A strong body of evidence suggests that aerobic exercise may reduce the risks, especially for people with overweight or obese, But few studies have compared results with resistance exercise, also known as strength or weight training, or training regimens consisting of half aerobic and half resistance. Researchers at Iowa State University conducted one of the largest and longest supervised exercise trials to help fill this gap.
“If you’re tired of aerobic exercise And whether you want variety or have joint pain that makes running long distances difficult, our study shows you can replace half of your aerobic training with strength training to get the same cardiovascular benefits. “Cross training also offers other unique health benefits, such as improved muscle mass,” he says. Duck-Chul LeeLead author and professor of kinesiology at Iowa State University.
Do a certain number of series and repetitions weighing machinesThrough push-ups or lunges with free weights, elastic bands or your own body weight, resistance exercises come into play.
«The most common reason people don’t exercise is that they have limited time. The exercise that we recommend, combined with cardiovascular and strength training, does not require a lot of time,” Lee emphasizes.
study done like this
four hundred and six participants of between 35 and 70 years Was enrolled in a randomized controlled exercise trial of a year long, All met the overweight or obese threshold with a body mass index of 25 to 40 kg/m2 and had hypertension.
Researchers randomly assigned participants to one of four groups: No exercise, aerobic only, resistance only or aerobic plus resistance. People in one of three exercise groups worked out under supervision for an hour three times a week for a year.
At the beginning, after six months, and at the end of the year-long clinical trial, researchers measured systolic blood pressure, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, fasting glucose, and body fat percentage for each participant. These are all well-established risk factors for heart disease.
body fat
At the end of one year’s trial, the percentage of body fat There were significant decreases in all three exercise groups compared to the non-exercise control group. The authors write in the article that “each -1% reduction in body fat is associated with a -3%, -4%, and -8% reduced risk of the cardiovascular disease risk factors of hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and metabolic syndrome.”
However, when taking into account the four risk factors for heart disease, the aerobic and combined exercise groups were composite score Less than the control group. The results were consistent between genders and ages.
secondary conclusion
During the 12-month study, those Aerobics only group He continued to improve with the VO2max test (the maximum amount of oxygen (O2) that the body can absorb, transport, and consume in a given time), which is the maximum rate of oxygen consumption achieved during a maximum treadmill test. He resistance group remained relatively stable. The opposite was true for the maximum bench and leg press muscle strength tests; Only the resistance group continued to improve while the aerobic group alone did not improve. Although joint exercise group Both aerobic fitness and muscle strength improved.