Which Exercise is Right for Me?
Overweight and obesity are states where there is excess adipose tissue which ultimately affects the inner workings of our cell metabolism on a microscopic level and affects organ systems and the body as a whole on a macroscopic level. When our metabolic health is not optimal we have greater risk of heart disease, diabetes, and even cancer.
Your time and energy is finite. So what type of exercise will give the greatest impact for effort? I have been quoted saying “Walking is not enough” because when it comes to moving the needle for metabolic health as measured by lab data and body composition it does take more.
In a large comparison study, five different exercise types were evaluated for the impact on cardiometabolic labs, and other biomarkers. Impact on glucose, lipids, blood pressure, resting heart rate, physical fitness (VO2Max) and body composition were evaluated. They compared Resistance Training, Resistance Training + Separate Cardiovascular Exercise, Hybrid Exercise (Combination same session Resistance-Cardio), Steady State Cardiovascular Exercise Alone, and HIIT training (Interval Cardiovascular Training). The results of this study were very interesting. It turns out that the greatest improvements for cardiometabolic biomarkers was seen in groups that did separate resistance training and cardiovascular exercise. This was across the board for glucose, lipids, blood pressure, resting heart rate, VO2Max and body composition.
How much cardio and resistance exercise? The participants in this study exercised on average 3-4 times per week for a combined total of 187 minutes per week. Interestingly exercising this way took up the most time per week when separating out the cardio from the strength training but also had the biggest impact. This might mean doing a treadmill or biking and then doing some weight training. What is typically recommended is spending 75-150 min per week for cardiovascular exercise + 60 minutes of strength training.
Not surprisingly, the second place exercise type was hybrid type where the resistance training also elevated heart rate to count as cardiovascular exercise – think ropes or kettle bell routine. This again was across the board of cardiometabolic markers. The time spent in this group was 128 minutes and 2-3 days per week.
If time is an issue then perhaps the Hybrid type is best for you right now. If you can afford a bit more time then doing separate sessions of cardio and resistance training is best.
One other take home from this study is regarding body composition and loss of fat mass- it does seem that when it comes to loss of fat mass and improving body composition again. There were significant improvements as well in the continuous cardiovascular exercise even at lower intensities of 60% max heart rate. So when I would say to people “walking is not enough”- that is not entirely true- there may be added benefit for low level cardio for loss of fat mass over time but still not as good as combination exercise particularly for other markers we care about when it comes to cardiometabolic health including blood pressure and cholesterol.
If the goal is to improve cardiorespiratory fitness, that is where interval training can also be very helpful although interestingly here too – the combined exercises that included some resistance components were superior. Mood and positive affect may also have been higher in the interval group which is a case for the “endorphin” theory with high intensity exercise.
Ultimately, when it comes to health, exercise is important. I think that it is important to include both cardiovascular exercise and resistance training for a well rounded protocol and that is where you will see the biggest impact on biomarkers we can easily measure.
Reference:
Batrakoulis A, Jamurtas AZ, Metsios GS, Perivoliotis K, Liguori G, Feito Y, Riebe D, Thompson WR, Angelopoulos TJ, Krustrup P, Mohr M, Draganidis D, Poulios A, Fatouros IG. Comparative Efficacy of 5 Exercise Types on Cardiometabolic Health in Overweight and Obese Adults: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis of 81 Randomized Controlled Trials. Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes. 2022 Jun;15(6):e008243. doi: 10.1161/CIRCOUTCOMES.121.008243. Epub 2022 Apr 28.
