The research in Current Sports Medicine Reports shows that both aerobic exercise and strength training are beneficial for overall health, but combining both types of exercise offers the greatest health benefits. This includes lower risks of mortality, and chronic diseases, and improvements in body composition and metabolic health. Although aerobic exercise is more popular, strength training can be easier to stick with and offers consistent fitness benefits. The best exercise program is one that you can maintain long-term, so find activities you enjoy and incorporate both aerobic and strength training into your routine.

Key points

1. Both aerobic exercise and strength training are beneficial for overall health.

2. Combining aerobic and strength training offers the greatest health benefits.

3. These benefits include lower risks of mortality, and chronic diseases, and improvements in body composition and metabolic health.

4. Aerobic exercise is more popular, but strength training can be easier to stick with.

5. Strength training offers consistent fitness benefits and can be less time-consuming.

6. The best exercise program is one that you can maintain long-term.

7. Incorporate both aerobic and strength training into your routine to optimize your health and fitness.

Aerobic vs. Strength Training: Which is Better for Your Health?

In the world of fitness and health, there's an ongoing debate about which type of exercise is best for overall health: aerobic activity or strength training. Both have their advocates, and both have been shown to offer significant health benefits. But which one should you prioritize if you're looking to improve your health? Let's dive into the research and explore this question in depth.

• Strength Training (Muscle-Strengthening Physical Activity, MSPA)

  Exercise that increases muscular strength, power, endurance, and mass.

  Examples:

  Weight lifting (free weights or machines)

  Bodyweight exercises (push-ups, pull-ups, squats)

  Resistance band exercises

  Kettlebell workouts

• Aerobic Exercise (Moderate to Vigorous Physical Activity, MVPA)

  Continuous, rhythmic activity that elevates heart rate and breathing for an extended period.

  Examples:

  Brisk walking

  Jogging or running

  Cycling

  Swimming

  Dancing

Mechanisms of Action for Health Improvement

Strength Training:

• Increases muscle mass and strength

• Improves bone density

• Enhances metabolic rate

• Improves insulin sensitivity

• Reduces inflammation

• Enhances functional capacity and balance

Aerobic Exercise:

• Improves cardiovascular fitness

• Enhances lung capacity

• Increases mitochondrial density and function

• Improves insulin sensitivity

• Reduces inflammation

• Enhances endothelial function

Both types of exercise:

• Reduce body fat

• Improve blood lipid profiles

• Enhance mood and cognitive function

• Reduce stress and anxiety

Both strength training and aerobic exercise contribute to overall health through various physiological adaptations. While they have some overlapping benefits, each type of exercise also offers unique advantages, which is why a combination of both is often recommended for optimal health outcomes.

Understanding the Guidelines

Before we compare the two types of exercise, it's important to understand what health experts actually recommend. The U.S. Physical Activity Guidelines recommend that adults should:

• Perform at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity (MVPA) per week.

• Engage in muscle-strengthening physical activity (MSPA) on two or more days per week.

These guidelines aren't an either/or proposition; they recommend both types of activity for optimal health. But what happens if you only do one or the other? Let's look at the evidence.

The Impact on Mortality

One of the most critical measures of health is longevity. Several large-scale studies have examined how different exercise patterns affect the risk of death from all causes, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and cancer.

• All-Cause Mortality

  Research shows that people who meet only the aerobic exercise guidelines (MVPA) have a 15–35% lower risk of dying from any cause compared to those who don't exercise at all. Interestingly, those who meet only the strength training guidelines (MSPA) also see benefits, with a 10-25% lower risk of all-cause mortality.

  But here's where it gets really interesting: people who meet both the aerobic and strength training guidelines see the greatest benefit, with a 30-45% lower risk of all-cause mortality. This suggests that combining both types of exercise provides the most substantial health benefits.

• Cardiovascular Disease Mortality

  When it comes to death from cardiovascular disease, the pattern is similar. Meeting the aerobic exercise guidelines alone is associated with a 20–35% lower risk of CVD mortality. The evidence for strength training alone is mixed, with some studies showing a 20-30% lower risk and others finding no significant association.

  However, meeting both guidelines is consistently associated with the largest reduction in CVD mortality risk, ranging from 45-60%. This underscores the importance of a well-rounded exercise routine for heart health.

• Cancer Mortality

  The relationship between exercise and cancer mortality is less consistent but still noteworthy. Some studies have found that meeting the aerobic guidelines alone is associated with a 20–25% lower risk of cancer mortality, while others have found no significant association. Strength training alone has been associated with a 15-35% lower risk in some studies.

  Once again, meeting both guidelines appears to offer the greatest benefit, with a 30-40% lower risk of cancer mortality compared to not exercising at all.

Impact on Chronic Diseases

Beyond mortality, researchers have also examined how different exercise patterns affect the risk of developing chronic diseases.

• Obesity

  Both aerobic exercise and strength training have been associated with a lower risk of obesity. Meeting either the MVPA or MSPA guidelines alone is associated with a 20-30% lower risk of obesity. However, meeting both guidelines is associated with a 35–50% lower risk.

  Interestingly, among those who already meet the aerobic guidelines, adding strength training is associated with a further 30% reduction in the risk of abdominal obesity or high body fat percentage. This suggests that strength training may be particularly beneficial for maintaining a healthy body composition.

• Metabolic Syndrome and Hypercholesterolemia

  Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of conditions that increase the risk of heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes. Research has found that meeting both the aerobic and strength training guidelines is associated with a 25% lower risk of metabolic syndrome and a 21% lower risk of hypercholesterolemia (high cholesterol). Interestingly, meeting only one of the guidelines (either aerobic or strength training) was not associated with significant risk reductions for these conditions.

• Type 2 Diabetes

  Type 2 diabetes is a growing health concern worldwide. Studies have found that meeting both the aerobic and strength training guidelines is associated with a 40–67% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes compared to being inactive. Meeting only the aerobic guidelines is associated with a similar risk reduction of 40–60%.

  The evidence for strength training alone is less clear, partly due to limitations in how strength training is measured in many studies. However, some research suggests that higher amounts of strength training (150 minutes or more per week for men, 60 minutes or more for women) may be associated with a 50-60% lower risk of diabetes, regardless of aerobic activity levels.

Insights from Clinical Trials

While observational studies provide valuable insights, clinical trials offer more direct evidence of cause and effect. Several large trials have compared the effects of aerobic exercise, strength training, and combined exercise on various health outcomes.

• Glucose Regulation and Insulin Sensitivity

  In people with type 2 diabetes, both aerobic exercise and strength training have been shown to improve glucose regulation (as measured by HbA1c levels) and insulin sensitivity. However, combined aerobic and strength training programs consistently show the greatest improvements.

  For example, one study found significant reductions in HbA1c in all exercise groups, but the largest reductions were seen in the combined exercise group. Another study found that only the combined exercise group showed significant improvements in HbA1c, while the aerobic-only and strength-only groups did not.

• Body Composition

  Several studies have found that combined exercise programs lead to greater improvements in body composition (reductions in fat mass and/or increases in lean mass) compared to either aerobic or strength training alone.

• Cardiovascular Risk Factors

  Interestingly, many large, long-duration trials have found that neither aerobic exercise, strength training, nor combined exercise leads to significant changes in individual cardiovascular risk factors (like blood pressure or cholesterol levels) compared to a control group.

  However, when researchers look at composite measures of cardiovascular risk (which combine multiple risk factors), they tend to find more positive results. For example, one study found that both aerobic exercise and combined exercise led to significant improvements in a composite measure of metabolic syndrome, while strength training alone did not.

Other Considerations

While the health benefits of exercise are clear, it's important to consider other factors that might influence which type of exercise is best for an individual.

• Prevalence and Adherence

  Population-level data consistently show that people are much more likely to engage in aerobic exercise than strength training. About 50% of adults report meeting the aerobic exercise guidelines, while only about 30% meet the strength training guidelines.

  However, in clinical trials, adherence tends to be higher in strength training and combined exercise groups compared to aerobic exercise groups. This suggests that while aerobic exercise might be more popular overall, strength training might be easier for people to stick with once they start.

• Time Efficiency

  One advantage of strength training is that it might require less time to achieve health benefits. While the aerobic guidelines recommend 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity per week, some studies have found the strongest associations between strength training and health outcomes at around 60 minutes per week.

• Fitness Improvements

  Both types of exercise lead to specific fitness improvements. Aerobic exercise improves cardiorespiratory fitness, while strength training improves muscular strength and endurance. These fitness improvements themselves are associated with health benefits, possibly even more strongly than the exercise behaviors themselves.

  Interestingly, while a significant proportion of people (35–60%) don't show improvements in cardiorespiratory fitness in response to aerobic exercise, almost everyone who starts a strength training program will see improvements in strength. This suggests that strength training might offer more consistent fitness benefits, especially for beginners.

• Mental Health Benefits

  While this review focused primarily on physical health, it's worth noting that both aerobic exercise and strength training have been associated with mental health benefits. These include lower rates of depression and anxiety, better sleep, and improved cognitive function in older adults.

  Some studies suggest that combined exercise programs might offer the greatest mental health benefits, but more research is needed in this area.

Conclusion: Is One Type of Exercise Better?

So, after all this, which type of exercise is better for your health: aerobic or strength training? The answer, perhaps unsurprisingly, is both.

While both aerobic exercise and strength training offer significant health benefits on their own, the evidence consistently shows that combining both types of exercise leads to the greatest improvements in health outcomes. This includes lower risks of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease, cancer, obesity, and type 2 diabetes, as well as improvements in body composition, glucose regulation, and overall cardiovascular health.

The synergistic effects of combining aerobic and strength training suggest that these two types of exercise complement each other, each providing unique benefits that contribute to overall health. Aerobic exercise is particularly good for improving cardiorespiratory fitness and burning calories, while strength training is crucial for maintaining muscle mass, improving strength, and supporting metabolic health.

However, it's important to remember that any exercise is better than no exercise. If you're currently inactive, starting with either aerobic exercise or strength training will lead to significant health improvements. The key is to find activities you enjoy and can stick with long-term.

If you're already active but focus primarily on one type of exercise, consider incorporating the other type into your routine. If you're a runner, for example, adding a couple of strength training sessions each week could provide additional health benefits. If you primarily lift weights, adding some cardio to your routine could improve your overall health and fitness.

Ultimately, the best exercise program is one that you can maintain consistently over time. By incorporating both aerobic exercise and strength training into your routine, you'll be giving yourself the best chance at optimal health and longevity. Remember, it's not about choosing one or the other; it's about finding the right balance of both to support your overall health and fitness goals.

FAQs

Is strength training more important than aerobic training?

No, neither is more important than the other. Both types of exercise are crucial for overall health and fitness. The best approach is to combine both aerobic and strength training into your workout routine.

Should you choose resistance training or aerobic exercise?

Ideally, you should do both. However, if you can only choose one, consider your individual goals and preferences.

• If your primary goal is weight loss or improving cardiovascular health, aerobic exercise might be a better starting point.

• If your goal is to build muscle, increase strength, or improve bone density, strength training would be more beneficial.

How long should your aerobic and strength training workouts be?

The duration of your workouts will depend on your fitness level and goals. However, aim for at least 20-30 minutes for aerobic exercise and 15-20 minutes for strength training sessions.

Can you combine aerobic and strength training in one workout?

Yes, you can combine aerobic and strength training in one workout. For example, you could start with a 20-minute cardio session followed by 20 minutes of strength training.

Related article:

Exercise is Medicine: Your Guide to a Healthier You (With Minimal Effort!).

Journal reference

Brellenthin, A. G., Bennie, J. A., & Lee, D. (2022). Aerobic or Muscle-Strengthening Physical Activity: Which Is Better for Health? Current Sports Medicine Reports, 21(8), 272–279. https://doi.org/10.1249/jsr.0000000000000981

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