As I was writing this Headliners and Rockstars I kept thinking of one of the greatest SNL skits ever…”We need More CowBell”…and that couldn’t be more true – Bruce Dickinson we need more Conditioning and Heart Health exercise. We need more Cardio!
After attending my latest conference and getting to see some great presentations and demonstrations of the future of fitness, I listened to a presentation about why Lifting Weights isn’t Enough. I love weights and I love lifting them Rockstar Nation, but just like you I dislike conditioning. That being said I understand there is a need for it and here are some facts on why doing more conditioning is in our best interest. All of Us.
Why we need to think and enact Conditioning:
In the World:
-Every 33 seconds someone dies of Heart Disease
In the US:
-50% of Adults have High Blood Pressure
-41% of adults are obese and 34% of adults are overweight
-40% are Pre-Diabetic
-Alzheimers/Dementia most rapidly growing disease
Now that we got those important, but kind of shocking stats out of the way, what are we looking to do to improve your health?
Question 1
Does Lifting by itself achieve our goal of total heart health? Here at Rockstar Fitness we look to achieve:
2-3 times per week
for 60 minutes each session
But will this help us get our 150 minutes of Cardiovascular Health?
No, sorry that will not be enough.
In fact lifting weights doesn’t actually count toward the cardiovascular requirements.
**Now**….lets not cut off our nose to spite our face Rockstars and Headliners
Strength training is beneficial many times over for
-Strength
-Power
-Energy for all Day
-Bone health
-Weight Loss
-Tendon Health
-Helping you age slowly
Question 2
If I Only did Cardio would that allow us to achieve our goal of 150-300 minutes,
Yes, but to maximize the benefits of an overall healthy lifestyle and age gracefully we need to combine both the lifts we love to lift and the Cardio Health we need.
In fact the Cleveland Clinic found that if we combined both strength training and cardiovascular training we can achieve and see
-A 43% reduction in Mortality from Hypertension
-Improve Brain Volume which includes Hippocampus, Prefrontal, and Temporal Cortex functions
-Improve Executive Function, Memory, and Neurological signaling
-Improved Cerebral Artery Blood Flow
-Myokines
-Metabolic Health Cerebral Aryerlow
-If it is good for the Heart it is Good for the Brain!
Can we do all of this at Rockstar Fitness? I will help you with some of this and will encourage you to find time in the morning, at lunch, after work, and a Bonus for us who need to lose a couple extra pounds as the summer approaches to walk *right after dinner*. Put those calories to work!
In closing I found a cool saying we can adapt:
“Strength training helps us Live Better. Cardiovascular training helps us Live Longer!
Have a super day Rockstar Nation.
-Jake Cheney
Rockstar Fitness, LLC.
www.Rckstarfitness.com
References
Kevin Carr
“From Heart Health to Performance”
MBSC Seminar April 2025