Tired of doing endless miles and wondering if any of it is actually
doing something? You’re not alone. Cardio is important, yes, but so
silent you can’t tell if it’s paying off. If you cannot stand to
do another minute of silent and exhausting work, perhaps it is time
to try some loud training.
The
Silent Killer
High blood pressure or
hypertension is often called “The Silent Killer,” and for good
reason. It, with other cardiovascular complications, is one of the
largest contributors to disease, the health-care burden, and early
death worldwide. The symptoms of very high blood pressure (180/120
mmHg or higher) are headaches, nausea, anxiety, and nosebleeds, to
name a few. However, the symptoms of more moderate hypertension
(140/90 mmHg or higher) are much more insidious. Indeed, the World
Health Organization estimates that 46% of adults with hypertension
are unaware of their condition.
According to the
American College of Cardiology, the oldest known case of coronary
artery disease is of an Egyptian princess from circa 1550 BC. The
modern fixation with heart health began in the 1950s after President
Eisenhower suffered a cardiac event, which rocked the whole world.
This motivated doctors and scientists alike to study heart health, to
understand the root causes to be able to prevent and cure heart
disease.
A
Short History of “Cardio”
Many protective factors
were identified, including a diet low in salt, a low BMI, and low
cholesterol, to name a few. However, the world decided to focus on
one particular factor: cardiovascular fitness. Having a strong,
well-trained heart means less risk for hypertension and other related
cardiovascular issues. And besides, it is something you have control
over. The way to train your cardiovascular system is, of course,
Cardiovascular Training, or “cardio” for short. Thus, the cardio
health craze was born.
Tons of low-intensity aerobic work to not only improve your heart
health, but also to lose weight and “get toned.” This meant tons
and tons of jogging, spinning, circuit training, and whatever else
researchers and fitness industry professionals could come up with.
Cardio became the default prescription for heart health – a quiet
(and very popular) antidote to the silent killer.
The
Silent Exercise
If high blood pressure
is the silent killer because you can not feel it, then cardio is the
silent exercise, because you have no idea if it is doing anything. If
high blood pressure feels like nothing, then lowering your high blood
pressure also feels like nothing.
Knowing what we know in
2025, most people do not stick with cardio for very long. The fact
that it is silent makes it inherently unmotivating. It is not rare to
meet someone who has done a marathon 10 years ago, and never run
again. Furthermore, cardio for weight loss is extremely
overrated. The calories-in-calories-out equation was heavily skewed
incorrectly to the calories-out portion for a good while. People
focused on increased exercise to outrun a bad diet, but with the
advent of medication like semaglutide and other related substances,
we know that the best and easiest way to lose weight is with diet and
appetite control (a totally different essay).
What this all means is
that even though you put in the miles, you most likely will not see
or feel any physical changes in your body. Your heart will, of
course, be healthier, but you will look and feel the same. Maybe that
is good enough for you, but personally, I want to look and feel
better with exercise.
Loud
Training
The opposite of
low-intensity long-duration cardiovascular work is high-intensity
anaerobic resistance training, or in plain English, strength
training. Because of the fascination with cardio, strength training
fell out of favor. Resistance training would make you “bulky”
and was generally seen as a lower form of exercise compared to
cardio. It would take decades for researchers to recognize the
benefits of strength training for health.
Contrary to cardio, resistance training will transform your body in a
way that is impossible to miss. If you perform a proper strength
training program, you will see changes within a couple of weeks.
Ironically, you will need to eat more, not less, and you will
gain weight, but still lose fat.
Incredible, I know. The
usual experience is that after a few weeks, you will start to notice
that your pants are snug around the thighs and hips but loose around
the waist. An excellent sign that you are building muscle and losing
fat. I usually do not tell my new clients this because it sounds too
good to be true. It is much more fun for them to be pleasantly
surprised, and once they see the very loud results, they are hooked
on strength training.
Also, do not
underestimate the cardiovascular component of strength training.
After a heavy set of 5, you will be huffing and puffing, and most
novices report that their cardio got better without even training for
it. Though this will not be the case forever.
Combining
Loud and Silent Exercise
Cardio will not make
you much stronger, but resistance training will. Resistance training
will also improve your cardio for many months if performed correctly.
However, there comes a time when resistance training will not be
enough for your cardiovascular health and you need more work capacity
to do the loud and heavy work. The silent work doesn’t build
visible muscle, but it supports the strength training behind the
scenes.
The intermediate stage
usually calls for more sets, and you will be huffing and puffing if
you have previously neglected your cardio. While you can rest
15 minutes between your 5 sets of 5, it does not mean that you
should, and besides, who has 3 hours to spend in the gym
nowadays? At a certain point you need to be in shape to train.
As a healthcare professional and strength coach, I usually tell
people the standard recommendation of 150-300 minutes of moderate
intensity (roughly a heart rate of 100-130 BPM) aerobic work per week
as a way to be in shape for their strength training, but also for
general health. The modality does not matter, so long as your heart
rate is elevated. Some options are brisk walking, on a treadmill or
outside, heavy yard work, or whatever else you can think of to get
your heart rate up. Everything works and everything counts. It is
also possible to substitute your dedicated aerobic work for steps,
and 7000-11000 steps a day is the equivalent of 150-300 minutes a
week of moderate aerobic work.
Practical
Guidelines
The novice lifter who
has never touched a barbell will start off by just doing their
strength training 3 days a week. At this point, there is no need to
think about cardio as the strength training itself is significantly
more work than the trainee is used to, and it will improve aerobic
capacity all on its own.
A lifter with a
sedentary lifestyle should aim to increase their daily step count
after the first few weeks of strength training. At least 7000 steps a
day is a very realistic goal and should really serve
as a baseline minimum, and even 11000 steps a day is very unlikely to
impact the lifter’s strength training negatively. However, as the
lifter progresses, continues to lead a particularly sedentary
lifestyle, or requires additional aerobic conditioning for their
sport, incorporating formal cardio may become beneficial.
There
is no need to overdo it, especially with running, since the impact on
the legs can interfere with strength training. You would ideally do
some type of low-impact exercise like cycling, rowing, assault bike
or sled pushing. 30 minutes a week (perhaps as 10 minutes 3 times a
week) at a heart rate of roughly 120 BPM is plenty to start off with.
Carefully titrate it up over time, and remember to keep the goal the
goal. There is no need to add more conditioning if it does not
improve your strength training, your health, or your sport.
Silent cardio for heart
and overall health is great, but it is inherently unmotivating. In
contrast, loud strength training will make you stronger, look better,
feel better, and improve your cardio. But not forever. As you
approach the intermediate stage, it may be a good idea to incorporate
moderate aerobic exercise and/or steps for both health and strength
performance. So if you want to have a healthy heart, be strong, and
look as good as you feel, you should combine loud and silent
exercise.
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