Most personal trainers and fitness professionals agree that there are profound and lasting benefits to both cardiovascular exercise and strength training. The two routines work different parts of the body, but both help to tone muscles and improve overall health. While cardio increases heart rate and burns more calories, strength training builds muscle and can boost metabolism in a more effective manner.
Losing Weight
To reduce body fat, "Women's Health" magazine states that cardio exercise has an edge over strength training. Cardio burns up to 12 calories per minute of exercise, and strength burns up to 10. However, the magazine also points out that weight training and other strength exercises often ramp up a person's metabolism, and a high metabolism combined with increased muscle mass helps the body burn calories at rest. Therefore, a strength workout of the same length as a cardio workout may actually burn more calories in total when burns from post-workout time are counted.
Wear and Tear
Miriam Nelson, Tufts University's director of the John Hancock Center for Physical Activity and Nutrition, recommends against doing weight-training exercises more than three times a week. If a person lifts weights or does strength training too frequently, muscles won't have the opportunity to repair small tears and other strains that come from the exercises. Nelson adds that cardio exercises can be done every day without increased risk of muscle tears or related injuries.
Health Benefits
Cardio exercises reduces the risk of heart disease, obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, and a host of other diseases and maladies. Though strength training burns calories and fat in some similar ways, studies have yet to link it to all the health benefits that come from cardio exercises.
Muscle
Strength training has greater benefits for toning muscles, building muscle mass, and keeping muscles strong, especially after a workout. Blood rushes to muscles during a weight lifting or strength training routine, making the muscles swell and the body appear more sculpted. Cardio can also change and tone the body's shape over time, but not in quite the same way as strength training does.
Balance
Cardio workouts and strength training don't have to be mutually exclusive, and many experts agree that they shouldn't. Dr. Krista Scott-Dixon of The Diet Channel urges people to consider weighted cardio activities that will increase heart rate and tone muscles at the same time. In other words, combining strength and cardio in the same workout will provide you with the benefits from both exercises and can help tone and work the whole body, inside and out, rather than just isolated parts of it.
