The Benefits of Strength Training and Cardio Exercises

There has always been a debate for decades over whether cardio training or strength training is better for you. The reality is you need both. Your body will not depend on just a single branch of exercise to work. Cardio and strength workouts come with their own set of benefits, and each supports the other and enhances your overall fitness performance. It is suggested that adults perform at least 30 minutes of aerobic activity daily, and engage in strength training at least twice per week. These recommendations from the American Heart Association suffice for 30 minutes per day, or 150 minutes per week, of physical related activity which can be easy as going for a run around the block and hitting the gym with some weights.

Benefits of strength training
Weight training builds big muscle and helps to strengthen the connective tissues in your body, and that goes far towards injury prevention. Not only will it help with everyday chores and aging bodies but you'll also improve your posture, balance, and stability. Weight training helps shape your body and metabolizes fat faster. Following strength training, your metabolism remains higher for an elongated period of time (unlike cardio which halts as soon as your heart rate drops), in return burning more calories after your workout. Furthermore muscle expends more energy to maintain than fat does, so in return you'll burn more calories while at rest by adding some muscle to your frame.

Benefits of cardio training
Cardio training improves your body's ability to process and use a higher content of oxygen, increases your lungs capacity, and improves your overall fitness level to help you live longer and have a healthier heart. Even when the top body builders started to train they began to recognize the high level of importance of adding cardiovascular training into their workouts aiding them in increased blood-flow to the muscles as well as speeding the muscle breakdown healing process and recovery through workouts. Cardio training elevates your heart rate in the short term, with benefits like lower blood pressure and a decreased resting heart rate, which results in less effort for the heart and any future diseases.

A properly designed and rounded workout routine comes with an abundance of mental and physical benefits. Exercise releases endorphin's under stress, which helps aid stress, tension and anxiety, as well as increasing blood flow to the brain, to help you function at higher levels. Risks of illnesses like diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and certain types of cancer can be decreased by performing healthy related activities. Exercise helps maintain muscle mass and strengthen bone density, both of which decline as we age. Staying active will not only give us a better way of life but a longer and healthier one.

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Why Is Strength Training the Most Important Exercise for You?

What Strength Training?

Strength training is the process of prioritising the development of strength when using resistance training, particularly ulilising compound movements which work along a 'chain' of muscles to extend the ability to perform that particular lift.

Why is Strength Training Important for bodybuilding, weight loss and fitness?

The most important factor for muscular development is the amount of load you can effectively subject your muscle to. By neglecting to include a foundation in strength the exerciser fails to develop the strength required to maximise the ability to fully overload the muscle and that is why it should form the cornerstone of your bodybuilding routine.

How do I perform strength training?

By using a combination of heavy loads and minimal repetitions you can develop strength at the same time as forcing the chains of muscle activated by the exercises to adapt to the loads they are subjected to. Utilising the principal of progressive resistance the exerciser can incrementally increase the load as the muscle adapts to the workload it is subjected to therefore increasing strength progressively as training continues. The best exercise to develop strength include those which mimic standing, lifting and pressing, many practitioners prefer the Bench Press, Deadlift and Squat in order to maximise their results.

How do I manage strength work in my workouts?

The main component to measure with strength training is one repetition maximum, or 1rm. This is the best indicator of strength but not necessarily the safest or most accurate as it requires measurement of a 100% effort lift from the participant, usually something best left to advanced trainers rather than beginners. New exercisers are better left determining their three repetition maximum (3rm), which is 90% of their 1rm, or five repetition maximum (5rm) which is 86% of your 1rm.

Incorporating strength training into a bodybuilding (hypertrophy) workout

A simple way to incorporate strength training into your bodybuilding workout is to add one of the big three lifts into a split program and to train each one of these at the start of that particular workout.

For example, when training chest include a bench press as your first exercise. When training back include a deadlift. When training legs include squats as the strength training component of the workout.

Volume

The amount of repetitions and sets performed should be based on reaching your maximum load always with the goal of increasing your one repetition maximum over time. The best sets and repetitions to accomplish this is the 5 sets of 5 repetitions range, with a view to pyramiding (increasing load while decreasing repetitions). So even though the recommended repetitions sit at 5, this should be an average rather than a prescribed dose meaning that the first set should serve as a war up and more reps are better (even as high as 8-12) while the last few sets could be as low as 3-5 reps. Each workout you push out at least one great set of 3 maximal lifts it goes along way towards making you stronger so you can build more muscle.

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