Do you ever wonder which is better for your health and fitness goals, cardio or strength training? Many people often feel like one must be better than the other or that if they were in a position where they had to choose one then they would need to pick the better option of the two. This is fairly common especially as we get busier with life, work, kids or other responsibilities and we want to maximize our time in the gym or maybe even accomplish what is most effective outside of the gym if at all possible. This can be seen in the rise of folks doing workouts at home while following an online program with minimal equipment, the rise of garage gyms, or folks purchasing a peloton to “get it in” whenever they can during their packed day. So, yes, it’s quite likely that you have wondered yourself what is best or maybe even tried some of the above. You may also be wondering; can cardio accomplish the same benefits as strength training or vice versa? Or does one have unique benefits that outweigh the other?

We will try and break this VS argument down a bit and also offer some advice

These activities happen at various intensities that challenge the lungs and cardiovascular system while mostly prioritizing fat burning (oxidation) pathways in these efforts that are longer duration, though other energy systems are used as well in both short and long duration (ATP-CP and glycolytic are these other systems also utilized). Prioritized, focused and steady sustained heart rates above resting rate that last for seconds to minutes to hours at different rates is how we define whether it’s cardio or not for the purpose of this article. AND, in typical “cardio” as most think of it, we do not include types of exercise that importantly prioritize muscle strength, endurance, size, etc (like backsquats).  In short, think longer sustainable efforts for cardiovascular and aerobic fitness for the purpose of this article.

Cardio is imperative not only for overall health, but also for longevity. Training different intensities during cardiovascular focused sessions is also important. Think Zone Training which typically focuses on 5 heart rate zones that are percentages of your max heart rate. Various types of cardio can improve heart and vascular health (hence “cardiovascular”) and act protectively for both. It helps to strengthen your heart, lungs and other muscles involved with breathing/respiration, increases red blood cells, improves oxygen uptake and delivery to tissues (partly due to increased red blood cells), improves lipid profiles, decreases inflammation, improves bone density, can help with warding off various metabolic diseases/disorders, improves mood, improves immune function, and is even associated with making you less likely to die from a variety of causes related to said systems. You undoubtedly have also heard that cardio can be great way burn more calories and fat; and lose weight or get lean. These are all valid and great benefits of cardio type exercises.

Okay, that’s all awesome news for “cardio”/aerobic training… game over…there couldn’t be a VS battle then, right? Not so fast.

We also think of the benefits to other parts of the body like tendons, ligaments, and increased bone density. Resilient Body does create many programs that actually aim to prioritize these. 

As you would expect, strength training can also help make you stronger and more resistant (and resilient) to injury, make it easier to recover from injury or illness, build more lean mass (critical as we age), fortify other soft tissues and bones (worth another mention), improve neuroplasticity, improve brain function and prevent atrophy, improve lipid profiles and decrease inflammation, and…wait for it… also contribute to some similar cardiovascular and aerobic health benefits mentioned in the cardio category!  There are certain cardiovascular and aerobic benefits that may not be on par with dedicated cardio at specific intensities, but this is nonetheless why many will debate strength training being superior.

Here’s the thing though…In our minds, neither is superior, and BOTH are important. But, as always…

IT DEPENDS!

If you’ve heard us here, or better yet in person, you have likely heard us say “it depends” VERY often when speaking on actual application of practical advice to an individual. The same applies when we are talking about what will be better in a versus scenario like the one of cardio vs strength. There is no stand-alone clear winner on paper here and there really isn’t necessarily one for an individual because it will depend on YOU.

What are your goals? What do you have time to do? What will you do consistently? And what do you enjoy doing?

Time and consistency are key so if you don’t have time to regularly do either cardio or strength training, then you likely will not get the benefits. If you do only have the ability, time or desire to do one, then it may make sense to pick the one that aligns with your goals and you enjoy the most so you will do it consistently; or perhaps split your time between different types of the two if you can find a way to compromise.  You may also find an exercise program that incorporates both in a way you find fun. We do this with the 3 tracks of programming we have in RB Build.

We have a secret, though…strength/resistance training can be cardio and vice versa! Hear us out.

Some examples:

For an untrained and sedentary desk jockey, getting up and going on a walk, jog, row, swim or bike etc.  will likely strengthen muscles, joints and bones that aren’t typically being used much and certainly not bearing weight or producing the force that would be necessary in most cardio efforts. This will likely lead to improvements in many of the categories mentioned above.

For a lifter with strength gain goals who typically only does sets of 3-5 reps with 3–5-minute rests and finds themselves winded walking up multiple flights of stairs, adding in some higher rep sets or supersets with shorter rests on some days may just get some extra aerobic benefits from a more sustained higher heart rate, max HR, or slow steady endurance.

A caveat here is that once you enter the gym and start moving (barring really long breaks, i.e. traditional powerlifting exclusively) or start most workouts that last longer than just minutes, chances are you are keeping your heart pumping faster than resting and also tapping into your aerobic and cardiovascular systems. Basically, you are likely getting in some “cardio”. This is why you will often hear us also say that strength training CAN be cardio too. However, the unique benefits that come from dedicated cardio sessions with specific and varied intensities would not be the same when hoping to achieve this from just walking into the gym for a typical strength focused session. There are indeed also benefits to training in different percentage zones of maximum heart rate each week and so it’s hard to just count strength training as checking the cardio box.

Resilient Body online and individual programs often harness a blend of strength and aerobic + strength type work so you can get more benefits from both types of training. We will intentionally include different sustained heart rate focused “cardio” blended with strength training elements. We also happen to be big advocates of dedicated cardio sessions and LOTS of low intensity “cardio” which can be as simple as getting out for a long walk or hike each week in addition to the hybrid type training we do.

Not doing enough types of cardio (especially max and ~80%) for max benefit:

We want to preface that this doesn’t need to take a long time! We just touched on this, and while it can be easy to do strength training and get some cardio in as a byproduct of doing strength training, it’s not the same as dedicated sessions. Even when doing dedicated cardio for the purpose of, well…cardio; it is still possible to not get enough. That’s because you will still want to work different rate of maximum heart rate for different amounts of time.

Most people do not reach max heart rate weekly which can be important to do. You can use the formula of 220-Age = max heart rate (HR), but that may not match up for your max HR. Try doing the hardest cardio workout you can do with a heart rate monitor (i.e. 30 sec or so sprint on track, hill, row or airbike etc) and see what you get your heart rate to. This should feel like absolute hell but you’ll know YOUR max heart rate. Make sure you do this at last weekly so you just reach that peak. This can help with cardiac output (stroke volume, output per pump), pulmonary exchange benefits, mitochondrial benefits, and all kinds of benefits from a max challenge on the systems involved. Max HR training may actually help with strength benefits due to lactate buffering benefits as well, and vice versa without affecting hypertrophy (if your goals are to get bigger muscles that’s good news). Try doing some repeated bouts, like 4-8, if you can do that each or every other week minimum (or at least make sure you reach that peak weekly). Careful if you have not done this before and make sure you are cleared for this type of intensity. This will have you huffing and puffing and likely breathing in and out of your mouth.

Try also doing some middle ground ~80% of max heartrate for more minutes (not seconds), maybe 3 to 6 minutes of work and SUSTAIN it. Use equal rest to work ratios here if you are doing repeated bouts; and do that for as long as you have time for. Sustaining that high effort is key so make sure you are indeed at ~80%. You can play with trying to maintain nasal breathing here, but you will likely be a mixture of nasal and nose + mouth.

These first two are different than the third here which is steady state cardio for 20-30min or so with the goal of blood flow, lymphatic movement, recovery etc. Try doing this through nasal breathing only. This is your walks/steps and hikes or maybe slightly more elevated (but shy of breathing nose + mouth).

Confusing what you want to train (the physiology):

An example would be jogging or biking to challenge your cardiovascular system but feeling your legs get tired instead of ever feeling you’re out of breath. The opposite can happen as well. This may indicate whether you need to train more muscular endurance vs aerobic and cardiovascular; and vice versa.

The good news is the same training that is the indicator (jogging or cycling) can also help you adapt in the way you need to. Keep doing it to reep the needed adaptations and benefits. Of course you can also fine tune training to cater to aspects of the cardio vs muscular endurance or strength side of this example as well.

Know what you are looking for when you are training and how to get to the place where you are training and adapting that part of your physiology.

Not training the right muscles in strength training:

There are NO (read ZERO) bad movements as far as strength training goes. The deadlift is not the “bad guy” causing your back pain. You possibly are not using the appropriate type of deadlift that’s best for you, or more to the point, you may not be moving in a way that connects you with the right tissues you want to be using to begin with. This is all too common with a variety of lifts (and movements in general) not targeting the tissues you want to primarily use. Maybe you squat but seldom feel a pump or soreness in your lower body following? These can be signs you aren’t connecting along with the indicator that can be the intense lower back soreness or pain after a squat session.

Try regressing movements or dancing around them with more similar movements that you connect to the tissues you want to train. Try incorporating movements that remove a challenge like balance or a more complex version of the movement before advancing. A great example would be holding on to something when doing a lift or using a tool that cues the body parts/tissues you want to be focusing on so you can make that mind-body connection first.

Tech tracking activity misguidance:

MANY folks (maybe you as well) are using health tracking devices these days to see if they are on track with their health and fitness goals cardio, strength, or otherwise. Don’t get caught in the trap and misguided cues that CAN come from overly focusing on tech to track (emphasis on CAN, because it isn’t always). Sure, various wearable health and fitness tracking devices can help but they can also keep you distracted from more meaningful things to do and pay attention to. Plus, most all wearables do a poor job of tracking calories across different activities as well as sleep metrics. Some devices seem to do a better job than others at tracking steps and heart rate, so they can be useful for that type of info gathering and use depending on the device. Therefore they may be a good tool for zone training during cardio or figuring out if your strength training is checking some of those cardio boxes. They can also be useful for determining if you’re moving enough by seeing if you are getting in enough steps (at least 7k-10k).

The point here is to highlight that many of you may be depending on these devices for info that they aren’t very accurate at gathering and then using that info to make decisions or determine whether you are reaching goals while there may be other ways. If you are using a device that is telling you how many calories you expended, what calories you can eat, how much you slept or how recovered you are; it may not be super accurate. Methodically measuring body weight along with energy intake since fluctuations in weight will tell you what is going on with the metabolizable energy stores of the body (e.g. fat/adipose tissue). Barring more meaningless and transient fluctuations from sodium and carbohydrate intake, hydration status, menstrual cycle, and how much food is in your GI tract can be tough using this weighing method, but if you spend enough time to pick up the rhyme and rhythm to how you tend to fluctuate daily versus more long term, you can get the info you need there to make adjustments if these are some of the end goals of your strength and cardio sessions.

Furthermore, getting in 7k-10k steps a day, getting in varying intensities of cardio, and doing strength training can be kept pretty simple to reach your individual goals without ever needing to refer to a wearable.

Make a game-plan that is best for YOUR goals and health!

With that all said, it may make sense to create and follow a simple plan that checks off the most important boxes for you in an EFFICIENT way for both the strength and cardio side of the equation. Afterall, it isn’t a battle between the two since both are awesome and awesome for you! If you have any questions that have popped up about your own strength training or cardio activities, send us a message. We would love to chat!