At some point in your exercise life, you'll ask yourself whether you should be focusing more on a cardio-only program, or a weights-only program. Most likely this will be when you hit a plateau in one of them, and feel that the time could be spent in the other type of exercise.

Does it really matter if you only do one type?

Yes, it does.

Let's take a look at the aims of the two types of exercise:

Cardio Workouts

Cardiovascular exercise mainly aims to develop and strengthen the cardiovascular system (which supplies your body with oxygen) through aerobic training. This means improving the ability of your heart, lungs, and blood vessels to do their job, working together more efficiently.

By improving your aerobic capacity, you increase the efficacy of your cardiovascular system. And research has shown, over and over again, the people who maintain a high level of fitness throughout their life have fuller, more productive lives as they get older. Plus.. they also live longer than non-exercisers.

We could be here all day listing the benefits of cardio exercise: lower blood pressure, lower 'bad' cholesterol and higher 'good', lower incidence of heart attack and stroke, lower risk of osteoporosis, overall decreased risk of most cancers, increased life span, and much much more.

Weight Training:

As you are aware, weight training strengthens the muscles, and by increasing our muscular strength, your body becomes more able to deal with everyday life, by being stronger, more agile, more flexible, and more able to recover from injuries.

Research has shown that people who do some weight training have many of the same benefits as people who do cardiovascular exercise. Weight training also decreases risk of bone fractures, as the weights help to build bone as well as muscle.

So Which Is Best?

As with many of these "either/or" discussions, the best thing to do is to combine both approaches. By having an exercise routine that uses both components, all aspects of your body will be enhanced and developed to make the most of what you are capable of. Cardio workouts strengthen the lungs and increase stamina. Increased stamina allows you to work longer on weight training. Increase muscle mass from weight training provides better support for your skeleton. A stronger skeleton and better aerobic capacity means that you can go on to do more exercise, and so it continues.

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