The two most common types of training are cardiovascular (cardio) or aerobic exercise, and strength training. So which is more effective in enhancing your results? Each of these training styles offers distinct and powerful benefits to your health, fitness and overall well being. Let’s dive into the positives of each method, to determine the most impactful way to train to achieve your goals.

Cardio or Aerobic Training

Cardio refers to any kind of intentional physical activity which raises your heart rate for a period of time, leaving you breathing faster than normal, and increasing the oxygen content in your blood which is pumped out by your heart to the rest of your body. This oxygen utilisation allows the production of energy while you’re working out. Cardio training encapsulates so many different types of exercise, including running, rowing, swimming, hiking, cycling and walking.

Benefits of Cardio Training:

Improves heart and lung health.

One of the most powerful benefits of cardio is its ability to enhance both heart and lung health. In doing cardiovascular exercise, you’re placing additional stress on your muscles meaning they’re working harder and require more oxygen. To meet these increased demands your breathing increases, placing “healthy” stress on your heart and lungs. This means your heart has to pump blood around your body faster and your lung capacity is challenged, effectively strengthening and improving the efficiency of both your heart and lungs.

When cardiovascular activity is done consistently for a period of time, you’ll likely notice a decrease in your resting heart rate and blood pressure, as your heart is more efficient in doing its job of oxygenating your blood and pumping this out to your body. In essence, your heart is no longer unnecessarily working overtime to do its job, it’s simply stronger and better equipped to perform the same functions with less effort, resulting in health improvements for you along the way.

Cardio is an excellent “workout” for your heart and lungs, helping to improve the strength and efficiency of these organs, and lowering your blood pressure too.

Helps regulate blood glucose levels.

Regular cardio or aerobic exercise helps to regulate your insulin and blood glucose levels, supporting weight management in the process. When you exercise, your body draws on reserves of glucose stored in your muscles and liver, as well as any sugars hanging around in your bloodstream. As a result, your blood glucose levels can decrease both during and after your workout, for 24 hours post-exercise - or even longer depending on the duration and intensity of your session. Your body becomes more sensitive to insulin following your workout, and more efficient at regulating your blood sugar levels. This also helps to reduce your risk of developing type 2 diabetes, and assists in managing symptoms in those with the condition.

Supports cognitive function.

Cardio has significant benefits to your brain health and function, leading to structural and functional changes which support cognitive function and overall wellbeing. Not only does regular cardio improve brain plasticity, memory, attention and executive control processes, it has also been linked to improvements in academic ability in those who exercise regularly, when compared against the abilities of sedentary people. Cardio helps form new synapses or connections in your brain, enhancing its efficiency and function, and supporting cognitive flexibility and function across all age groups.

Prevents ageing-related health conditions.

Similarly, cardio helps to prevent age-related cognitive decline, as well as other health conditions associated with ageing. Regular aerobic exercise reduces your risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, slows deterioration in executive function and memory, and improves overall quality of life in ageing adults.

Cardio has a protective effect on your brain as you age, increasing blood flow to your brain (and the rest of your body) and effectively improving your memory and cognitive ability. Your brain begins to lose tissue as young as age 30, so cardio exercise can help to slow this loss and preserve cognitive performance and function as you get older.

Plus, when it comes to the physical consequences of ageing, cardio can also reduce your risk of osteoporosis, arthritis, fractures and falls. By maintaining your range of motion, improving balance and posture, and preserving your joint and muscle function and strength, regular exercise can prevent discomfort and physical decline as you age - and it’s never too late to start!

Supports mental health and reduces stress.

Cardio has enormous benefits on your mental wellbeing, stress levels and mood. By producing endorphins (or “feel good” neurotransmitters), exercise triggers the release of dopamine - your “happy hormone”, or the chemical produced in your brain helping you feel good, effectively boosting your mood. If you’ve ever experienced “runner’s high”, you’ll know exactly how this feels!

In addition to the short-term mood enhancements cardio can achieve, it helps support mood stability and emotional health in the long-term too. Regular exercise can reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression, improve self-esteem and confidence, and enhance feelings of happiness and well being, even when you’re not actively moving. It has immense benefits to reducing stress too, with the production of endorphins helping to lower stress levels and acting as natural painkillers. These endorphins also support sleep - which further helps to reduce stress. 

Improves immune function.

Regular aerobic exercise strengthens your immune system, largely owing to its ability to reduce your stress levels, improve sleep, and enhance the blood and oxygen flow to your cells and body. Together, these benefits improve the effectiveness of your immune function. Regular cardio also increases the number of antibodies in your blood called immunoglobulins, which recognise and destroy bacteria, viruses and other things threatening your body and health. However it’s important to note that too much high intensity cardio can have the opposite effect, weakening your immune system if you’re placing too much stress on your body consistently. Balance is key!

Improves energy levels.

Naturally, exercising consistently will help improve your energy levels day-to-day, via several different mechanisms. When you exercise and challenge your body, you put pressure on your muscle cells, causing these cells to produce more mitochondria. Mitochondria, also known as the “powerhouse” of your cells, create fuel from the glucose in your food, and the oxygen in the air around you, so by producing more mitochondria you’re also increasing your body’s energy supply. This results in increased energy levels and feelings of well being.

Additionally, the production of endorphins and dopamine during and after a cardio workout leaves you feeling more energised for hours afterwards. So you’re enhancing your energy on multiple levels.

Supports sleep.

By participating in cardio regularly, the quality of your sleep improves dramatically. Not only will you notice you’re able to fall asleep faster, but you’re also supporting your REM (or deep) sleep, allowing you to feel more rested and recovered after a good night’s sleep. However, try to avoid intense cardio too close to bedtime, or you’re likely to experience the opposite, finding it difficult to fall asleep due to high levels of adrenaline circulating in your body.

Given sleep is essential for good health in so many ways, including supporting memory consolidation, immune function, mental health, well being, nervous system function, immune system function, hunger levels, hormone balance, muscle repair and function and more, supporting your sleep quality by exercising regularly is of enormous benefit to your overall health and should not be underestimated!

Strength or Resistance Training

Strength or resistance training involves using some form of resistance to muscular contraction in order to build strength, anaerobic endurance, and muscle. In principle, this type of training challenges your body’s muscles by requiring them to overcome added resistance repeatedly and consistently, allowing these muscles to strengthen over time. There are many ways to add this resistance to your workouts, including free weights (barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells), weighted medicine balls, sand bags, weight machines, resistance bands, or simply using your own body weight. 

In order to continue progressing and seeing results from your strength training, you want to change up your resistance program every 6-8 weeks. This can involve adding weight or reps, changing exercises, varying your rest periods, or working different muscle groups. Variety and progressive overload is the key to maintaining continuous improvement.

It’s important to note that many of the benefits of cardio training mentioned above can also be achieved through strength training - for example, improved sleep, enhanced energy levels, immune system support, and preventing age-related health decline. However strength training also offers many unique health benefits when done consistently over time. 

Benefits of Strength Training:

Improves strength and mobility.

While it may seem an obvious benefit to mention, resistance training is incredibly powerful for maintaining and increasing your strength, and improving your capacity to perform day-to-day functions and movements with ease. Consistent strength training helps to build and tone muscles, protecting your joints from injury and preserving your mobility, even as you age and begin to gradually lose muscle. We begin losing lean muscle mass as young as 30 years old, but studies have shown strength training can help to preserve or increase muscle mass, strength and power, therefore protecting bone, joint and muscle health as we get older. Strength training has also been found to improve functional performance, and make daily activities less cumbersome or difficult.

In addition, resistance training can improve mobility and flexibility. This type of training increases the range of motion of your joints, allowing you to improve your ease of movement, and reduce any muscular or joint-related pain. Weaker muscles are associated with reduced range of motion and flexibility, so by strengthening and challenging your muscles, you’re actively working to combat this. In fact, strength training has been shown to be just as effective for improving flexibility and mobility as regular stretching. Working on your mobility is incredibly important as you age too, as it allows you to maintain independence and functionality for longer. Strength training helps with balance, coordination and posture, making it of particular benefit for anyone concerned with ageing and its associated physical changes.

Supports bone health.

The impact of strength training on bone health should not be underestimated. Resistance training is essential for bone development and health, and can help to combat the loss of bone density and strength as you age - particularly in post-menopausal women. Weight-bearing exercises place a temporary stress on your bones, activating the cells which build up your bones and signalling these to rebuild your bones even stronger than before. In fact, resistance training has been shown to be the most effective intervention to maintain or increase bone mass and strength. 

Increased bone strength reduces your risk of developing osteoporosis, and of sustaining fractures or falls as you age too. These bone-strengthening benefits are not limited to ageing people - they can be obtained at any age!

Supports weight management.

Strength training aids in the building of lean muscle mass. And the more lean muscle mass you possess, the more energy you burn in a day - even while you’re completely at rest. Lean muscle is an active tissue, compared to body fat which can be considered a “passive” tissue, which is why lean muscle requires its own supply of energy even when you’re resting.

While both cardio and strength training burn energy during and after your workout, resistance training often requires more energy from your body - particularly after the session, while your body works to rebuild and repair the (positive) damage and stress you placed on your muscles during your workout.

Additionally, since resistance training is more effective in building lean muscle, it will often burn more energy for a longer period of time post-workout and while you rest, compared to cardio training. This makes strength workouts extremely important and beneficial for anyone looking to manage their weight or work towards a healthy weight range.

Prevents cognitive and physical health decline, and chronic health conditions.

People who regularly participate in strength training have been shown to be better protected against age-related cognitive and physical decline, in a similar manner to those who do cardio. Various studies have shown older adults experience improved cognitive function including memory, executive function and processing speed after undergoing regular strength training. This type of training has a neuroprotective effect on the brain, by improving blood flow, reducing inflammation, and increasing the production of certain chemicals in the brain linked to memory and learning.

Physically, resistance training can also help to prevent or control chronic health conditions including diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, joint or back pain, obesity and depression. And for those already experiencing chronic conditions, this training method can help to alleviate or reduce some symptoms. For example, strength training can improve blood sugar control in type 2 diabetic patients.

Reduces risk of injury.

On a related note, resistance training reinforces the strength and mobility of your muscles, ligaments, tendons and joints, helping to protect against injury. It can improve the strength of key muscle groups such as your core, glutes and hamstrings, therefore correcting muscular imbalances and ensuring you’re recruiting the right muscles in heavy or compound lifts. This prevents your risk of placing excessive strain on other, smaller muscles when undergoing these movements. For example, if you’re performing a heavier deadlift, by strengthening your core, hamstrings and glutes you’re less likely to place excess strain on your lower back during the lift, therefore reducing your risk of injury.

Makes everyday movements and activities easier.

Strength training leverages everyday movements, adding resistance to further challenge the body. Naturally, as you get better at movement patterns and improve your strength, everyday tasks become simpler and easier, and your body becomes more efficient in functional movements such as lifting, pushing and pulling. Essentially, it enhances your ability to move through life safely and confidently, making tasks like carrying groceries, maintaining stability and posture, and lifting heavy items much easier.

Improves energy levels and mood.

Strength training does wonders for your self-esteem and sense of well being, with studies showing it can improve confidence, body image and mood. In fact, strength training is often used in the treatment of depression and mental health conditions, owing to its ability to increase endorphins and induce positive changes to the brain which can reduce symptoms of anxiety and boost your mood.

Improves heart health.

As mentioned, strength training shares many of the benefits of cardio. Studies show strength training also improves sleep, enhances mood and mood stability, reduces rates of cognitive decline, and so on. Interestingly, another benefit of cardio which is shared with resistance training is its ability to improve heart health and blood pressure. Research demonstrates that a combination of strength and aerobic/cardio training is more effective than cardio alone in reducing heart disease risk and supporting heart disease recovery.

The Big Question: Which is more effective?

As you’ve likely gathered, cardio and strength training each have immense benefits for both your physical and mental health. While some of the positives overlap, they each offer individual ways to reduce disease and health risk, and optimise your strength, cognitive function and confidence. So the short answer to the question is this: they’re both incredibly effective for someone looking to improve their health in any way, and ideally you want to be incorporating both types of training in your workout regime.

In order to get the best results, and maintain good health, performance and continuous improvement, adding variety to your workouts in the form of both cardio and resistance sessions is ideal. Not only will this mean you’re challenging different systems in your body, allowing you to build strength, endurance, mobility and fitness, you’ll also enhance your results by covering all functional bases of training.

At the end of the day, the best type of workout is the one you’re most consistent with. So if you can’t stand resistance training, and find yourself skipping the gym every time you tell yourself you’re going to smash out a strength session, then cardio will always be better than no exercise at all. The main aim of moving your body is to find a type of movement that leaves you feeling empowered, energised and strong! Research shows that reducing sitting or sedentary time is even more important for your health than how much or what type of exercise you’re doing, so whichever method you choose in order to do so is guaranteed to have positive effects on your health and fitness! However ideally, you should aim to include both training methodologies in your weekly workout split for optimal results and efficiency.

What’s the optimal workout split?

While it varies for each individual based on body composition, level of strength and fitness, goals, age, preferences and many other factors, aiming for at least two strength sessions per week is a good baseline. From there, you can add two or three cardio-based sessions into your week. Or you may choose to do three strength sessions and one or two cardio workouts. Make strength training your priority, and add cardio workouts from there as you improve your fitness. A well-rounded program will include strength training to optimise mobility, flexibility, strength and bone density, as well as cardio to improve heart and lung capacity and endurance.

You don’t need to overdo it, either. More is not more when it comes to exercise. Make sure you’re including at least one or two rest days per week into your routine, to allow your muscles and body to recover between sessions. If you’re doing excessive amounts of exercise or not allowing adequate recovery, you actually begin to hinder your performance and results. So start slowly if you’re new to training, and aim for efficiency in your programming and workout plan, instead of intensity or volume. Remember, as long as you’re moving your body in some way, and reducing your sedentary time in doing so, you’re providing immense benefits to your body and mind - just some of which we’ve covered here today.

Looking for individual guidance to help you achieve your fitness and exercise goals with balance? Or maybe you need some support reevaluating your relationship with exercise and your body? Book a session with the ETPHD team here!