April 24, 2009, Newsletter Issue #374: Cardio Vs. Weight Training - Round 1

Tip of the Week

Cardiorespiratory Training is defined as "of or pertaining to or affecting both the heart and the lungs and their functions". People most often see endurance sports like running, soccer, cycling and swimming are seen as what we know today to be 'Cardio' exercise.  In the gym, most often people refer to the Elliptical, Treadmill, Bike and Stairclimber as 'Cardio' machines in a gym.  Indeed these are.  Let's look at the benefits of doing this 'Cardio', as it is so called.
Cardiorespiratory exercise, as I mentioned earlier, exercises the heart and lungs function, meaning that your heart and lungs get a workout.  This would mean that your heart and lungs would have to be stressed in some way.  Cardio does that by having you set aside a chunk of time to do this Cardio exercise so that your heart will work in conjunction with your lungs.  Does anyone know how that works?  Well for those of you that don't let's look;
When you breathe in, oxygen is breathed into your lungs.  Essentially as your heart pumps blood throughout your body, the blood is 'oxygenated' through the lungs breathingin of air, which then gets sent as oxygenated blood throughout the body, dropping off oxygen to muscles and tissues that need it.  Once the oxygen is dropped off, that blood becomes 'de-oxygenated', and no longer can give off any oxygen (because it's gone).  The blood then travels back to the heart and gets oxygenated again by the oxygen breathed into the lungs.  Make sense?  Hope so.
Now, when people do Cardio exercise, their heart pumps more blood throughout the body.  To do this though, the lungs must also equally inhale the similar amount of oxygen to broperly oxygenate the blood taken throughout the body.  Therefore yes, when you do 'Cardio' exercise it mightily benefits your heart and lung function.  Your heart keeps you alive, and if you don't exercise it you run higher risks of it failing.  Through doing Cardio exercise you train your heart and lungs to work better, helping you to live a longer and healthier life.
Well this 'Cardio' sounds good right?  It should, helping you to stay alive longer and live healthier.  So what in the world could Weight Training offer to the body that could be that beneficial?  Oh, Round 2 is coming...

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