A Guide on Strength and Cardio Exercises, and What Purposes They Serve

There is a wide range of strength and cardio exercises in the sports industry — from powerlifting to Zumba — and they all are aimed at solving different issues.

5-Minute Crafts learned how cardio training is different from strength training and what results they help people reach.

Cardio (aerobic) exercises

Cardio (or aerobic) training is a type of physical activity of varying degrees of intensity, where exercises are performed with multiple reps throughout a long period of time with an increased frequency of heartbeats.

The movements themselves are easier than those in strength exercises, but the number of repetitions and the total duration of the exercises are much longer.

During such aerobic training, your body can burn more fat.

Cardio increases muscle endurance, improves cardiovascular performance and endurance, aids in weight loss, increases lung volume, and improves health.

Types of cardio (aerobic) exercises

There are many types of cardio exercises that you can choose from depending on what you like most.

• Running is an active type of sport that brings on feelings of joy, freedom, additional energy, and motivation. However, running long or medium distances, as well as jogging, relate to aerobic exercises, while sprint running does not.
• Swimming helps take a load off the joints and lower back. At the same time, it helps work out the muscles of the core, back, arms, legs, and buttocks too.
• Cycling trains you in cardiovascular fitness, and the lungs are another muscle group that benefits from it. All this increases the overall level of physical fitness, as well as improves posture and coordination. It is enough to cycle anywhere from 2 to 4 hours a week.
• 1 hour of Zumba cardio exercise combined with dancing movements helps burn about 369 calories, which is more than step aerobics. It helps develop flexibility, strength and improve coordination.
• Trampolining is not only fun but it also brings benefits. Bones become more fragile with age, but studies have shown that trampolining helps to thicken bone tissue. In addition, this activity helps develop balance, strengthen the heart muscle (even more effective than running), speed up metabolism, and improve coordination.

Strength (anaerobic) training

Although there are variations of circuit strength training that possess the benefits of aerobic exercise, still, strength training (or weight training) is primarily considered anaerobic. Physical exercises are performed at high intensity for a short period of time. During anaerobic activity, glucose, which is later broken down into lactic acid, is derived from carbohydrates and allows the body to quickly receive the necessary energy.

This type of physical activity allows one to train strength and increase the endurance of muscles, ligaments, bones, and tendons. It also speeds up metabolism, improves overall health and appearance, and decreases fat.

Exercises can be performed both with the use of special equipment (like rubber rings, dumbbells, etc.) or without it (using your own weight).

The main principle of strength exercise is that the muscles are loaded depending on their abilities, stimulating their growth and making them stronger. The load increases as the muscles grow and develop.

Types of strength (anaerobic) exercises

Strength exercises include types of sports that have different targets or solve various issues. Here are some of them:

• Bodybuilding consists of weight exercises that are used for developing muscles so that they not only get larger but also more symmetrical. Bodybuilders strive to keep their body fat levels as low as possible, with more emphasis on muscle size and appearance rather than strength.
• Powerlifting is a type of sport that works with the maximum weight of the barbell in 3 positions: a squat, bench press, and deadlift. Unlike bodybuilding, this sport prioritizes the strength of muscles rather than their appearance.
• Weightlifting is another example of an anaerobic load that is beneficial to heart health, but it doesn’t take much time. Just 2 sets of bench press exercises can benefit your health.
• Kettlebell lifting is a type of weightlifting that athletes perform with kettlebells. Within 20 minutes of exercise, one can burn up to 400 calories and work out muscles in the core, arms, legs, buttocks, and back.