You Can’t Just Do Cardio
“I exercise all the time.”
Whenever someone tells us this, one of our next questions is usually:
“What do you do?”
“I walk every day.”
“I run three times a week.”
“I ride my bike.”
“I swim.”
“I play tennis.”
“I get my 10,000 steps every day.”
And those are all great things.
You need cardio.
Your heart needs to be challenged. Your lungs need to work. Your cardiovascular system needs regular stimulus. Cardiovascular fitness plays an enormous role in your health, energy, quality of life and longevity.
But here's the important part:
You also need strength.
Cardio and strength aren't competing approaches to fitness.
They do different things.
And if your goal is to remain healthy, capable and independent as you age, you need both.
Think of Them as Two Sides of Longevity
Imagine being 75 or 80 years old.
You want to travel.
Walk through a new city.
Hike with your family.
Play with your grandchildren.
Carry your own luggage.
Climb a flight of stairs.
Get up from the ground.
Bring the groceries inside.
Work in your garden.
Continue living independently.
What does that require?
You need the cardiovascular capacity to keep going.
But you also need the physical strength to do the things you're trying to keep doing.
Your heart and lungs need capacity.
Your muscles need capacity.
Your bones need capacity.
Your entire body needs capacity.
That's why we believe cardio and strength belong together.
Cardiovascular Fitness Is a Longevity Tool
There is a reason cardiovascular exercise receives so much attention in conversations about health.
Your cardiorespiratory fitness—often measured through VO₂ max—is strongly associated with long-term health outcomes and longevity.
Improving cardiovascular fitness can support heart health, metabolic health, circulation, energy and your ability to perform sustained physical activity.
And you don't need to become a marathon runner to benefit.
Walking.
Hiking.
Cycling.
Swimming.
Running.
Rowing.
Sports.
There are many ways to challenge your cardiovascular system.
The important thing is that you do it consistently.
Your cardiovascular fitness matters as you age.
But it isn't the only physical quality that changes with age.
While You're Protecting Your Heart, Protect Your Muscle Too
There's another process happening as we get older that deserves just as much attention.
Sarcopenia.
Sarcopenia refers to the age-related loss of muscle mass and strength.
Without sufficient stimulus, we can gradually lose muscle and physical capacity as we get older.
And this isn't simply a cosmetic issue.
Muscle is part of how you interact with the world.
Every time you stand up from a chair, climb stairs, carry groceries, lift something from the ground, catch yourself when you stumble or get off the floor, you're relying on muscular strength.
Lose enough of that capacity and everyday tasks become harder.
Eventually, they can become impossible without assistance.
That's why maintaining muscle as we age isn't about bodybuilding.
It's about preserving independence.
Cardio Uses Muscle. Strength Training Builds Capacity.
This is where an important distinction needs to be made.
Walking uses your legs.
Running uses your legs.
Cycling definitely uses your legs.
But simply using a muscle doesn't necessarily provide the same stimulus as progressively challenging it against resistance.
Your body adapts to the demands you place on it.
If you walk regularly, you become better adapted to walking.
If you cycle regularly, you become better adapted to cycling.
If you run regularly, you become better adapted to running.
Those are valuable adaptations.
But if you want to preserve or increase muscular strength, you also need to challenge your muscles with sufficient resistance.
That's the role of strength training.
Muscle Is Your Physical Reserve
We like to think about strength as a kind of physical reserve.
You don't want to have exactly enough strength to get out of a chair.
You want more than you need.
You don't want carrying your groceries to represent your maximum physical ability.
You want it to feel easy.
You don't want climbing a flight of stairs to require everything you've got.
You want capacity left over.
That reserve gives you options.
It gives you confidence.
And it gives you a buffer against the physical challenges that can come with aging, illness, injury or periods of inactivity.
The goal isn't simply to maintain the minimum required to function.
The goal is to build enough capacity that everyday life remains well below your maximum.
Strength Training Protects More Than Muscle
The benefits of resistance training extend beyond maintaining muscle mass.
Strength training also challenges your bones.
It strengthens connective tissues.
It can improve balance and coordination.
It gives you opportunities to move through different ranges of motion.
It helps maintain the ability to produce force.
And when appropriately programmed, it can help preserve another quality that becomes increasingly important as we age:
Power.
Strength is your ability to produce force.
Power is your ability to produce that force quickly.
Think about catching yourself when you trip.
Getting across a street quickly.
Reacting to something unexpected.
Those moments don't only require endurance.
They require your body to respond.
Cardio Helps You Keep Going. Strength Helps You Keep Doing.
That's the simplest way we can explain it.
Cardio helps you keep going.
It supports your ability to walk farther, climb longer, explore, play, hike and participate without becoming exhausted.
Strength helps you keep doing.
It supports your ability to lift, carry, push, pull, squat, climb, get off the floor and physically interact with your environment.
Quality of life requires both.
Longevity requires both.
Because the goal isn't simply to add more years to your life.
We want to add more life to those years.
What Does a Complete Approach Look Like?
You don't have to choose between being a cardio person and a strength person.
Walk regularly.
Get outside.
Hike.
Ride your bike.
Swim.
Play sports.
Challenge your heart and lungs.
And strength train consistently.
Squat.
Hinge.
Lunge.
Push.
Pull.
Carry.
Build and maintain the physical qualities that allow you to continue doing the things you love.
The exact amount of each will depend on the individual, but the principle is simple:
Don't neglect either side.
Train Your Heart. Train Your Body.
There is something beautiful about going for a long walk and realizing you could keep going.
There's also something beautiful about picking something heavy off the ground and realizing your body can handle it.
Those are different expressions of health.
And we want both for you.
We want you to have the cardiovascular fitness to explore the world.
We want you to have the strength to interact with it.
We want you to have the endurance to keep going.
And we want you to have the physical capacity to keep doing the things that make your life meaningful.
So keep walking.
Keep running.
Keep cycling.
Keep hiking.
Keep moving.
But build your strength too.
Your heart needs training.
Your muscles need training.
And if quality of life and longevity matter to you, you need both.
Yours in wellness,
Brien
Move well. Live well.™