June 30, 2021 6:45 p.m.
Howard LeWine, MD, Harvard Health Publishing
Posted: Jun 30, 2021 6:45 PM
Updated June 30, 2021 6:59 PM
Dreamstime / TNS
Studies suggest that weight training can increase your metabolic rate by up to 15%.
Q: Is weight training as good for the heart as aerobics?
A: Any type of exercise that makes your heart work harder than usual – brisk walking, dancing, or cycling – will benefit your heart health. But what many people don’t realize is that doing targeted exercises to strengthen muscles throughout the body can also help fight off heart disease.
In the past, strong muscles were considered beneficial primarily from a functional point of view, meaning they made things easier such as carrying food and washing clothes. These benefits are especially important as people get older.
Now there is more interest in studying how increased muscle mass can lower the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Muscle mass naturally decreases with age, and most people replace lost muscle with fat. Muscle building exercises can counteract this trend.
Studies suggest that strength training can increase your metabolic rate (the rate at which your body converts stores of energy into work energy) by up to 15%. You burn more calories even when you sit or sleep. One study found that healthy men who did 20 minutes of strength training a day had less age-related increases in belly fat (which is particularly hard on the heart) than men who did aerobic activity the same amount. In addition, muscle tissue is more metabolically active, so it helps control blood sugar and lower insulin resistance. This helps prevent type 2 diabetes, a major risk factor for heart disease.
Strength training can be done with resistance bands, small hand weights, or weight machines. Unless you want to go to a gym, consider purchasing a set of resistance bands. They’re light, inexpensive, and you can use them to do almost any type of muscle-strengthening exercise. Those that resemble large rubber bands with loops or handles on each end are often the easiest to use. Many brands follow the same progressive color scale, ranging from yellow (the easiest, least resistance) through red, green, blue and black (the most difficult, highest resistance).
A well-rounded program trains all major muscle groups: legs, hips, back, stomach, chest, shoulders and arms. It is best if you take a class to learn the different types of resistance band exercises.
Make sure to warm up first by marching in place and swinging your arms for a few minutes. Use the tape that offers the least resistance (the “most stretchy”) and aim for a medium effort (e.g., about 5 or 6 on a scale of 10). Start with a single set of eight to 12 repetitions (repetitions) of each movement, then gradually build up to two or three sets as you feel able. Rest a minute or two between each set.
