Why Cardio and Strength Training Are Both Important

Both cardio and strength training are important, but it’s easy to end up only doing one of them and conveniently forget to switch to the other. I’ve been on both sides of the fence. As a runner, I would go months without lifting weights or doing targeted strength training, because who has time? And in my more recent life as an athlete, I joked that 10+ reps is cardio, ah ah. But here’s the truth: We all need strength training. And real cardio.

I think it’s easy to gravitate toward one type of exercise because we find it fun or convenient. Then, when we feel challenged enough, there’s no need to look any further, right? I am already an athleteI remember thinking during my two extreme phases. But both times I was missing something.

What strength training does for you

Obviously, strength training makes you stronger. This means you’re better able to lift weights, but it also means you build the strength reserves needed to do better in other sports. Strong legs to help you climb hills, for example. Strength training also means you’ll be stronger every day and tasks like carrying groceries or shoveling snow will seem easier.

Strength training can mean lifting weights, but it can also include other types of resistance training. This is called “resistance” because you are literally working against some kind of force. Maybe you work with dumbbells or resistance bands, or maybe you create force to resist with your own body, like in push-ups or overhead squats.

Our muscle mass decreases as we age, but the more muscle you have to start with, the better off you will be. (There’s no such thing as “too old” to workout, and in fact, the older you are, the more important it is.) Muscle loss, called sarcopenia, contributes to the risk of falls and fractures. Exercise slows and can possibly reverse this loss. So if longevity is one of your fitness interests, that’s all the more reason to prioritize strength training.

Strength training also contributes to bone health and joint flexibility. People who strength train also tend to have better balance and may have an easier time controlling their weight.

What cardio does for you

Cardiovascular exercise includes steady-state endurance work like jogging, as well as interval training where you alternate between harder work and easier work, while continuing to move the entire time. Ideally, you should do both types of cardio, as they each have slightly different benefits. If you’re not sure what activities count as cardio, I have an explanation here. Think about hiking, running, cycling or gym equipment like the elliptical trainer.

Cardio exercise is great for heart health, as the name suggests. Regular cardio helps lower your blood pressure, lower your “bad” cholesterol, and increase your “good” cholesterol. This can help you maintain a healthy weight because burning more calories gives you a little more wiggle room for extra calories you might want to consume. Cardio and strength training increase your insulin sensitivity, which is especially important if you have type 2 diabetes or are considered prediabetic.

Besides these benefits, cardio also helps you with other activities you do. With better cardio fitness, you’ll be able to recover more quickly between sets of heavy lifting exercises and you’ll have an easier time performing daily physical activities like working in the yard. You’ll also be able to have more fun if you end up doing physical activities for fun, like going for a hike or walking around a new city when you travel.

How much cardio and strength training is enough?

So now you know that lifting weights will benefit your ability to do cardio activities, and that cardio will benefit your lifting efforts. There are also certainly activities that combine the two. (If you do Crossfit, for example, or strongman training, you may have covered most of your bases.) But for simplicity’s sake, the physical activity guidelines for Americans break down the two different types.

These guidelines (which are consistent with those from other major public health organizations) suggest at least 20 to 30 minutes of strength training, at least twice a week. Most beginner strength training programs will have you training three times a week, which is great. The minimum is two sessions for each muscle group, so if you prefer to split your training into upper and lower body days, make sure you do two of each. If you work your entire body every strength training day, you only need two or three of these workouts per week.

As you get used to strength training, you may want to do more of it, which is great, as long as you work on it gradually. While you can make one-off videos or create a routine based on exercises you enjoy, you’ll do better in the long run with a program that allows you to progress as you get stronger. There are great lists of programs on the r/fitness and r/bodyweightfitness subreddits, if you want to choose a few.

For cardiovascular exercise, the recommended minimum is 150 minutes of light exercise such as walking, or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise. So if you take a 30-minute walk every weekday at lunchtime, you’ll meet the guidelines. If you use that time to run instead, you’ll exceed the guidelines in three sessions. Although the guidelines use minutes of exercise, researchers calculated that if you prefer to count steps, 7,000 to 9,000 steps will put you in the right range.

Again, more is better, as long as you work at it over time. One summer I started making an evening walk part of my routine, and once the weather started to cool down, I went for a lunchtime walk. And an evening walk. Then, little by little, I replaced some evening walks with running/walking sessions, and finally races. I felt like my lifting sessions were going better than before, but I was also happy to know that I was setting myself up for better long-term health than if I stuck to just one type of exercise.