According to a recent study, lower cardiovascular risk factors have been found in adults who do some form of resistance training (source). In this study, researchers looked at the exercise habits of over 4,000 adults and:
“analyzed the cardiovascular risk factors against the type of activity in terms of whether it was static, such as weight training, or dynamic, such as walking or cycling.“
What they found is the best exercise category for lowering cardiovascular risk factors is static activity (for example, strength or resistance training). And the heart-healthy benefits of static activity are for all ages.
Despite the health benefits of strength training, only 25 percent of adults over age 45 reported doing static exercise. For younger adults, it’s a little bit higher at 36 percent.
Finally, the researchers confirmed previous findings that static and dynamic training combined (strength plus cardio) give the greatest benefit overall.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR YOU?
Just for fun, let’s rank strength and cardio activities by “heart-health effectiveness” according to research:
1. Strength + Cardio
2. Strength alone
3. Cardio alone
Wait a minute, what?
Everyone “knows” if you are going to exercise, you start with cardio. Right?
Sure, starting with something is better than nothing. But this ranking shows cardio alone is the least effective exercise for your heart health.
- So if you are starting an exercise program, why not start with strength training 20 minutes per week?
- Or if you have a hard time finding enough exercise time for cardio, why not switch to strength training 20 minutes per week?
- Or if you can find 20 extra minutes per week (maybe even by lowering your cardio time), why not add strength training?
HOW COULD I POSSIBLY GET MY STRENGTH TRAINING DONE IN ONLY 20 MINUTES PER WEEK?
When we started Jekel Strength Club in 2018, we heard some criticism for the name.
“You can’t expect many people to join a strength training club!”
“You’re going to have treadmills and exercise bikes for cardio, right?”
“You’re so vain for including your last name.”
Well, YES. We do expect many people to join Jekel Strength Club and here is why.
Not only is strength and resistance training superior for most fitness and body composition goals, but also we are the first in the Seattle area to train members using the most efficient, effective, safe, adaptable, and measurable resistance training machines.
The ARX Alpha and Omni are to strength training what programmable exercise bikes are to cardio. ARX responds to you, providing the perfect, dynamic resistance on every rep of every exercise. There are no more guessing games. No more deciding what weight to select, and no more adding and removing plates from a bar to make your reps.
Just climb on and start your workout, custom-designed for you by our personal trainers to help you meet your goals.
Every one of our staff members is an ACE Certified Personal Trainer and is ARX Fit Certified to train on ARX Alpha and Omni. ARX Fit has spent the last decade refining their machines and experimenting with exercise routines to bring you the benefits of strength training in the shortest time possible. And now Jekel Strength Club makes that technology and knowledge available to you.
While you could work out more, just 20 minutes once per week of the right ARX exercises provides sufficient stimulus (along with proper rest and nutrition) to get you the benefits of resistance training.
And NO, we aren’t going to have treadmills. But we DO have a CAR.O.L bike.
MAYBE we are a little vain. After all, we do have a Fit3D Body Scanner so every club member can measure real progress toward their health and body goals.
We could say more, but you’ve been reading for quite a while – so why not go binge watch some videos on the ARX YouTube Channel? You deserve it.
Oh, and for those of you in the over 45 age group who might wonder if resistance training is for you, here are some photos of Grandpa Jekel (75 years old) on the ARX Alpha:
