Strength + cardio: do both
A cardiologist’s explainer says the best approach for heart health is a mix: aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate activity (or 75 minutes vigorous) per week plus two or more days of muscle‑strengthening work. That matters for anyone on GLP‑1s too, because preserving lean mass and supporting cardiovascular health are central to safe, durable weight loss. (today.com) (sciencedaily.com).
If your workout plan makes you choose between lifting weights and getting your heart rate up, the cardiology answer is no: adults are told to do both, not pick a winner. The federal target is at least 150 minutes a week of moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity, plus muscle-strengthening work on 2 or more days a week. (cdc.gov) Aerobic activity is the kind that keeps large muscles moving long enough to make breathing and pulse climb, like brisk walking, cycling, or swimming. It trains the heart and lungs the way a longer test drive trains an engine to run efficiently under load. (cdc.gov) Muscle-strengthening work is the kind that makes muscles push against resistance, like dumbbells, resistance bands, or body-weight squats. It trains the body’s “hardware” so you can keep climbing stairs, carrying groceries, and getting up from a chair as you age. (heart.org) The reason cardiologists stopped treating strength work as an optional extra is that resistance training helps several heart risk factors at once. The American Heart Association said in its 2023 update that resistance training can lower blood pressure, improve cholesterol, and improve insulin sensitivity in adults with and without cardiovascular disease. (acc.org) Aerobic exercise still does a different job that weights cannot fully replace. The American Heart Association says cardiorespiratory fitness is one of the strongest markers of health, and regular endurance activity helps lower the risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and early death. (heart.org) That is why the advice in the new Today.com cardiologist explainer lands on a mix instead of a matchup. The April 9, 2026 piece says the best routine for heart health combines cardio with strength work rather than treating one as more important than the other. (today.com) This gets more urgent for people taking glucagon-like peptide-1 medicines, the weight-loss and diabetes drugs sold under names like Wegovy and Ozempic. Those drugs can lower body weight fast, but doctors have been debating how much of that loss can come from lean mass, which includes muscle. (endocrinenews.endocrine.org) A scale cannot tell you whether 10 pounds lost came from fat or from the tissue that helps you move and keeps resting metabolism higher. That is why exercise specialists keep pairing these drugs with resistance training, because muscle is easier to lose during calorie deficits than it is to rebuild later. (endocrinenews.endocrine.org) The practical version is less dramatic than social media makes it sound. A week can hit the guideline with 30 minutes of brisk walking 5 days a week and 2 short full-body strength sessions using machines, free weights, or body-weight moves. (cdc.gov) The bigger miss is doing only one side of the equation. Federal guidelines say nearly 80% of American adults are not meeting the key targets for both aerobic and muscle-strengthening activity, which means most people are leaving part of the benefit on the table. (health.gov) So the current heart-health message is not “cardio versus strength.” It is “build an engine and keep the frame,” because the heart, blood vessels, muscles, and metabolism all respond to different kinds of stress. (today.com)
