I Already Do Cardio at the Gym—Why Do I Need Strength Training?

A lot of people stick to the cardio machines when they go to the gym. They are easy to use and relatively safe. After all, you’re less likely to look like a gym newbie, and you can read or watch the gym TVs while you use them.

But the truth is, you’re seriously short changing yourself if all you do is use the elliptical or treadmill. Cardio is critical to physical fitness, but it doesn’t give you the same benefits as strength training such as the kind you would do in my Carlsbad personal training gym.

Here are just a few unique benefits of strength training:

• Easier to perform activities of daily living like cleaning, caring for your children, etc.

• Faster metabolism

• Injury prevention

• Better posture

• Correct muscle imbalances

My Approach to Cardio

My approach to personal training is “balanced,” which means that I don’t focus on one aspect of fitness to the exclusion of others.

With cardio, we will focus mostly on High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), which delivers the most benefits in the shortest period of time. It’s great for burning fat and increasing your cardiovascular and respiratory fitness.

HIIT might look like doing 10 minutes of sprints on the stationary bike or similar sprints on the elliptical. The idea is that you do short bursts of intense activity followed by brief periods of rest. HIIT is a great way to warm up before personal training sessions, and many of my clients will arrive early at my Carlsbad gym to get their HIIT in before we do strength training together.

If you’re interested in endurance, I can also program a training schedule for you to do outside of our sessions. It doesn’t make sense to do endurance in our sessions because you can run or walk 30 minutes on a treadmill, for example, without my supervision.

My Approach to Strength Training

I take a balanced approach to strength training at my Carlsbad gym as well.

There are many kinds of strength training. Functional training focuses on increasing your ability to perform your daily tasks like lifting groceries, getting out of your car, pushing heavy objects, etc. Bodybuilding focuses on increasing muscle size and definition so you look more toned. Powerlifting is all about explosive movements using the heaviest weight you can handle.

I like to incorporate all of these types of strength training into your program, so you get the benefits of each type of movement.

Don’t Forget Flexibility!

This post has focused mainly on strength training and cardio, but the other thing that often gets neglected in the gym is flexibility. As we age, we become stiffer and less flexible. This decreases our range of motion. It can also lead to pain and injury.

I make sure to incorporate flexibility into every personal training session at my Carlsbad gym. This might include assisted stretching, yoga moves, or running through a series of dynamic (moving) stretches, depending on your needs.

With a balanced training program plus solid nutrition you will be on the path to great health, no matter where you are at today. For more information, please contact me at (760) 658-4708. I’d be happy to schedule a free assessment with you at my Carlsbad personal training studio.