Strength Training vs. Cardio

Many people don’t devote as much energy to strength training as it deserves. Indeed, statistics on strength training are grim.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), while around 50% of American adults engage in adequate cardio workouts, less than 30% meet the recommended minimum guidelines for muscle-strengthening activities, which include exercises like lifting weights, yoga, heavy gardening, or push-ups at least twice a week

Strength Training vs. Cardio

Many people don’t devote as much energy to strength training as it deserves. Indeed, statistics on strength training are grim.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), while around 50% of American adults engage in adequate cardio workouts, less than 30% meet the recommended minimum guidelines for muscle-strengthening activities, which include exercises like lifting weights, yoga, heavy gardening, or push-ups at least twice a week

How to Gain Strength

In the field of exercise science, clinicians and researchers recognize the SAID principle: That’s “specific adaptations to imposed demand.” Simply put, the SAID principle states that you will respond to the specific challenges you give yourself. If you try to throw a heavy rock as far as you can every day, you’ll get better at throwing that rock. The same idea applies to lifting a barbell, performing push-ups, or holding a plank as long as you can.

However, you won’t develop strength indefinitely if you don’t challenge your body to acclimate to heavier loads (or longer bouts). Eventually, that once-heavy rock will become manageable or even easy to throw. To make long-term progress, you need to apply some form of progressive overload.

What Is Progressive Overload?

Merely performing resistance training exercises won’t automatically build strength, in the same way that a pot of water set on your stovetop won’t boil unless you turn on the burner. Bodily strength is an adaptation to a demand — your body won’t adapt unless you “force” it to.

The mechanism that forces you to adapt to a stimulus is called progressive overload. The idea here is simple; if gaining strength makes a difficult task easier over time, it follows that you need to expose yourself to more difficult tasks to continue building strength.

When it comes to resistance training, progressive overload typically takes the form of gradually increasing the amount of weight you lift, or the reps you perform per set, or the number of sets you perform per workout. For example, say you perform the barbell deadlift once per week:

• Week 1: 5 x 5 with 135 pounds.
• Week 2: 5 x 5 with 140 pounds.
• Week 3: 5 x 5 with 145 pounds.
• Week 4: 5 x 5 with 150 pounds.

This type of slow, incremental progression is the bedrock of progressive overload. Now, make no mistake, you can’t add another five pounds to your barbell indefinitely until the cows come home. 

There are diminishing returns and other factors at play that influence the art (and science) of periodization — the general organization of your training to facilitate sustainable progress and avoid plateaus. 

Strength Training: Common Misconceptions

Many people have misconceptions about strength training that keep them from doing it. Learning the realities may help you get started.

• You don’t have to join a gym. There are lots of benefits to working out at home—it’s free, convenient, and private. A plethora of DVDs. online resources, and phone apps can help you direct your sessions if desired. 
• You’re not expected to know how all of the gym equipment works. Take advantage of the free orientation and learn how to properly use everything that’s offered and set up a basic strength-training program. Most weight machines require little coordination and offer more stability than free weights while performing the movements. 
• You don’t have to use weights or machines. Anything that provides resistance can do the job. This includes resistance bands or your own bodyweight.

Strength Training: Rules for Getting Started

Two key terms you’ll want to know are reps and sets. A rep, or repetition, is a single instance of an exercise—a dumbbell biceps curl, for example. A set is the number of repetitions performed sequentially. For example, you can say, “I did 2 sets of 10 reps of biceps curls.” Use these pointers to build a framework for your workout:

• Start with a short, simple program. Your goal is to do a strength-training routine that works for all muscle groups on two non-consecutive days a week. This will help you build a strong foundation and progress from week to week.
• Choose the right amount of weight to lift. The key to strength training is to use weights that are not too light or too heavy . You’ll know it’s too light if you can do an entire set with minimal effort. It’s too heavy if your form is sacrificed or it feels too taxing. Just right is a challenging effort that you can do with proper form and control and without excess strain.
• Warm up first. Warm muscles are less susceptible to injury, so do 5 to 10 minutes of cardio or some warm-up sets of each exercise in your workout using a light, easy-to-lift weight.
• Focus on form. Good form lets you reap all the benefits of your workout and avoid injuries. To maintain proper form, pay attention to your posture (stand tall with your chest lifted and abs engaged), move slowly (this ensures you’re relying on muscles, not momentum, to do the lifting), and remember to breathe. Many people hold their breath while exerting, but exhaling during the hardest part of the exercise helps fuel the movement. Many modern interactive fitness mirrors bring a trainer’s guidance right into your living room.
• Give yourself at least a day of rest to recover. Rest days are crucial for building lean muscle tissue and preventing injury, so try not to work the same muscle groups two days in a row. Some people like to break up strength training by concentrating on their upper body one day and their lower body the next, and that’s perfectly fine. 
• Aim to challenge yourself, not overtax yourself. The first few weeks, focus on learning how to do each exercise rather than how much weight you’re lifting or how many exercises you’re doing. You have plenty of time to build muscle.
• Change things up. After six or more weeks of consistent strength training, which is about the time it takes to start seeing improvement in your body, you can change your routine to make it more difficult. Lifting the same weight for the same exercises every week will keep your body in the same place. You can modify weights or repetitions, choose different exercises, or change the order. You only have to make one change at a time to make a difference, although more is often better. 

Strength training comes down to two things:

#1) Movement of any weight against “resistance”(including your body weight) – Doing ANY exercise that pushes your muscles outside of their comfort zone, forcing them to rebuild stronger to prepare for the next challenge.

#2) Progressive overload: doing slightly more than last time (lift heavier weight or do 1 more rep) consistently. Your muscles will break down slightly during your workout, and then rebuild themselves as you rest and recover to be stronger and able to handle more the next time.{1}}[[1]]Powers SK, Howley ET. (2011). Exercise physiology: Theory and application to fitness and performance. New York: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages.[[1]]

Let’s chat about a few different types of strength training.

BODYWEIGHT TRAINING

Bodyweight training is simply doing an exercise in which your own body is the “weight” you are “lifting.” For example, you might do a squat, a push-up, or an inverted row. These are all bodyweight strength training exercises.

This is the place where we start many of our 1-on-1 clients on their strength training journey. 

Why?

You always have your body with you (unless you are a ghost, in which case, this is awkward). This means you can work out ANYWHERE with bodyweight training

BARBELL TRAINING

Regardless of sex or gender age, if your goal is to get strong quickly, use 20 seconds of courage and get comfortable training with a barbell (I’ll help you, I promise):

1. “Progressive overload” is easy – you simply add weights to either side of the bar, allowing you to progressively lift more and more weight each week.
2. It’s much easier to go heavy safely – especially for lower body movements like the squat and the deadlift.

The biggest downside to barbell training is that to train at home, you need to have purchased a squat rack, a barbell, a bench, and enough weights for your house or garage (which can be an expensive investment, especially when starting out!).

Powerlifting

Powerlifting is typically considered the most accessible of the strength sports. Athletes who train for and compete in powerlifting aim to test their maximal strength in three exercises; the bench press, back squat, and deadlift. 

Weightlifting

Weightlifting — as distinct from weight lifting — is an Olympic sport. Professional weightlifters compete in two movements, the snatch and clean & jerk, as tests of both maximum strength and explosive power. 

The two competitive Olympic lifts are difficult to learn and even harder to master. Almost all weightlifters opt to practice their sport in specialized facilities under the tutelage of a qualified coach. 

CrossFit

CrossFit is perhaps the most diverse of the modern strength sports. Athletes who partake in CrossFit test their capabilities across a wide array of athletic challenges. At its core, though, the sport regularly evaluates its competitors on their muscular strength

When to expect results

You don’t need to spend hours a day lifting weights to benefit from strength training. You can see significant improvement in your strength with just two or three 20- or 30-minute strength training sessions a week.

For most healthy adults, the Department of Health and Human Services recommends these exercise guidelines:

• Aerobic activity. Get at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity a week, or a combination of moderate and vigorous activity. The guidelines suggest that you spread out this exercise during the course of a week. Greater amounts of exercise will provide even greater health benefits. But even small amounts of physical activity are helpful. Being active for short periods of time throughout the day can add up to provide health benefits.
• Strength training. Do strength training exercises for all major muscle groups at least two times a week. Aim to do a single set of each exercise, using a weight or resistance level heavy enough to tire your muscles after about 12 to 15 repetitions.

As you incorporate strength training exercises into your fitness routine, you may notice improvement in your strength over time. As your muscle mass increases, you’ll likely be able to lift weight more easily and for longer periods of time. If you keep it up, you can continue to increase your strength, even if you’re not in shape when you begin.