Is strength training cardio?

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tomcornhole
tomcornhole Posts: 1,084 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
N=1, so take it with a grain of sugar.

I was curious to see what kind of cardiovascular shape I was in after 1.5 years of doing just strength training. So I jumped right in and did a 5k last Wednesday in 33:40. Did another one Saturday in 31:10. Another one Tuesday in 33:20. Decided to try a 10k today and did that in 68:35. Not great times, but I ran the whole distance and had more left in the tank. I am pleased with that.

Here's where I'm going to draw a conclusion: Heavy strength training is an effective form of cardiovascular fitness.

Here's where I torque the cardio only crowd: I bet a dime on a donut that someone who has only done cardio training cannot deadlift 2x their body weight in a week starting from a dead stop. I am going to contend that strength training alone is better overall for fitness than cardio alone.

Here's where I might get back on track: Both are fun. I hate to say it, but that 10k was a real rush. I can't wait to try a 1/2 and then a full marathon. Very cool, indeed.

Eat all the foods. Do all the exercise.

Enjoy the ride,

Tom
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Replies

  • DopeItUp
    DopeItUp Posts: 18,771 Member
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    EL6kUeb.gif
  • _Waffle_
    _Waffle_ Posts: 13,049 Member
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    Here's where I torque the cardio only crowd: I bet a dime on a donut that someone who has only done cardio training cannot deadlift 2x their body weight in a week starting from a dead stop. I am going to contend that strength training alone is better overall for fitness than cardio alone.

    I bet you a dime on a donut that someone who has only done strength training can't run a half marathon in under 2 hours in a week's training.
  • Barbellarella_
    Barbellarella_ Posts: 454 Member
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    Congratulations?
  • LoneWolfRunner
    LoneWolfRunner Posts: 1,160 Member
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    Arrogance is so attractive. *kitten* indeed.
  • Some_Watery_Tart
    Some_Watery_Tart Posts: 2,250 Member
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    So...are you gonna eat that donut?
  • jturnerx
    jturnerx Posts: 325 Member
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    Apples, meet oranges.
  • skinnyinnotime
    skinnyinnotime Posts: 4,141 Member
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    Um...
  • dont_tap_my_aces
    dont_tap_my_aces Posts: 125 Member
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    i dont know about everyone else, but i've always considered strength training cardio in a sense. after i pull a set of 5 reps near 2.5x body weight on deads, im completely winded for a good 5 minutes.

    that has to register like HIIT would i'd imagine.
  • BramageOMG
    BramageOMG Posts: 319 Member
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    Doughnuts??
  • whitebalance
    whitebalance Posts: 1,655 Member
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    Slow afternoon at work?
  • WickedddMelon
    WickedddMelon Posts: 17 Member
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    So...are you gonna eat that donut?

    Lol best comment ever.
  • Alluminati
    Alluminati Posts: 6,208 Member
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    I feel like I'm witnessing a *kitten*.
  • 04hoopsgal73
    04hoopsgal73 Posts: 925 Member
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    Thanks for nightly :laugh:
  • chudak
    chudak Posts: 14 Member
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    Hi Tom,

    Maybe this is an unpopular opinion, but I'd argue you're right! Cardio training is getting your heart to pump faster than what it does when you sit on the couch. Your heart doesn't know if you are deadlifting, swimming, or dancing. It just knows it's working hard. And like any muscle, the harder it works, the stronger it gets, the easier you can do certain things that were more difficult before. I'm a hard core distance runner (my "light" jog is 7 miles) and I lift weights because they counter-balance each other and work both. As you know with weight lifting, sometimes you have to shake up the workout to work your muscles again. Same with running! A sprint workout is going work totally different muscles than a distance workout. Running hills and running on a treadmill will exercise different things. Whatever gets you active and moving!

    - Crystal
  • chudak
    chudak Posts: 14 Member
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    Sounds like some good fast twitch!

    Tom, if you want a really good workout for both sprints and distance running, do a step aerobics class. Not even joking. It's 2.5 miles of sprints within an hour... and you're moving the whole time so you're getting some distance training in there too. Good stuff!

    Off to the weight room,
    Crystal
  • _SantaClause
    _SantaClause Posts: 335 Member
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    If you want to get better at running, you run more.
    If you want to get stronger, you lift weights.
  • srmchan
    srmchan Posts: 206 Member
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    i dont know about everyone else, but i've always considered strength training cardio in a sense. after i pull a set of 5 reps near 2.5x body weight on deads, im completely winded for a good 5 minutes.

    Same here. Or any other compound lift like squats. My heart rate graph from weight training looks very similar to my cardio interval graphs.
    that has to register like HIIT would i'd imagine.

    Personal experience disagrees. My overall heart rate is more elevated with HIIT. With strength training, I might hit my zone 4 briefly when I'm progressing a lift - but most lifts are zone 3. Moreover, my lifts (8 reps per set) are generally less than a minute and my recovery can be upwards of 2-4 minutes of doing nothing but waiting. With HIIT, I'm in zone 4 for a 1-2 minutes for each interval and the lung burn can get intense near the end. The recovery is 2 minutes and typically doesn't go below the top of my zone 2 since I'm still exercising vs doing nothing.

    Looking at the graphs, I spend far more total time up in zone 3 and 4 doing HIIT than doing strength training.

    All that said, I'm still a fat *kitten*, so you feel free to keep the donut. :smile:

    Sam

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