The most common debate in the fitness world is “Cardio or Weight training”: which should take priority in an exercise routine. The modality can vary depending on individual goals, fitness level, and personal preferences. In this article, let’s understand the basics of what each modality is, how they help achieve different fitness goals, and learn which one should be the priority.
Cardiovascular exercises, also known as cardio, involve activities such as running, cycling, or swimming that increase your heart and breathing rate. Weight training, on the other hand, involves lifting weights to build muscle mass and strength. Both of them have numerous benefits for overall health and fitness.
Let’s look at the benefits that each type of exercise offers for overall health.
Cardiovascular exercises are primarily targeted to improve or aid in:
- Heart health: Adding cardio exercise to your daily or weekly routine can help reduce the risk of heart diseases by improving parameters such as cardiac output, respiratory rate, lung capacity, VO2max, and stroke volume.
- Endurance: Making it easier to perform daily activities and strengthening the heart, which improves circulation of blood with oxygen and nutrients.
- Glucose uptake: Improving insulin sensitivity (Van Der Heijden et al., 2009) and oxidation of fatty acids (Pedersen et al., 2015).
- Weight loss: Burning calories, which can be helpful for people trying to shed more weight. The recommended exercise intervention for weight loss would be moderately intense aerobic exercise, preferably in combination with strength training (Pedersen et al., 2015).
- Reducing stress levels, anxiety, and improving overall mental health (Yao, L. et al., 2021).
Weight training has several other benefits, which include:
- Building muscle mass, which helps with gaining overall strength and also improves physique.
- Increasing bone density, thus reducing the risk of bone-related conditions such as osteoporosis.
- Potentially increasing metabolism (RMR) along with an increase in muscle mass, which eventually burns calories throughout the day even at rest. In a study by Alberga et al. (2016), skeletal muscle mass increased by only 0.9 kg (p < 0.001) in the resistance trained group, 0.2 kg in the aerobic trained group (p > 0.05, not significant), and 0.4 kg in the combined group (p < 0.05). However, there is no significant change in RMR.
- Preventing injuries by strengthening the muscles around the joints and improving overall joint health.
Which one should be given priority?
The answer depends on specific and individual fitness goals. One can prioritize cardio or weight training, or both, with a structured plan. In simple terms, for people who are trying to lose weight, they should understand that losing weight is a byproduct of an overall process of being on a calorie deficit, and they can prioritize the training adaptation they wish to have that will contribute more towards improving their quality of life.
For example, if a person not only wants to lose weight but also wants to look aesthetically well-built, they may opt for weight training as the centerpiece of their training. On the other hand, if a person plays or wants to play recreational sports like badminton, marathon running, or swimming, they can prioritize cardio as a priority in their training plan. In both scenarios, we should not completely ignore the modality not considered a priority.
A systematic and meta-analysis study (Thorogood et al., 2011) concluded that in overweight and obese persons, a moderate-intensity aerobic exercise program had been shown to be ineffective for weight loss but improved cardiovascular risks and lipid levels along with a proper weight loss diet. In a recent randomized controlled trial, the cardio types HIIT (high-intensity interval training) and MICT (moderate-intensity continuous training) were performed by subjects, where it was observed that energy expenditure increased with either MICT or a combination of HIIT/MICT, but the latter modality seems to be associated with significant weight loss (5 kg and 2 kg, respectively, in a 24-week program) (Berge et al., 2021).
Compared to other exercise modalities (cardio, cardio+strength training, and others), strength training alone reduced the severity of pain in people with osteoarthritis (Roddy, E et al., 2005) and fibromyalgia (Busch, A. J. et al., 2007).
Conclusion:
Cardio and weight training, both, have numerous benefits and should be incorporated into a well-rounded workout routine. The priority of which should be based on individual goals and fitness level. Ideally, a combination of both should be included in a daily workout routine for optimal health.
References:
Alberga, A. S. et al. (2016) ‘Does exercise training affect resting metabolic rate in adolescents with obesity?’, Applied Physiology, Nutrition and Metabolism, 42(1), pp. 15–22. doi: 10.1139/apnm-2016-0244.
Berge, J. et al. (2021) ‘Effect of Aerobic Exercise Intensity on Energy Expenditure and Weight Loss in Severe Obesity—A Randomized Controlled Trial’, Obesity, 29(2), pp. 359–369. doi: 10.1002/OBY.23078.
Busch, A. J. et al. (2007) ‘Exercise for treating fibromyalgia syndrome’, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, (4). doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD003786.pub2.
O’connor, P. J., Herring, M. P. and Caravalho, A. (2010) ‘Mental Health Benefits of Strength Training in Adults’, American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, 4(5), pp. 377–396. doi: 10.1177/1559827610368771.
Pedersen, B. K. and Saltin, B. (2015) ‘Exercise as medicine – evidence for prescribing exercise as therapy in 26 different chronic diseases’, Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 25, pp. 1–72. doi: 10.1111/SMS.12581.
Roddy, E., Zhang, W. and Doherty, M. (2005) ‘Aerobic walking or strengthening exercise for osteoarthritis of the knee? A systematic review’, Annals of the rheumatic diseases, 64(4), pp. 544–548. doi: 10.1136/ARD.2004.028746.
Thorogood, A. et al. (2011) ‘Isolated aerobic exercise and weight loss: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials’, American Journal of Medicine, 124(8), pp. 747–755. doi: 10.1016/j.amjmed.2011.02.037.
Van Der Heijden, G. J. et al. (2009) ‘Aerobic exercise increases peripheral and hepatic insulin sensitivity in sedentary adolescents’, Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 94(11), pp. 4292–4299. doi: 10.1210/jc.2009-1379.
Westcott, W. L. (2012) ‘Resistance training is medicine: Effects of strength training on health’, Current Sports Medicine Reports, 11(4), pp. 209–216. doi: 10.1249/JSR.0B013E31825DABB8.
Yao, L. et al. (2021) ‘Effect of Aerobic Exercise on Mental Health in Older Adults: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials’, Frontiers in Psychiatry, 12, p. 1748. doi: 10.3389/FPSYT.2021.748257/BIBTEX.
Author: Praveena Kuchipudi (INFS Faculty)
