Cardio or Strength Training? Why Your Health Benefits From Both

When people decide they want to become fitter or healthier, exercise often gets divided into two camps.

You either do cardio — running, cycling, swimming or walking — or you lift weights.

In reality, you probably shouldn't be choosing between them.

For most people, a healthy exercise programme should contain both aerobic exercise and strength training. They improve different aspects of our health and, when combined, provide a much more rounded approach to keeping the body healthy, capable and resilient.

Current UK physical activity guidelines reflect exactly this. Adults are advised to accumulate around 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity each week, or 75 minutes of vigorous activity, while also completing activities that strengthen the major muscle groups on at least two days per week.

So why do we need both?

Cardio and strength training do different jobs

Aerobic or cardiovascular exercise challenges your heart, lungs and circulatory system.

That can include things such as:

• brisk walking
• running
• cycling
• swimming
• rowing
• exercise classes
• playing sport

Regular physical activity is associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and premature death, alongside benefits for mental and physical health. Importantly, you don't have to suddenly become a marathon runner: some activity is better than none, and some of the largest health gains occur when previously inactive people simply start becoming more active.

Strength training creates a slightly different challenge.

Instead of primarily challenging the cardiovascular system, resistance exercise asks your muscles to produce force against resistance.

That resistance might come from:

• weights
• resistance machines
• resistance bands
• your own bodyweight
• everyday tasks such as climbing stairs or carrying objects.

Strength training can improve muscle strength, muscle mass and physical function. A major 2026 American College of Sports Medicine review brought together evidence from 137 systematic reviews involving more than 30,000 participants, finding clear benefits of resistance training across measures including strength, muscle size, power and physical function.

Combining them may be better for overall health

The important point is that the benefits of cardiovascular and resistance exercise aren't identical.

Running several times per week might give you excellent cardiovascular fitness, for example, but that doesn't necessarily provide the same stimulus for maintaining muscle strength.

Likewise, somebody who exclusively lifts weights may become considerably stronger without developing their cardiovascular fitness to the same extent.

Combining the two means you can train different components of physical health at the same time.

The latest UK Chief Medical Officers' review specifically highlights the importance of strength training alongside aerobic activity. Their evidence review found that muscle-strengthening activity is associated with reduced mortality, with the benefits appearing strongest when it is combined with regular aerobic exercise.

Research examining combined — sometimes called concurrent — aerobic and resistance training also suggests that you don't generally have to worry about cardio somehow "undoing" your strength training. A large systematic review found that combining aerobic and strength training did not compromise improvements in maximal strength or muscle growth compared with strength training alone, although very specific performance goals may require more careful programming.

For somebody exercising primarily for health, fitness and everyday function, this makes combining the two a very sensible approach.

Strength becomes increasingly important as we get older

Strength training also isn't something reserved for athletes or people wanting bigger muscles.

We naturally tend to lose muscle mass and physical capacity as we get older. Maintaining our strength can therefore influence much more practical things: climbing stairs, getting out of a chair, carrying shopping, playing with children or grandchildren, participating in sport and remaining independent later in life.

The UK guidelines place particular emphasis on strength because of its relationship with physical function and healthy ageing.

You don't have to become a powerlifter to achieve this.

You simply need to regularly ask your muscles to work hard enough that they have a reason to adapt.

But what should your strength programme actually look like?

This is where things become more individual.

You can find thousands of "best strength workouts" online.

The problem is that the person who created that programme probably doesn't know:

• how strong you currently are
• what activities you enjoy
• what equipment you have available
• whether you run, cycle, swim or play another sport
• whether you have an injury or persistent pain
• how much time you realistically have available
• what you actually want your body to become better at.

A generic programme can certainly work.

In fact, the latest evidence on resistance training suggests that consistency is generally far more important than making a programme unnecessarily complicated.

But that doesn't mean everyone should perform exactly the same exercises.

Personalised doesn't mean complicated

A personalised strength programme isn't about finding a collection of unusual exercises that nobody else knows about.

It is about applying fairly simple training principles to you.

For example, somebody training for their first 10K might benefit from a programme designed to complement their running rather than leaving their legs exhausted before every important run.

Someone wanting to remain strong and active into their 60s and 70s may need a different emphasis.

Someone returning to exercise because of knee pain may initially need their exercises, loads and training volume adjusted so that they can build strength without repeatedly aggravating their symptoms.

And somebody who only has adjustable dumbbells at home needs a programme that works with the equipment they actually own.

The exercises themselves don't necessarily need to be special.

The personalisation comes from choosing the right starting point, resistance, volume, frequency and progression for the individual.

Progression is the important bit

One of the limitations of following the same generic workout indefinitely is that your body adapts.

Something that was difficult six weeks ago may eventually become fairly easy.

For strength to continue improving, the training stimulus generally needs to progress.

That might mean:

• increasing the weight
• completing more repetitions
• adding another set
• changing the exercise
• increasing the range of movement
• progressing to a more demanding variation.

Modern resistance-training evidence continues to support progressive training, although there is considerable flexibility in exactly how a successful programme can be constructed.

This is another advantage of having a programme designed around you: it can change as you change.

What might a healthy week look like?

There isn't one perfect weekly exercise schedule.

For one person it might involve:

Monday: Strength training
Tuesday: 30-minute brisk walk
Wednesday: Rest or light activity
Thursday: Strength training
Friday: 30-minute cycle
Weekend: Longer walk, run, swim or sport

Someone else might run three times per week and complete two shorter strength sessions.

Another person might prefer swimming, gym classes and resistance training.

All of these can work.

The aim isn't to create a theoretically perfect programme that takes over your life. It is to find a combination that you can realistically continue.

You don't need to hit the guidelines immediately

If you're currently doing very little exercise, seeing recommendations for 150 minutes of cardiovascular activity plus two strength sessions can sound daunting.

You don't need to achieve all of that next week.

The current UK guidance specifically emphasises that any activity is better than none. Even levels below the recommended targets are associated with health benefits, with particularly large gains seen when people move from being inactive to becoming moderately active.

Start somewhere manageable.

A ten-minute walk is better than deciding not to walk because you don't have time for thirty minutes.

One strength session is better than none.

Two or three exercises can be a perfectly reasonable starting point.

You can build from there.

The takeaway

Cardiovascular exercise and strength training shouldn't really be competitors.

They complement each other.

Cardio helps develop your cardiovascular fitness and provides wide-ranging health benefits. Strength training helps maintain muscle, strength and physical function.

For most people, doing some of both is likely to provide a more complete approach to long-term health than concentrating exclusively on one type of exercise.

And while your strength programme doesn't need to be complicated, it should ideally make sense for your current ability, your lifestyle and what you actually want to achieve.

The best programme isn't necessarily the one containing the most exercises or the latest training techniques.

It's one that gives your body an appropriate challenge, progresses as you become stronger — and that you can actually keep doing.

Want help putting this into practice?

If you’re not sure where to start, or you’d like a strength and exercise programme built around your current fitness, goals, injuries and the activities you enjoy, I offer personalised online consultations and exercise planning.