Cardio Is for Your Heart and Weights Are for Your Muscles… Right?
There are certain things about exercise that many of us have believed for years.
Cardio is for your heart.
Weights are for your muscles.
Simple.
Except… like most things when it comes to our bodies, it’s not quite that black and white. 😂
I certainly grew up thinking this way.
If you wanted to get fit or look after your heart, you ran, cycled, swam or did aerobics.
If you lifted weights, it was because you wanted bigger muscles.
But our bodies are far cleverer, and slightly more complicated, than that.
Your body doesn’t put exercise into neat little boxes
Obviously, cardiovascular exercise is fantastic for our heart and lungs.
Walking briskly, cycling, swimming, running, dancing, anything that gets us a little warmer, slightly puffy and makes the heart work a bit harder, helps improve our cardiovascular fitness.
But here’s the bit we sometimes forget:
Strength training isn’t JUST about muscles.
When you’re squatting, lunging, lifting, pushing and pulling, your heart and lungs are working too.
Try a decent set of squats and tell me your heart hasn’t noticed. 🥴
Strength training also does far more than simply make a muscle bigger or stronger.
When we lift weights or work against resistance, we’re challenging our muscles, but we’re also loading our bones, supporting our joints and asking our balance, coordination and cardiovascular system to join in too.
And as we get older, maintaining that strength becomes increasingly important if we want to keep doing all the everyday things we probably take for granted.
Getting out of a chair.
Climbing stairs.
Carrying the shopping.
Getting up from the floor.
Lifting a suitcase.
Playing with the grandchildren.
These are all things that require strength.
And cardio isn’t JUST about your heart either
It works the other way too.
Take something as simple as a brisk walk.
Yes, your heart and lungs are working.
But so are your legs.
Your muscles are contracting with every step. You’re putting load through your bones. Your ankles and feet are working. You’re coordinating movement and, particularly if you’re walking over uneven ground, your balance is being challenged too.
Throw in a decent hill and suddenly your glutes and thighs are very aware that they’ve been invited along. 😂
Again…
Nothing works in isolation.
If you’ve been in my world for any length of time, you’re probably sick of hearing me say that by now! 😅
But it’s true.
So which is more important, cardio or strength?
I don’t think we need to choose.
They both have a job to do.
And rather than worrying about putting our exercise into the correct box, I’d much rather we thought about giving our bodies a mixture of movement.
Walk.
Lift something.
Get a little out of breath.
Challenge your balance.
Move your joints.
Climb some stairs.
Get outside.
Carry things.
Squat.
Push.
Pull.
It doesn’t all have to happen in one workout, and it certainly doesn’t need to involve hours in a gym.
It’s the combination, repeated regularly, that matters.
This becomes even more important as we get older
I’m far less interested these days in exercise being about how many calories we’ve burned or how exhausted we can make ourselves.
For me, particularly in midlife and beyond, it’s about keeping our options open.
We want strong muscles.
We want strong bones.
We want a heart and lungs capable of getting us up that hill.
We want the balance and coordination to feel confident moving around.
And we want joints that continue to move well.
That’s why I love combining strength, mobility and balance in my Flexpress sessions, alongside encouraging people to walk, get outside and generally keep moving between workouts.
Those short sessions may not always feel dramatic.
But they add up.
You don’t need to train like an athlete
This is probably the most important bit.
Looking after your cardiovascular fitness doesn’t mean you suddenly need to start running.
Getting stronger doesn’t mean you need to become a bodybuilder.
And staying mobile doesn’t require an hour of stretching every day.
It’s about doing a little bit of everything, consistently.
Because ultimately, most of us aren't training for a marathon or a weightlifting competition.
We’re training for life.
We want bodies that are strong enough, fit enough and capable enough to keep saying YES to life for as long as possible. 🤗
And that, for me, is a much better reason to exercise.
Alison x
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