You might be new to the fitness world, wondering where to start. Maybe you’ve been exercising for several years now and are realizing you’re plateauing. It’s always smart to have a well designed plan to work on achieving your goals. With so many different forms of exercise it can be confusing and oftentimes conflicting figuring out what is best for you.

Trying to figure out whether you should be lifting weights or doing cardio is quite simple. Regardless of your goals you should be doing both!! What can become difficult is deciding how much to do of each. In this article we will help explain how each should be used.

Cardio, or aerobic exercise, is great for improving cardiovascular health. This is because it strengthens the heart, which allows blood to be pumped through your body more efficiently.

Cardio can also lower your blood pressure by promoting good cholesterol (HDL) and lowering bad cholesterol (LDL) so that your arteries are clear!

Increasing your vo2 max is important for athletes to improve performance. Vo2 Max is the maximum amount of oxygen your body can use during exercise. This is definitely increased with cardio being involved in your exercise routine.

While cardio is healthy, it should not necessarily be your primary form of exercise unless those benefits above are your primary goals. Cardio is better used in addition to a weight training program to assist with weight loss.

Many people think that cardio is the only way to lose weight, and that weight training will only get them big and bulky. This is far from the truth.

Alternatively, someone who is only concerned about gaining muscle mass or strength might think that they have no reason to do any cardio. What these athletes often don’t realize is that adding light cardio into their routine will actually assist with becoming bigger or stronger because the increased blood flow will increase nutrient flow to the muscles and decrease recovery time.

Weight training, or resistance training, is far better for you than many people realize. Whether your goal is to gain strength, gain size, gain power, or lose fat, weight training is a crucial ingredient.

Weight training will help you build muscle, and before you say, “but I don’t want to add size, I just want to lose weight and look toned…” Only performing cardio and maybe doing a few body weight exercises will not give you the results you’re looking for.

Weight training will give your body some shape and with the addition of muscle mass will help you lose fat. Increasing muscle mass increases your metabolism. Additionally, resistance training burns more calories than cardio! So if you have excess fat, weight training with a proper nutrition plan will have you burning fat at a much higher rate than just doing some cardio.

Becoming stronger is also a major benefit of weight training. Gaining strength not only increases your confidence and self esteem, but also protects your body. When weight training, you’re strengthening your muscles, and also your bones! Not only that, but your tendons and ligaments become more flexible, so you’re able to function better over all! This is not only beneficial for young people, but older people as well. Weight training decreases their chances of falling and injuring themselves, makes bending over to pick something up easier, and even opening jars or cans easier! Weight training is for everyone!

It can be confusing and difficult to create a proper plan of action for accomplishing your goals. With fitness information being so accessible through social media you can find yourself even more confused since so much information is conflicting!

Having a qualified coach come alongside you that is able to review your goals and design a plan specific to you will greatly improve your ability to achieve your goals.

Forty Steps is now offering fully customized training programs! If you have fitness related goals that you want to achieve, be sure to set up a free consultation call to get started!