Strength Training vs. Cardio

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For decades, we’ve had this debate:

Is strength training or cardio better for overall fitness, weight loss, and health?

Our goal today is to shed some light on this debate and leave you with some actionable and applicable information.

If you were to ask most people, you would hear all sorts of contradicting opinions on the matter. As far as research is concerned, things aren’t much clearer as we have dozens of studies that suggest different things.

So, our goal today is to shed some light on this debate and leave you with some actionable and applicable information.

Ready? Let’s dive in.

What Is Strength Training And How Does It Benefit Us?

Strength training (also commonly called weight training, resistance training, weightlifting, or simply lifting) is the act of doing various exercises to get stronger and more muscular.

In most cases, strength training involves the lifting of weights (barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells, and similar), but it can take many different forms. When done correctly, strength training delivers fantastic benefits to us, no matter what our goals are.

More specifically, strength training:

• Increases our muscle mass and adds shape to our bodies

• Makes us stronger and more resilient

• Strengthens our bones, ligaments, and tendons

• Decreases the risk of injuries and fractures

• Boosts our metabolic rate

• Allows us to burn a lot of calories

• Improves our overall health and well-being

• Boosts our happiness and makes us more optimistic

• Decreases the risk of developing various diseases later in life

As a whole, strength training offers dozens of benefits, and most people find it profoundly rewarding and fulfilling. Plus, because it’s incredibly versatile and moldable, it can fit the preferences, goals, and schedules of many people.

What Is Cardio And How Does It Benefit Us?

Cardio (also known as aerobic exercise) involves any activity that raises our heart rate and keeps it elevated for a prolonged period. The primary benefit of cardio is that it improves the function of our lungs, heart, and circulatory system.

Common examples of cardio training include jogging, riding a bike, doing work on an Elliptical trainer, rowing laps on a WaterRower, and hiking. But, much like strength training, there are dozens, if not hundreds of different ways to do cardio.

When done correctly (and in moderation), cardio is a fantastic way to elevate your mood, health, and fitness. Some of its benefits include:

• Improved heart function and decreased risk of cardiovascular disease

• Increased lung capacity and improved endurance

• Reduced symptoms of asthma

• Regulation of blood pressure and blood glucose levels

• Decreased risk of various conditions later in life

• Reduced chronic pains and aches

• Improved sleep

Much like strength training, cardio work is also incredibly moldable. We can shape it in numerous forms, so it better fits our preferences, goals, schedule, and training history. Some folks prefer running; others enjoy riding a bike. One person might prefer hiking, while another may prefer to row on a machine. If you want a good resource on how to get started on your running journey, check out Fueling Healthy Families Top 3 Running Tips.

So, Is Cardio or Strength Training The Better Option?



If you’ve read everything so far, you probably noticed something interesting:

While cardio and strength training both offer some similar benefits, they also provide some unique ones.

For example, strength training does a fantastic job of increasing our strength, explosiveness, and muscle mass. Cardio, on the other hand, improves our work capacity better, makes us more endurant, and tends to regulate blood pressure and blood glucose levels a bit better.

So, we recommend that you practice strength training and cardio together, as each offers unique benefits, and, together, they make you a healthier, more athletic, and more balanced person.

A Few Practical Recommendations

Before we close off this guide, here are a few practical recommendations for making cardio and strength training work together great:

• Do more of the modality you prefer and want to get better at. For example, if you primarily care about becoming more endurant, then do more cardio. On the other hand, if strength is your jam, then do more of that and less cardio.

• If your schedule allows, do your cardio and strength sessions on separate days. That way, you’ll minimize the interference effect and avoid slowing down your progress in either direction.

• Avoid overworking the same muscles. For example, if you do a challenging leg day on Monday, don’t run on Tuesday. Instead, do cardio on a battle rope station or a rowing machine.

• Avoid doing too much work. In our pursuit of general fitness, we often push ourselves to our limits. But, it’s better to start with less training volume and fewer weekly sessions and slowly add more work if you find that your progress is stalling. In the beginning, do as little as possible while still making progress (endurance, recoverability, strength, muscle gain, and similar).

Hope you enjoyed our breakdown!

If you have any questions give us a shout at hi@x2ostudio.com or if you like this content check out our other blog posts at blog.x2ostudio.com.