Weekly Set Volume on Strength Gain: A Meta-Analysis. Sports Med. 2017;47(12):2585-2601. doi:10.1007/s40279-017-0762-7 

6. Šarabon N, Kozinc Ž. Effects of Resistance Exercise on Balance Ability: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Life (Basel). 2020;10(11):284. Published 2020 Nov 15. doi:10.3390/life10110284 

7. Shailendra P, Baldock KL, Li LSK, Bennie JA, Boyle T. Resistance Training and Mortality Risk: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Am J Prev Med. 2022;63(2):277-285. doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2022.03.020 

8. Suchomel TJ, Nimphius S, Bellon CR, Stone MH. The Importance of Muscular Strength: Training Considerations. Sports Med. 2018;48(4):765-785. doi:10.1007/s40279-018-0862-z 

9. Law TD, Clark LA, Clark BC. Resistance Exercise to Prevent and Manage Sarcopenia and Dynapenia. Annu Rev Gerontol Geriatr. 2016;36(1):205-228. doi:10.1891/0198-8794.36.205 

10. Piercy KL, Troiano RP, Ballard RM, et al. The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. JAMA. 2018;320(19):2020-2028. doi:10.1001/jama.2018.14854