Why cardio isn’t effective after forty.
As our body’s age we begin to lose muscle tissue at a greater rate, this loss in muscle tissue results lessened strength and a slower metabolism.
The way to off set this is through activities that stress the body’s muscular skeletal system. This means weight bearing exercise, or strength training.
So why isn’t cardio the most effective means of fitness for those over 40? After all isn’t cardio good for your heart?
Well, it is but any activity that increases heart rate is good for the heart, which can be achieved with the right strength-training program.
Where cardio falls short is that it doesn’t provide a stimulus the body’s muscles and over time burns muscle tissue from the body. Often times this creates a “skinny-fat” body type.
Additionally, with high amounts of cardio our body gets weaker from the loss of muscle tissue, which slows the metabolism making weight loss even harder, and it begins to wear out joints causing a decrease or limit in activity.
With a good strength-training program we are able to increase our muscle tissue, increase our strength, increase our metabolism to help us lose fat, and keep our joints healthy and moving well.
And what about keeping our heart healthy?
This will happen too, by pairing exercises together in groups of two or three and keeping moving for two minutes or so before a break we tax our bodies cardiovascular system. We call this developing work capacity.
Work capacity is actually better than cardiovascular endurance because it carries over into our daily lives. An example, is a runner who can go miles on end without tiring, but as soon as he or she is given a heavy suitcase to carry a few hundred yards, heavy bags up a few flights on steps, or perform yard work they tire out quickly. With strength training this doesn’t happen we can easily carry our suitcase for a distance, go up stairs with our bags, and perform yard work for hours without getting tired. This is all due to a strong work capacity.
After forty the cardio needs hung up, or at least cut back, and replaced with a few days each week focused on strength training to get the most benefits of exercise.
If you’re interested in giving strength training a try come try a FREE workout by complete the form at the link below.
https://pittsburghnorthfitness.wufoo.com/forms/sthgl6e1jyom9p/
