Which Is The Better Exercise - Weight Training or Aerobics?
I bet you all think that because we are a website committed to getting more women involved in weight lifting, we poo poo aerobics. Well let me immediately set the record straight. The answer to the question - "Which is better, weight training or aerobics?" is NEITHER. Both accomplish different things for your body and mind and both are essential to your health. We emphasize weight lifting only because fewer women are involved with it - we don't mean to downplay the importance of cardio-respiratory fitness.
General Benefits of Cardio-Respiratory Exercise
Whether you train on machines or jog in the park, cardio-respiratory exercise provides a critically important component to your fitness regimen. It increases both heart and lung capacity and causes your body to produce an increased number of blood vessels. As a result, more nutrients and oxygen are delivered to every cell, while toxins and waste products are quickly removed from your body. The net result is you gain increased energy and ability to perform physically as well as mentally. Cardio fitness helps your strength training program by enabling you to lift with greater intensity for longer periods before the fatigue of lactic acid burn overcomes you. Oh, and one other thing - cardio exercise burns fat!
Cardio vs. Strength Training
While strength training directly impacts your metabolism, muscles, bone density and body fat composition, cardio-respiratory fitness trains the lungs, heart and vascular systems. Although fleeting exercise fads will often tout one over the other, both cardio and strength training are important.
One interesting difference between cardio-respiratory exercise and strength training lies in the equipment we use to assist our workout. Although the matter is subject to debate, it appears that strength training is best assisted by non-machine-based equipment (free weights, dumbbells etc.), while cardio activity is better assisted by machines. The reasons for this weight training "simplicity rule" are explained in a number of our weight training articles.
Cardio-respiratory exercise, however, carries the opposite rule - shall we call it the "Complexity Rule"? Why? Unfortunately, some of the most effective aerobic workouts involve high-impact force, which over time causes joint injury and decreased functional capacity. Machines will often buffer the high impact of cardio activity. A bicycle, for example, is a machine that enables us to perform aerobic activity through pedaling off the ground, protecting our joints from the high impact we would experience if our feet were allowed to repetitively pound a hard surface.
Low-impact, however, usually means low-intensity. Low-impact exercise therefore will often fail to achieve the same level of benefit as higher-impact exercise, and must be performed for longer durations to get any benefit at all in terms of cardio-respiratory fitness and weight control. Despite myths to the contrary, science has proven that walking a mile is not the same as jogging a mile.
The latest development in cardio machines have enabled the fusion of low-impact and high intensity cardio training. You are able to train intensely and effectively without jeopardizing the integrity of your joints. The machines that we will be featuring on our site are examples of such advanced technology. Right now, we have found a superb stair climber. We are one of the few retail dealers that the manufacturer, Health Care International, is selling to - they normally sell in bulk to health clubs and hospitals. The great thing about this commerical machine is it's unimposing size that enables it fit beautfifully into the home. Yet it is a power dynamo that gives you a high-intensity, but cushioned workout. I suggest you take a gander at our latest discovery.
Anyway, let me go before I wax into long-winded jabber again - until next time.
General Benefits of Cardio-Respiratory Exercise
Whether you train on machines or jog in the park, cardio-respiratory exercise provides a critically important component to your fitness regimen. It increases both heart and lung capacity and causes your body to produce an increased number of blood vessels. As a result, more nutrients and oxygen are delivered to every cell, while toxins and waste products are quickly removed from your body. The net result is you gain increased energy and ability to perform physically as well as mentally. Cardio fitness helps your strength training program by enabling you to lift with greater intensity for longer periods before the fatigue of lactic acid burn overcomes you. Oh, and one other thing - cardio exercise burns fat!
Cardio vs. Strength Training
While strength training directly impacts your metabolism, muscles, bone density and body fat composition, cardio-respiratory fitness trains the lungs, heart and vascular systems. Although fleeting exercise fads will often tout one over the other, both cardio and strength training are important.
One interesting difference between cardio-respiratory exercise and strength training lies in the equipment we use to assist our workout. Although the matter is subject to debate, it appears that strength training is best assisted by non-machine-based equipment (free weights, dumbbells etc.), while cardio activity is better assisted by machines. The reasons for this weight training "simplicity rule" are explained in a number of our weight training articles.
Cardio-respiratory exercise, however, carries the opposite rule - shall we call it the "Complexity Rule"? Why? Unfortunately, some of the most effective aerobic workouts involve high-impact force, which over time causes joint injury and decreased functional capacity. Machines will often buffer the high impact of cardio activity. A bicycle, for example, is a machine that enables us to perform aerobic activity through pedaling off the ground, protecting our joints from the high impact we would experience if our feet were allowed to repetitively pound a hard surface.
Low-impact, however, usually means low-intensity. Low-impact exercise therefore will often fail to achieve the same level of benefit as higher-impact exercise, and must be performed for longer durations to get any benefit at all in terms of cardio-respiratory fitness and weight control. Despite myths to the contrary, science has proven that walking a mile is not the same as jogging a mile.
The latest development in cardio machines have enabled the fusion of low-impact and high intensity cardio training. You are able to train intensely and effectively without jeopardizing the integrity of your joints. The machines that we will be featuring on our site are examples of such advanced technology. Right now, we have found a superb stair climber. We are one of the few retail dealers that the manufacturer, Health Care International, is selling to - they normally sell in bulk to health clubs and hospitals. The great thing about this commerical machine is it's unimposing size that enables it fit beautfifully into the home. Yet it is a power dynamo that gives you a high-intensity, but cushioned workout. I suggest you take a gander at our latest discovery.
Anyway, let me go before I wax into long-winded jabber again - until next time.
posted by Janet Ford at 1:43 PM
2 Comments:
Wow, great overview of the benefits of both cardio and weight training -- definitely helps me to think about how to balance my workout. Keep the educational info coming!
Well put and very interesting..........looking forward to future posts!!
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