Should I Start a Strength-Training or Interval-Training Routine?

Reader Comments
Back to blog

It is a lot to see we have a great divide when it comes to the cardio vs strenght trainig. All we need to do go to see the people in the gyms and watch what is going on and how they do what the y do. You gotta love it.

Al Love of GA 11:03PM December 25, 2011

I always thought of the question in terms of what are the best exercises to offset the inevitable process of aging. How do we maintain the best state of fitness to ward off disease and maintain the best quality of life. So, the question does have relevance as we each age in different ways.

M. Miller of MD 8:00AM April 21, 2010

. . . is the kind that you enjoy enough to do regularly.
Carolyn Kay
www.ManyYearsYoung.com

Carolyn Kay of IL 7:39AM April 18, 2010

Several of you guys seem to be leaving out an important piece of the puzzle: the person's goals and preferences. If a person's dream in life is to bench press 500 lb, then it's silly to tell him to go after balanced anything. If a guy wants to run marathons, then it's the same deal. Someone's not going to do the program if it's not something that he or she *wants* to do.

Brad of KY 8:45PM April 16, 2010

I agree that the best fitness program is a balanced program. Next, it should be appropriate, gradual and progressive. The type of exercises can be as varied as your preferences.
I keep wondering when that "best exercise" question will go away. Here is my blog on interval training:
http://tblof.wordpress.com/2010/02/26/is-interval-training-the-best-exercise/

Rachel Eisenman, M.S. of NY 3:30PM April 16, 2010

I agree that strength training can play the same roll as cardio. I have heart decease, and 4 years ago I began powerliftig, but I don't feel worse. I am 75 years old now.

Iosif of IL 10:07AM April 16, 2010

A good well balanced fitness program is consistent of both aerobic and resistance training. Goals does make a difference in intensity, experience etc. But whatever the age, weight or goals, both is important and necessary. The myth of women gainer too much muscle is simply not scientifically possible due to the amount of testostrone compared with men. More and more studies are coming out showing that both types of training are beneficial for the heart and the delay of premature diseases. Email me and we will discuss what is right for you and your personal goals. I will help you reach them.

heidy of OH 9:25PM April 15, 2010

The good doctor is obviously pushing a biased and outdated point of view.
I especially liked the warning against being "too muscular." As if most people can get "too muscular" even if they try. It takes years of meticulous work both in the gym and in the kitchen to grow large muscles. That's because it's really really hard to make the body adapt in this way. The body desperately wants to avoid putting on muscle.
If his comment is meant to apply to women, it's especially funny. Without steroids, 99.9% of women can't get "too muscular" no matter what they do. Add men over 35-40 into that group too.
It seems reasonable to make resistance training the backbone of the program and fill in conditioning as one desires. 2-3 days of weights and 2-3 days of high-intensity intervals or 15-30 min. steady work.
Fred, I don't quite get your comment about children, though. I would've said that excessive and bad food was 75% of the problem and sitting on their butts is the other 25%. I don't have evidence of this, though, and would be interested in reading background to your comment.

Brad of KY 4:50PM April 15, 2010

You said:
"Strength training and cardiovascular exercise are different and have more specific benefits relegated to each one. I agree, the 80-20 ratio seems strange, but there definitely should be a balance.The solely weight lifting person can't run a 5 minute mile or a marathon at decent speed, likewise the person who only runs can't bench or squat as much."
Strength training if done correctly is very cardiovascular. In June of 2000 the AHA sent out a scientific advisory that strength training improves cardiovascular health. since then many papers have confirmed this.
Running a 5 minute mile or a marathon at a decent speed has nothing to do with health. You are confusing health and fitness. You, like Dr. Cooper, need to read more of the relevant research. People do not need to do strength training AND traditional aerobic exercise.
Dr. Cooper is directly responsible for millions of orthopedic injuries due the aerobics craze in the 70's that he created. Note that his institute is no longer called, as it once was, The Cooper Institute for Aerobics. I wonder why.
He like so many other doctors of his ilk (Dean Ornish being another) don't have the guts to own up and admit they were/are dead wrong. They try instead to save face by watering down their original recommendations in an attempt to wheedle out of the situation.
I could be wrong but I'll bet you a silver dollar that Dr. Cooper thinks that adolescent obesity is caused, in part, by inactivity. It's not.

Fred of NY 6:56AM April 15, 2010

Strength training and cardiovascular exercise are different and have more specific benefits relegated to each one. I agree, the 80-20 ratio seems strange, but there definitely should be a balance.The solely weight lifting person can't run a 5 minute mile or a marathon at decent speed, likewise the person who only runs can't bench or squat as much.

sean of TX 11:43PM April 14, 2010