Skip the Cardio and Pump the Iron

New research published by Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise is showing that even if you do not do actual “cardio”, pumping iron will help strengthen your heart muscle and protect you from having a heart attack or stroke and

or make dying from one less likely. We’ve been told for years that you had to do aerobic exercise for heart health and strength training to protect your muscles and bones. After crunching the data, the researchers found that even a little bit of strength training went a long way for preventing heart disease. They found that as little as one session a week, or less than an hour of pumping iron, cut the participants’ risks of heart disease and dying from a cardiovascular event by 40 to 70 percent, even if they didn’t get the recommended amount of aerobic exercise every week.

Strength training was also linked to a lower body mass index (BMI), which is also associated with better heart health. Another plus is it’s been shown to reduce anxiety and depression, both of which can take a toll on your ticker-may help explain the reduction in heart risks.

https://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/Abstract/publishahead/Associations_of_Resistance_Exercise_with.96766.aspx