Fitness

Cardio or Weight Training, Which Is the Better Option?

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This is one debate that has been raging for years, but the truth is that you need to understand the benefits and risks of each type of exercise to see which option is really the best for you. Cardio and weight training are both great options for getting fit, but let’s find out what each type has to offer.
Cardio
Cardiovascular exercise is designed to get your heart pumping. When your heart is pumping more efficiently, it increases the amount of oxygen in your system, and helps your lungs work better. Cardio exercise provides the overall benefit of making your heart and lungs stronger, which leads to more endurance and improved function, even when you are not working out. However, there are other benefits that should be considered when trying to choose which type of exercise is the better option.

  • Weight Loss – Cardio exercise done at higher intensity levels, in conjunction with a healthy diet, will provide weight loss benefits.
  • More Stamina – The improved heart and lung function help you increase your overall endurance as your cardiovascular system works more efficiently.
  • Better Mental Health – Exercise results in an increase in the amount of endorphins that are released, and this leads to decreased anxiety and depression.
  • Better Health – Cardio exercise helps with weight loss, which decreases the chances of diabetes, heart disease, and other health issues.
  • Low Impact – Some cardio workouts, such as walking and swimming, are low impact, which reduces that chance of injury – especially for those already dealing with joint pain and other mobility issues.

Weight Training
Weight or strength training helps you grow stronger, leading you to be in better physical condition. In addition, lifting weights increases the amount of lean muscle, which is a necessity for those wanting to increase weight loss. There are different options available for strength training, such as hitting the gym, creating your own home gym with dumbbells and the like, and body weight training that needs no additional equipment. Regardless of which type of workout you choose, you need to know the benefits:

  • Increased Weight Loss – Lean muscle burns fat even when you are not working out, resulting in a higher metabolism that boosts weight loss by burning more calories.
  • Bone Health – Strength training builds muscle, which also helps increase bone strength and density. This helps protect against bone loss associated with osteoporosis and the natural aging process.
  • Better Coordination and Balance – When your muscles are stronger, they provide a better support system for your joints. This results in better coordination and balance as your strength improves.
  • Improved Mood – Like cardio, strength training increases endorphin release. This leads to less depression, decreased stress, and a general sense of well-being.
  • More Energy – As you get stronger, you will notice an improvement in energy levels due to an overall increase in physical fitness.
  • Better Health – Weight loss helps to decrease the chances of health issues such as heart disease, helps to relieve joint pain, and helps to provide better diabetes control.

As you can see, both cardio and weight training provide lots of health benefits. The decision of which is the better option is essentially up to you and your current health goals. If you just want to improve heart and lung function, cardio works great. If your goal is to promote long-term weight control, strength training wins.  In all honesty, if you want to experience the best results overall, you should include both cardio and weight training.

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The Bloated Intellect

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Technology is interesting.  We have rapidly ascended from researched and authority driven answers to the google search result becoming the guru of the day.  Unfortunately this new and designed algorithm has both blessed us with information at our fingertips but also cursed us with a myopic view of the world.

Eli Pariser, in his book The Filter Bubble, puts forth an astute view of our instant result world.  He states that we have now entered a time in which our internet searches are becoming tailored to us individually in order to give us what we want.  The problem, however, is that we then get self gratifying answers.  If we both search for the same topic, we are given results that either fall under sycophantic personalization “You’re so great and wonderful, and I’m going to tell you exactly what you want to hear” or the parental result, “I’m going to tell you this whether you want to hear this or not, because you need to know.”  Eli argues that we are headed toward the sycophantic direction.

In this regard, our intellect is becoming bloated by jejune material as our bodies would respond to a pure diet of fats and sugars.  We are mentally digesting the least beneficial material.  So, as you may reexamine your diet and focus on that next workout, don’t forget to challenge your intellect and we especially wary of that googled guru.

The Compound Effect

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Although most people recognize the idea of the compound effect in relation to the financial world, the truth is, it effects every part of your life.  The idea is simple. If you make small changes in your life, they add up and eventually cause a dramatic difference.  As Darren Hardy states, in his book, The Compound Effect: If one person ate just 125 more calories per day for 18 months he would gain over 33 lbs.  But if his friend, cut the same number of calories per day, he would lose over 33 lbs!

“31 months = 940 days 940 days x 125 calories/day = 117,500 calories saved 117,500 calories saved x 1 pound/3,500 calories = 33.5 pounds!”

“Small, Smart Choices + Consistency + Time = RADICAL DIFFERENCE”

― Darren Hardy, The Compound Effect

Its About Time -Part II, Nutrition Timing

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Does Nutrition Timing Matter?

We have all heard about the importance of proper nutrition in meeting our fitness goals. But, does timing matter? In other words, does meeting our nutrition “macros” mean that we will achieve optimal results? Obviously, by the context of the question, nutrition timing matters.

The ratio matters if you want to maximize your body’s ability to build muscle and burn fat. As pointed out in the book, “Nutrient Timing” by John Ivy, PhD, the use of carbohydrates following exercise allows the body to stimulate insulin and blunt cortisol. This helps drive protein synthesis and decrease muscle degradation. So, several studies looked at this effect to determine the amount and timing of the carbohydrate replenishment. They found carbohydrates exceeding 0.5 grams per pound of body weight per hour lead to a plateaued result.

Does that mean we just need to drink our Gatorade after we workout and that’s it?  No.  Obviously we need to look at the effect of protein as well.  Researchers discovered that the addition of protein, to the carbohydrates, helped maximize the body’s ability to restore muscle glycogen. Why is that important? Researchers from the North Texas State University School of Medicine and the University of Texas looked at the two groups. The first group consumed the carbohydrate / protein drink and the second consumed a simple carbohydrate drink within 45 minutes of exercise completion. Then they had them exercise to exhaustion. The first group was able to outperform the second by 55%. But since we don’t all exercise to exhaustion, we need to know if this translates into other benefits.  Therefore, groups from Vanderbelt, The University of Texas, and University of Maastrich in The Netherlands found that this same ratio advantage translates into a protein synthesis advantage. Comparing the carbohydrate / protein group to a protein group alone, they still outperformed them in protein synthesis by 38%. So, if you are simply drinking your Gatorade or simply drinking your protein drink, after you workout, you are missing out!

So, how can we take this information and translate it into an applicable advantage? Lets break down the post activity period into two phases by the body’s ability to respond to insulin and thus repair. The first phase is the Anabolic Phase. This is the short, post activity, period following exercise when the body is primed to rebuild since the natural insulin : cortisol levels are favorable. However, if this is not stimulated, the window closes quickly as the ratio reverses. The second phase is the Growth Phase. This is the time when the body can take full advantage of the primed anabolic phase. Now the body rebuilds muscle and burns fat. Looking in more detail:

Nutrition timing

How appropriate nutrition timing can modulate post-exercise insulin levels

Anabolic Phase

Since your body is primed for the anabolic effects of insulin during the initial post exercise phase, we need to take advantage and optimize this window. Therefore, we have to maintain a high carbohydrate to protein ratio. In looking at the studies, Dr Ivy states that the optimal ratio is about 4 grams of carbohydrates for each 1 gram of protein. The carbohydrates should be high glycemic such as glucose, sucrose and maltodextrin. Finally, but most importantly, this should be consumed within 45 minutes of exercise completion, otherwise, you lose the optimal window as your natural insulin levels decrease and cortisol levels increase.

Growth Phase

Rapid Phase

If you have taken advantage of this initial anabolic phase by consuming the proper carbohydrate to protein ratio, your body is now primed to build muscle and burn fat. However, like any car, simply turning on the ignition is not enough. During this second phase, your body needs fuel to take advantage and maintain the anabolic machine. Since, maintaining a high carbohydrate load and stimulating insulin could lead to fat deposition, we now change our ratio to a higher protein and lower carbohydrate ratio. One gram of carbohydrate to 5-8 grams of protein is ideal.

Sustained Phase

This is the long period of recovery lasting from about 4 hours after exercise to the next day. So, we continue the 1:6 carbohydrate to protein ratio as discussed before. The only difference is that you start to shift away from pure whey protein, which has rapid absorption to a casein based protein before bed. The longer absorption of Casein, allows your body to stay fueled during your overnight fast.

 

Take Home Points:

While most of this seems geared to the weightlifting population, it is actually applicable to everyone who wants to get fit. Priming your body doesn’t simply mean that you will gain nondiscriminatory weight. If you adopt this fitness model, your will find that your body will react and your fitness goals can be achieved more quickly. Exercise and nutrition go hand in hand. In other words, you will not succeed to your optimal level if you don’t pay attention to both.

In a practical sense, I use shakes to meet this nutrition goal. It is extremely difficult to plan your daily meal plans, fuel your body, achieve your caloric intake and still maintain your day job. So, when I looked back at the options, I found that BeachBody’s Results and Recovery meets the Anabolic Phase goals with the ideal ratio. The Growth Phase can also be met easily met but requires a bit more attention to the protein to carbohydrate ratios.

After applying this to my current program, I can see a marked improvement.  Although, its been repeatedly stated, its worth repeating: Food Is Fuel.  It’s up to you to decide how well your body runs.

Nutrition Timing Summary

Nutrition Timing Summary