The heart and lungs are the transport system for nutrients to and waste products from the muscles. The only way to access this transport system is by working the muscles. You cannot perform any activity without using your muscles, whether it be strength training or aerobics. Therefore, if you find the best way to work the muscles (strengthen), you will automatically involve the heart and lungs. They have no choice in the matter! You can get more “cardio” from doing proper strength training than you ever could from any amount of running or aerobics.
Many people focus on target heart rate. Since heart rate can fluctuate due to temperature (being in a sauna), emotional stress (fear or excitement) or drug/alcohol use (stimulants/depressants), it is an unreliable indicator of exercise intensity.
The lungs are over-engineered. They are capable of saturating the blood with oxygen in 1/2 of the total transit time through the lungs at maximum demand. VO2Max (maximum oxygen uptake) has been deemed an almost entirely genetically-dictated variable; therefore, anyone that praises it doesn’t have all the facts.
For many people, the ultimate test of fitness is how far they can run. Remember one thing: the runner who ran from Marathon to Athens to bring news about the Greek War DIED when he reached his destination! For many years, it was thought that running/jogging would save everyone’s hearts. Now all it is proving to have done is ruin knees, backs, and ankles. Witness the different joggers/runners who have dropped dead from heart attacks.
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