Types of Exercise: Resistance and Cardio

Exercise is commonly divided into either resistance exercise or cardio exercise.  Different types of exercise provides different benefits… and in general most experts will agree that the human body needs a combination of both resistance and cardio exercises.

These are some distinct benefits that you can get from each type of exercise:

• Resistance Exercise:  These exercises work your muscles by pushing against a force that is resisting the movement.  Most common resistance exercise is weight lifting, using free weights (barbell or dumbbells) or machines.  Another popular form of resistance exercise is bodyweight exercises like push ups and pull ups.  You can also use resistance bands as well.  Resistance training is an effective way to build strength and size of your muscles which helps increase your metabolic rate to keep your body in a fat-burning mode.  It’s an essential form of exercise if your goal is to improve your physique.

• Cardio Exercise: These exercises focus on moving your body for long durations, usually at moderate to lower intensity.  Unlike resistance exercise you’re not trying to move your body against any resistance.  Cardio relies more on oxygen from your lungs to get the energy that’s needed to continue rather than just muscle like in the resistance exercise.  Examples include: walking, hiking, swimming, biking, and running.  Cardio is associated with improving endurance which is a direct result of cardiovascular improvement.

As you can see, there are benefits to both of these types of exercises.  Which is why many people do both, usually alternating between the two, in order to get the best results with their workout schedule.

However, it’s not the only way to get the best of both worlds.  In fact, you can get all the benefits of doing both resistance exercise and cardio exercise with just one type of training… HIIT.

What is HIIT?

High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is a form of exercise that alternates between brief bouts of intense, strenuous exercise follow by a resting period, repeated a number of times.  This method of exercise allows you to get all the benefits of resistance exercise and cardio exercise in one short workout routine.

There are various methods that can be used for HIIT exercises.  You can choose any type of exercise for any duration followed by any type of rest for any duration.  As you can see, there’s an infinite number of combinations.  Making this form of exercise extremely versatile.

The concept behind this method is to provide resistance to your muscles during the brief but intense exercise portion of the workout followed by a period of rest.  The rest period should be just long enough to provide your muscles enough recovery time but also short enough not to let your heart rate down too much.  This way you’re literally getting the best of both worlds.  You’re providing resistance to your muscles and stimulating your cardiovascular system at the same time.

Again, the beauty behind HIIT is the versatility that it provides you.  You can mix and match different exercises and change up the rest periods to suite your needs and goals… all without having to do 2 different types of workouts.

Tips for HIIT Exercises

Here are a few things that you want to keep in mind when you’re doing HIIT.

• Choose exercises that use multiple large muscle groups in your body.  My personal favorite is full body functional exercises like the squat press ups.

• Focus on quality over quantity.  Unlike the typical “more is better” attitude, for HIIT less is often better, since you’ll be giving 100% effort on each exercise bout.

• Switch up the muscle groups from one exercise to the next.  The less overlap of muscle groups the more balanced the exercise routine.

• Use a timer to make sure that you’re sticking to the proper work and rest time.

• Listen to your body.  If you’re fatigued and start compromising exercise form, it’s time to stop.  It’s better to perform exercises at the right intensity and proper form than just barely getting through the workout with sloppy form.

As you can probably see, the concept of HIIT is based on intensity.  So instead of focusing too much on the number of reps, sets and time… shift your focus more on the quality of the exercise and workout.  How are you performing each exercise?  How much effort are you able to give each exercise and workout?

When you perform each exercise and workout with this in mind, it completely changes that way you approach it.  It teaches you to never go through the motions… and forces you to be in the moment.  It’s a more focused and intense way to exercise, and definitely more challenging…  but it’s well worth the effort.  Study after study HIIT has been proven to be the most effective way to boost your strength, endurance and burn off fat to dramatically improve your physique in the shortest time possible.