When it comes to improving your health, should you do cardio or weights? What’s better for your heart’s health? Let’s find out.
According to decades of research, it turns out that both cardio exercise and strength training are essential for weight loss. In fact, strength training results in more muscle cells that burn up to three times more calories than fat cells.
However, scientists are still at work trying to figure out which of the two is best for preventing chronic disease. Finding out how exercise affects health is especially important as heart disease kills one U.S. adult every 36 seconds.
In a recent study published in the Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, researchers tracked overweight adults for 12 weeks. Participants were divided into four groups, each focusing on either HIIT, resistance training, a mix of both, or nutrition guidance.
The Study
At the start of the study, researchers noted each participant’s body composition, heart health details, and fitness level. Heart health details include cholesterol, fasting blood sugar, and blood pressure while fitness included cardiorespiratory fitness and handgrip strength.
At the end of the study, they measured the participants again and found that all of the exercise groups had significant improvement compared to the nutrition guidance group. For instance, 12 weeks of HIIT (high-intensity interval training) results in better cardiorespiratory fitness and strength in better vascular profiles.
While more research is necessary to confirm these effects over an extended period of time, it seems both are beneficial. By doing a combination of HIIT and strength training, you can strengthen your physical fitness and heart even more.
Cardio or Weights? What’s Better for Your Heart’s Health?
We know that exercise is good for your health, but these studies show that both cardio and strength are helpful. Through a combination of both types of exercise, you can improve your health better than by just doing one type.
Moreover, by adding other healthy habits to your routine (like eating healthily), you can improve that much faster. Choose foods that will improve your heart health (fruits, vegetables, whole grains, etc.) while avoiding harmful habits like smoking.
In addition to making cardio and strength training a part of your routine, there are other things you can do. For example, you can take daily heart health supplements like L-arginine Plus as a way to promote your energy levels.
This supplement contains ingredients that support the production of nitric oxide, a natural vasodilator. In turn, nitric oxide relaxes blood vessels and makes it easier for blood, oxygen, and nutrients to circulate.
As your body receives more blood, oxygen, and nutrients, your body will get an energy boost and heart-health boost. Start taking care of your health today by trying cardio exercises, strength training, and L-arginine Plus together.