Cardio or Weights For A Healthy Heart?

If the idea of exercising for cardiovascular (heart) health makes you think of spin class, it’s time to shift that thinking. In addition to traditional “cardio” regimens such as biking, running and high-intensity interval training, there is another kind of workout that benefits your heart: strength training.

Multiple studies have now found a higher correlation between lack of heart disease and strength training than cardio alone - of course, cardio, though is better than no exercise at all.

The main reason that weight training pips cardio is that it causes a greater reduction in the pericardial adipose tissue which is a fatty deposit right in the heart sac. Cardio activity doesn't reduce this fat. This is the fatty tissue that's most likely to increase your risk of heart disease and stroke.

Although science has yet to determine exactly why weight training helps to prevent diabetes, but scientists say that, generally, weight training gives you bigger muscles, and bigger muscles help to prevent diabetes.

As Brad Schoenfeld, associate professor of exercise science at Lehman College in New York, explains: “You have insulin circulating, but you don’t have the entry into the cells. . . . The doors are locked.”

The “locked doors” that characterize Type 2 diabetes make it difficult for the insulin in your bloodstream to turn glucose into energy. This results in excess glucose in the bloodstream, which can lead to a number of health conditions, including heart disease and stroke.

Increased muscle mass can help you process blood sugar, decreasing your risk of Type 2 diabetes and the cascade of diagnoses it can set into motion, including heart attack and stroke.

Schoenfeld uses an analogy to explain what your biceps have to do with your blood sugar. “Think of muscle as a storage bin for glucose. Glucose is glycogen, which is the stored form of sugar,” he says. “Let’s say you want to store your sweaters. If you have a small storage bin, it’s only going to store a certain amount of sweaters,” while a larger bin fits more sweaters. “If you have small amounts of muscle, your bin for storing glucose is small, and you can end up having issues,” particularly as your muscles naturally atrophy with age.

By building muscle mass, resistance training gives you “larger bins” with “greater storage capacity” to help prevent insulin resistance, Schoenfeld explains.

So How To Train??

There are a myriad of factors that a coach / PT will take into consideration when designing a programme!

For more information on coaching from me, either directly or via my Fitness App, please check my website vanessa.fitbudd.app/packs, or Instagram vanessaphoenix____ or email phoenixfitnessapp@gmail.com.

SOURCE: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/wellness/strength-training-weight-lifting-heart-cardio/2020/08/28/04dc3824-e893-11ea-bc79-834454439a44_story.html