promote overall better cardio and cardiorespiratory health. Aerobic exercises differ from resistance movements, which focus on strengthening your muscles and improving body composition. Resistance movements build your bone density and muscle mass.
Combining aerobic and resistance exercises can benefit individuals who are at a higher risk of cardiovascular disease.—you can significantly decrease your blood pressure. This tiny reduction makes adifference! In fact, by doing this regimen, the average individual can lower the risk of stroke by 8% to 14%, cardiac death by as much as 5%, and death in general by 4%.
The research involved observing 69 individuals between the ages of 45 and 74. Each participant was diagnosed with hypertension or high blood pressure, obesity or overweight, and a sedentary lifestyle. The individuals were randomly included in one of four groups. Three groups performed exercise programs for eight weeks, and one controlled group did not exercise.
Researchers found that participants who had a higher risk of cardiovascular disease benefitted from combined training for just an eight-week timeframe compared to the same amount of time dedicated to simply resistance training or aerobic exercise by itself. Both of these forms of fitness are beneficial individually when limiting the risk of cardio disease. Specifically, 30 minutes of aerobic exercise and 30 minutes of resistance training, three times every week.
The takeaway from this research? Why put all of your eggs in one basket? Regularly performing a combination of aerobic activity and resistance training in your workout routine is a gift for your heart! PS: Don't skip a beat!Alexa is the Mind + Body Deputy Editor of Eat This, Not That!, overseeing the M+B channel and delivering compelling fitness, wellness, and self-care topics to readers.