Strength Training vs. Cardio: Pros and Cons

Practice any regular exercise, and you’re on the right path to achieving your fitness goals. In the course of developing your workout routine, you may have some questions about which program to pursue. Some regimens call for strength training as your ticket to fitness, while others seem to focus solely on Cardio.

Both are excellent ways to get yourself feeling better, looking better, and living your healthiest life. There are pros and cons to both, though, you may consider when attempting to balance the two.

Basic Strength Training

Basic strength training focuses more on building and toning muscle to achieve your fitness goal.

The Pros of Strength Training:

• Can help stabilize and strengthen areas of concern
• Keeps the body active as aging continues
• Muscle requires more calories to function than fat. More muscle means you can consume more calories without gaining weight.
• Whether you’re toning specific muscle groups or doing

The Cons of Strength Training

• Injury can quickly occur if you’re training on your own without correct form
• Minor injuries can grow into bigger ones if you don’t rest target areas
• Depending on the type of training, your body may lack much needed cardiovascular conditioning

Basic Cardio

Where strength training stops, Cardio starts. Cardiovascular exercise conditions your cardiovascular system, strengthening your heart, and improving the overall health of your internal systems. It also raises your heart rate into target zones that are ideal for weight loss.

The Pros of Cardio

• An efficient way to burn calories as long as your heart rate is sufficiently elevated
• Promotes longevity thanks to the strengthened cardiovascular system you’ll enjoy
• Builds your endurance and strength during strenuous, prolonged physical activity

The Cons of Cardio

• Your body may acclimate after a prolonged period of doing the same repetitive cardio exercises. Change things up to keep your body challenged.
• Cardio may work your body overall, but maybe less efficient at fine toning, you may desire to strengthen weaknesses or improve the appearance of target areas.
• If you don’t get your heart rate up, burning calories will take a lot longer.

The best of both Cardio and strength training worlds is by simply combining the two into one workout. Alternatively, you can choose to split your week up into cardio days and strength training days. Whatever you decide to do, feel proud that you are living a healthy lifestyle and taking care of your body.