Cardio plus strength — best for heart
A cardiologist told Today that the best routine for heart health isn’t choosing cardio or strength training — it’s doing both, because each protects the heart in different ways. (today.com). In practice that means mixing aerobic sessions with regular resistance work, rather than leaning only on long cardio or only on weights. (today.com).
If your workout is all running and no weights, or all weights and no brisk walking, cardiologists say you’re skipping part of the heart-protection package. In a new Today interview published April 9, 2026, New York University Grossman School of Medicine cardiologist Dr. Nieca Goldberg said the better plan is to combine aerobic exercise with strength training. (today.com) Aerobic exercise is the kind that keeps your heart and lungs working steadily for minutes at a time, like fast walking, cycling, swimming, or jogging. Goldberg told Today it does more for blood pressure and cholesterol, which are two major drivers of heart disease. (today.com) Strength training is the kind that makes muscles push against resistance, like dumbbells, machines, resistance bands, or body-weight moves such as squats. The American Heart Association says resistance training can improve blood pressure, cholesterol, and insulin sensitivity, which links it directly to cardiovascular health. (heart.org, acc.org) The reason the two forms of exercise work well together is that they stress the body in different ways. Aerobic work trains the pump, while resistance work helps the body handle sugar, maintain muscle, and lower strain on blood vessels through different pathways. (today.com, acc.org) Federal exercise guidance in the United States already reflects that split job. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says adults should get at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity each week and muscle-strengthening activity on at least 2 days each week. (cdc.gov) The American Heart Association gives the same basic target, with an alternative of 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic activity if the pace is harder. It also says the activity should be spread across the week instead of packed into one burst. (heart.org) That means a heart-focused week does not need to look extreme. A simple version is 30 minutes of brisk walking on 5 days plus 2 sessions of lifting, bands, or body-weight work that hit major muscle groups. (cdc.gov, heart.org) This advice is also useful because many people still treat “cardio” as the only heart exercise. The American College of Sports Medicine says exercise programs for blood pressure prevention and treatment should emphasize moderate aerobic exercise supplemented by resistance exercise on most days. (acsm.org) So the practical takeaway is not to pick a side between treadmill and dumbbell rack. The current medical advice is to treat them like two medicines that do different jobs, and get both into the same week. (today.com, cdc.gov)
