Skip to main content

Strength Training vs Cardio Junkies Debate

As I was pounding away some miles on the boring treadmill, I was thinking. I don’t know about you, but it feels like the fitness world is becoming more and more divided. I get that in life we have different talents and passions. But I feel like there is a war waging and it is getting intense out there. It is a war against weight lifting verses cardio junkies. I feel like these two worlds are growing farther and farther apart.

I have a lot of visions, hopes and dreams. One of my aspirations is to merge these two divided groups. I have done a little self-research and I think that it is so interesting the feelings between these two groups. I was talking to some body builders and they pretty much talked about cardio like it was a disease and how they didn’t want anything to do with it. They often expressed their feelings as though people were just wasting their time on those cardio machines. As I talked to some people who only believe in cardio, who said they can go a whole year without ever picking up a weight.

Do you know the benefits of strength training?? These are from the Mayo Clinic:
· Develop strong bones: By stressing your bones, strength training can increase bone density and reduce the risk of osteoporosis.
· Manage your weight: Strength training can help you manage or lose weight, and it can increase your metabolism to help you burn more calories.
· Enhance your quality of life: Strength training may enhance your quality of life and improve your ability to do every day activities. Building muscle also can contribute to better balance and may reduce your risk of falls. This can help you maintain independence as you age.
· Manage Chronic conditions: Strength training can reduce the signs and symptoms of many chronic conditions, such as arthritis, back pain, obesity, heart disease, depression and diabetes.

Do you know the benefits of cardiovascular activity? My uncle had a triple bypass surgery on his heart 5 years ago. They told him he was only expected to live about 2 years after that surgery. He is a phenomenal road biker and I believe that what has kept him alive is his will to build a strong heart through cardiovascular training.

Here are some benefits of cardiovascular training:
· Weight loss
· Strong heart and lungs
· Increased bone density
· Reduced stress
· Reduced risk of heart disease and some types of cancer
· Temporary relief from depression and anxiety
· Better sleep

I am a believer that combining these two worlds just a little bit would really help the overall health of the fitness industry. Every runner could benefit from strength training and every body builder could use some time taking care of their heart. So as the new year is here, and we are doing a little self-analyzing, lets try something new! Cardio Junkies, pick up those weights and to you big lifters out there, jump on a treadmill.

I think that a lot of people, including me, get stuck in their normal routine. Change it up a little bit. Through some heavy weights around, run an extra mile. I promise it won’t hurt ya! 😊

Happy running,
Kylie

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Supplements

Supplements.... Supplements... Where to begin! The fitness industry can be a very messy, intimidating and contain a lot of misleading information. Supplements are a huge money maker for companies because everyone is looking for that "magical pill" to make them fit into those high school jeans. If you know me, I am a very naturalist person but I also do take supplements. I love to find very natural supplements and limit my caffeine intake. **Disclosure- I am not paid to represent any of these products. They are all just products that I like and recommend to everyone in the fitness world. My schedule: Wake up at 4:30 AM- Take my pre-workout from WM Nutrition & L-Carnitine from Ideal Fit During my workout- sip on Ideal Fit's BCAAs & WM nutrition Hydrenengery After my workout- IdealFit Protein Powder At breakfast- Glucosamine and daily multi-vitamin Here are what they look like and links to where you can buy them: Pre workout- WM Nutrition WM Nutrit...

New York Marathon Recap

As the New York Marathon approaches, many memories from last year's race flow through my mind. I ended up running a 3:36 last year (which qualifies me for Chicago) and boy oh boy was it an amazing experience. Lets start with the training: THE MARATHON:- 16 weeks of training. 2-20 milers, running 5 days a week, lots of blisters and always being hungry. I love what Stephanie Bruce said- "The marathon is about learning how to run on tired legs." How true that is. I was able to run a 1:30 half marathon which qualified me to run this amazing race. As I started to read about the marathon everyone said it was not an easy flat course. They had a thing back east called "Bridges" and a lot of them. Well Utah has something called "Mountains" and I used those to my advantage. I have ran my share of marathons but this one was different. I wanted to train smarter, harder and just have some fun. This is what my average week looked like: Monday-  Get the legs ...

Benefits of Interval Training

Speed work often gets neglected in my training but I can tell when I am at mile 20 if I have done the proper amount of speed work.  There are some critical things you need to focus on while you are training for a marathon that include tempo runs, strength training, and mileage. There are some classic VO2 max workouts that consists of repeats with a duration of 3-5 minutes. These are awesome to test your fitness and really train how your muscles will feel that last 10 K of the race.  After you have achieved some goal times and are ready to take it to the next level, do not focus on increasing the length of the workout but focus on shorter distance with sprints as short as 50 meters. Studies have shown that this can change the way your body works on race day.  There are many different ways that you can incorporate these workouts into your training. 1. Short for Speed Endurance: This is a very important workout because on race day, this will make your feel like you a...