Cardio Vs. Strength Workout | Categories of Cardio | Cardio Exercises | Strength Workouts | Switching Workout Routine | Cardio Health Benefits | Weight Training Benefits | Bottom Line
Cardio and Strength workouts are two common types of exercise and many people who start their workout journey get stuck with a difficult question; whether they should go with cardio or lift weights. Some people end up opting for any one of these two workouts and repeat that workout every day. In this article, we will learn if it is problematic to repeat the same cardio or strength workout every day. Everything comes with its pros and cons so, we will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of these two types of workouts and how often one should switch between them.
Cardio Vs. Strength Workout
Cardio, also named aerobic or endurance exercise, is any form of exercise that involves aerobic metabolism. It means that during aerobic metabolism oxygen is predominantly involved in the energy producing cellular reactions to sustain physical activity. It leads to increased heart rate and respiration to maximize the amount of oxygen in your blood. Regularly performed cardio workouts help you to use oxygen more efficiently and eventually it makes you feel more energized and you do not get tired as fast. Cardio activity involves the use of body’s large muscle groups repetitively and rhythmically. Cardiovascular exercises challenge the performance of our body’s vital organs and these exercises lead to improved function of heart, lungs and circulatory system.
Strength training workouts, also named resistance training, involve the exercises that are designed to improve muscle strength, body alignment and definition. It often involves the lifting of different weights. This involves the technique of gradually raising the muscle’s force output through incremental weight increases, what’s called progressive overload. Strength workout also uses a number of exercises and different kinds of instruments that target specific group of muscles. Strength training workout normally causes lactate production in the muscles which acts as a limiting factor for exercise performance because there is not enough oxygen to complete the process of glycolysis causing lactate production. Resistance training exercises when performed on regular basis, lead to adaptations in skeletal muscle thus preventing an increase in lactate levels during strength workout.
Summary: Cardio workout involves aerobic activity which leads to increased heart rate and maximizes the amount of oxygen in your blood when you breathe more deeply. Regularly performed cardio workout helps you to use oxygen more efficiently and eventually it makes you feel more energized and you do not get tired as fast. Strength workout involves the lifting of different weights. Regularly performed strength workout lead to adaptations in skeletal muscles that prevent an increase in lactate levels during strength workouts.
Major Categories of Cardio Activities |
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High Impact Cardio |
Also known as weight bearing exercise and is the type of cardio in which you support your own body weight with the help of your limbs because you have your feet off the ground at some point during the workout. Examples of this include jogging and jumping rope. |
Low Impact Cardio |
It is the type of activity in which one of your two feet remains on the ground all the time while performing the workout. However, it must not be confused with low-intensity cardio as low impact cardio can also be weight bearing exercise like high impact cardio. Walking and hiking are examples of low impact cardio. |
No Impact Cardio |
This is the type of activity which is performed while being immersed in water. There’s a reduced pull of gravity on the body during this workout. It involves swimming and water aerobics etc. |
What Are Common Cardio Exercises?
The most common examples of cardio exercises are:
- Brisk walking
- Swimming
- Jogging
- Burpees
- Running
- Dancing
- Cycling
- Rope Jumping
- Martial Arts
- Skating
- Games such as Volleyball, Soccer, Basketball
- Aerobics
- Water Aerobics
- Squats
- Jumping jacks
- Hiking
- Skiing
In addition to above exercises, there are many more examples of cardiovascular workouts.
Examples of Strength Workout
The most common examples of strength workouts are:
- Weight lifting
- Hill walking
- Digging and shoveling
- Working with resistance bands
- Push-ups
- Sit-ups
- Yoga
Summary: The most commonly performed cardio workouts are brisk walking, running, jumping jacks, aerobics and cycling etc. However, strength training involves weight lifting, pushups, yoga, digging and shoveling activities.
Same Workout Every Day, Good or Bad?
In general, it is recommended to switch up your daily workout routine every 3 weeks or every month as the human body is exceptionally smart and adapts to stress quickly. Therefore, in order to get stronger and to enhance your overall fitness and well-being, it is recommended to keep challenging yourself such as by switching up between different weights or changing your cardio exercise or working new muscle groups in the same or different manner.
Why Should You Keep Switching Your Workout Routine?
There are a number of other reasons to change your workout routine than just challenging your body and keeping yourself from getting bored.
To Break Your Workout Plateau
When you perform the same activity every day, your body gets used to it. Eventually, this adaptation to the same workout you do every day will lead to less progress in your body as you have hit plateau. It means that your body will not really get stronger and it will tend to stay same. Therefore, in order to avoid this and to reset, it is advised to keep changing your workout routine every 3 or 4 weeks.
To Avoid Specific Muscle Overuse Injuries
Repetitive strain injury occurs when you use same group of muscles every time you perform workout either it’s cardio or strength workout. You may not get affected by it in the short term, however, over time it can lead to imbalance in your muscle groups. Training the same muscles every time and moving in the same plane can eventually harm your body by causing an unhealthy muscle imbalance.
To Balance Hormonal Fluctuations in Women
Cycle-syncing is the term which means switching up between different types of exercises based on hormonal fluctuations during monthly cycle of women. Exercise may help to reduce period pain in some women by reducing those prostaglandins associated with menstrual cramps. However patient with different conditions may like large uterine fibroids, may feel more pain. It is advisd to do low intensity activities during specific phases of a women’s cycle.
To Keep Your Brain Healthy
Workouts appear to play a vital role in keeping your brain healthy and preventing memory loss and decreasing risk of certain dementias, specifically aerobic exercise. Potentially through the downregulation of certain proinflammatory markers in the body and improvement in the immune system.
Summary: In order to get stronger and to enhance your overall fitness and well-being, it is recommended to keep challenging yourself such as by switching up between different weights or working new muscle groups in the same or different manner. In order to avoid plateau, muscle injuries and to accommodate hormonal fluctuations throughout women’s monthly cycle, it is important to change your workout routine every 3 or 4 weeks.
Wondering Why You Should Do Cardio Workout, Here You Go!
With regular cardio workout, you will be able to enjoy stronger cardiovascular system and will have more capillaries to deliver more oxygen to your muscles and joints. With each session of cardio, you will get to feel more energized and will have increased endurance.
These are some of the benefits of doing cardio workout:
Supports Heart Health
When you get yourself engaged for at least 30 minutes, it helps you build stronger muscles including those of heart muscles. Stronger heart muscles will help regulate your blood pressure, enhance the amount of good cholesterol (HDL) in the blood stream, help reduce blood proteins and fat to lower the risk of developing blood clots and eventually improve heart health by preventing heart diseases.
Improves Immune Function
Regular cardio workout helps increase the release of antibodies and leukocytes (white blood cells) in blood stream which naturally increases human body’s ability to fight off infections. Cardio exercises help body combat different diseases such as hypertension, osteoporosis, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes.
Helps Manage Arthritis
Regularly performed cardio workout helps reduce the painful sensations associated with arthritis and it helps reduce the joint stiffness through different exercises performed.
Aids in Weight Management through Increased Metabolic Rate
Owing to the production of Fibroblast Growth factor 21 hormone, all types of cardio exercises help increase metabolic rate and suppress appetite which eventually helps burn more calories and manage weight efficiently.
Summary: Cardio workouts can help improve your heart health, immune function, manage arthritis and help with weight management by increasing metabolic rate.
Why Go for Weight Training? Here’s the Answer!
Strength workout can benefit men and women of all ages, however, it is advised to get your doctor’s approval before beginning especially if you haven’t worked out in a long while. 2 to 3 strength workout sessions of 15 to 30 minutes per week can bring a lot of positive health impacts.
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Helps Maintain Balance
Strength workout helps increase flexibility and balance in people as they age. Strength workout helps reduce the risk of falls and injuries.
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Improves Joint Flexibility
Strength workout helps increase joint flexibility by reducing the muscle stiffness. This way, it helps manage the pain and symptoms associated with arthritis.
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Building Lean Muscle Mass
Strength workout can help lose fat and build lean muscle mass. Basically muscle mass decreases as the person ages, however, strength training aims to reverse the trend.
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Increased Bone Density
With the help of strength training exercise, bones get stronger because of increased bone density that helps reduce the risk of bone fractures and injuries.
Moreover, at NubianDoc, there are informative articles that address how you can lose weight by following easy to do, home-based workouts; check out our blog.
Summary: Similar to cardio workout, regularly performed moderate strength training exercise brings about a number of benefits that include balance maintenance in older age, improved joint flexibility, increased lean muscle mass and stronger bones because of increased bone density.
Bottom Line
Cardio and Strength workouts are two popular types of workouts. Both with a number of health benefits, however, it is not advised to do the same workout every day as the human body is exceptionally smart and it has the ability to adapt to stress quickly. Therefore, in order to get stronger and to enhance your overall fitness and well-being, it is recommended to keep challenging yourself by switching up between different weights or changing your cardio exercise or working new muscle groups in the same or different manner.
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Also, check out our informative articles for guidance on health and well-being.