Resistance training and aerobics may help boost heart health in different ways
Wednesday, November 24, 2010 at 9:30PMA recent study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research investigated the effects of aerobic and resistance exercise training on heart health.
Specifically, the study focused on a group of 10 healthy men, average age about 25, who performed 30-minute bouts of cycling as well as eight resistance training exercises. Monitoring of the participants included assessment of how blood vessels responded to the different forms of exercise. Researchers noted how much blood vessels expanded as a reaction to greater blood flow, and also measured artery wall stiffness (with the understanding in the background that arteries stiffen as we get older as part of increases in risk of cardiovascular disease).[i]
In the study, aerobic exercise caused arterial stiffness to decrease but did not increase blood flow to the limbs. Resistance training on the other hand did increase blood flow to the limbs, but also slightly intensified stiffness in the central arteries. Resistance training also produced a longer blood pressure drop following exercise than did aerobic exercise.[ii]
Most exercise experts have recommended for some time a combination of aerobic and resistance training. This study gives some evidence to this line of thinking and confirms the fact that because of its cardiovascular benefits, resistance training should be incorporated into an exercise routines along with aerobic workouts.
[i] LATimes.com
[ii] J Strength Cond Research. 2010 Oct;24(10):2846-52.
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