CARDIO VS. STRENGTH TRAINING
"Should I be out of breath when lifting?"
“Why does my heart rate increase when lifting weights?”
“Is it OK that my heart rate increases when lifting weights?”
These are some of the questions asked to us coaches during some of our strength and power classes. To get into this we must first establish what is cardio training.
Cardio is defined as any type of exercise that gets your heart rate up and keeps it up for a prolonged period of time. Your respiratory system will start working harder as you begin to breathe faster and more deeply.
So that being said, what is the difference between strength training and cardio?
Cardio (short for cardiovascular exercise) which refers to endurance exercise that strengthens your body’s circulatory system (the heart and blood vessels). Examples include running, biking, dancing, and tennis. Our Blasther and Igniter classes prioritise this.
Strength training is exercise that uses resistance to contract muscles in order to increase strength, boost anaerobic endurance, and build skeletal muscles. Examples include weight training, pilates, yoga, and bodyweight exercises like push-ups, pull-ups, and sit-ups. Our Lifther and Powher classes prioritise this.
It is a common misconception that cardio simply burns fat and strength training simply builds muscle. In reality, both forms of exercise provide numerous benefits, and everyone (no matter what their age, sex, or fitness goals) should do both on a regular basis.
It is a common misconception that cardio simply burns fat and strength training simply builds muscle. In reality, both forms of exercise provide numerous benefits, and everyone (no matter what their age, sex, or fitness goals) should do both on a regular basis.
"Should I be out of breath when lifting?"
It is normal to be out of breath or breathing heavier during some strength and power training sessions. To explain why: when you try to lift something heavier especially in a sequence your veins and your muscles, etc have pressure applied to them, it's a common human body reaction when lifting something heavier that your lungs and mind tend to hold breath to give your body maximum amount of power you're capable of as if you were breathing out it will result in relaxing that decreased the body power.
It is the same as throwing a punch, when you are angry at first you take your punch back holding your breath and then release it to the opponent to produce maximum damage and releasing the breath.
These kinds of reactions can make your heart beat faster and make you breathless in a couple of shots, leaving you immobilized to think that I can run more than 1 - 2 km without any difficulties "but why do I become breathless so fast with few punches ?"
The answer is simple: you ask your body to provide you maximum power possible, your body reacts to your command and starts burning even the single oxygen taken in by the lungs and processes the available energy your heart starts pumping at the max possible rate "Providing you maximum power possible sacrificing breath and heart beat rate".
Lifting is hard work, ideally you should be breathing harder and be sweating a bit and this in turn will increase your heart rate, especially with compound work. Essentially strength training works on your anaerobic system. Weight lifting and similar strength training activities are examples of anaerobic exercise. Anaerobic exercise involves a short burst of intense movement, while only burning carbohydrates for energy. It does not require oxygen. When you increase your repetitions or compound movement that is when there is the increased demand for oxygen.
A good solution to this is if you are doing multiple repetitions is ask yourself if you are holding your breath or controlling your breathing? Maximal testing is different as it is a single lift therefore the muscles don’t need the oxygen to perform multiple repetitions in sequence before a break.
-By Tyler B