Cardio: The Critical Complement to Weight Training

Cardio: More important than weight training? Works heart and lungs Burns higher percentage of fat during exercise due to oxidative phosphorylation, which uses primarily fatty acids for fuel

Cardio: More important than weight training? Physiological adaptations – Primary adaptation-enlarged heart volume – Heart walls become thinner, more elastic and distensible (stretch) – Increased chamber size means increased stroke volume- the amount of blood pumped in one heart beat – Heart becomes more efficient at delivering oxygen More blood is pumped to distal tissues for every beat – Reduces cardiovascular disease risk – Working muscles grow more mitochondria which increases oxygen utilization More oxygen utilization at a given workload means more calories burned!

Weight Training Heart walls experience hypertrophy, ie, they get thicker – Some can be scar tissue which is less flexible Bigger heart but there is less stretch, therefore less stroke volume for every beat Enlarged walls of left ventricle