When it comes to exercise and fitness, there’s an age-old question that pretty much everyone wonders the answer to—Which is better: cardio or weight training? The short and sweet answer is that they’re both terrific workouts—they’re just different. Therefore, we’ve gathered together and pros and cons of both cardio exercise and weight lifting so that you can make an educated decision as to which one is better for you.
Let’s start with cardiovascular exercise. The main benefit of participating in cardio exercise is that your heart and lungs become healthier and are able to operate much more efficiently. Other benefits include:
- Weight loss
- Due to the endorphins that are released during aerobic exercise, it can also lead to better mental health
- Boosted energy
- Improved immune system
- Helps you to live longer
- Better muscle health
However, there are a few disadvantages or risks associated with cardio exercise including stress fractures (caused by overuse, hard surfaces, and bad shoes), foot arch pain, dehydration, shin splints, calf/Achilles tendon pain, and heel spurs. Due to these various injury risks, it’s important to pay attention to your body while doing aerobics and stop if you feel any foot pain.
Now let’s move on to weight training, which involves lifting weights repetitiously in order to build muscle. Other benefits of weight lifting include:
- Better maintain lean body mass
- Decreased risk of osteoporosis
- Get great overall muscle mass than you would during aerobic exercise
- Quick, noticeable results
But, as with anything, there are risks associated with weight training including a higher risk of injury, the need for supervision or a spotter, and you need to remember more in order to weight lift in a safe, correct way.
As you can see, there are plenty of pros and cons of both aerobic exercise and weight lifting. Which do you think is better for you?