Cardio Versus Strength Training: The Answer May Surprise You

Do you think that hitting the treadmill is the only way to drop those unwanted pounds and get healthier? Think again. According to Jim Karas, author of The Cardio-Free Diet, "Cardiovascular exercise kills a weight-loss plan, your internal organs, your immune system, your time and your motivation. If your true goal is to lose weight, interval strength training is the only way to go."

Sound too good to be true? Perhaps it is; after all, many experts disagree with Karas' claims. For example, Jennifer Mieres, a cardiologist and an American Heart Association spokesperson, agrees that strength training is useful, especially to prevent osteoporosis, but cautions that "the evidence is overwhelming. You need to do some cardio workout to change your cardiac profile to make it better, to prevent death from heart disease and stroke."

At first glance this newest dispute regarding our health seems to be very familiar. As a nation, we are used to getting conflicting advise regarding nutrition and exercise-one study claims that eggs are good for us, another one claims the opposite. The same debate seems to take place regarding coffee, chocolate, and other foods. In terms of exercise, there always seems to be disagreement on how much we should exercise, and how intensely, and the debate of strength training versus cardio itself is certainly nothing new.

However, the newest version of this debate demonstrates a fundamental disconnect in the way that the medical community addresses how we can best improve our health. When the language is parsed it is clear that what Karas is concerned with, more than anything else, is weight loss. What the cardiologists are concerned with is the health of the heart.