To boost their heart health in the gym, most exercisers assume they need to run, bike, swim or otherwise get their heart rate up — and the longer, the better, right? After all, it’s called “cardiovascular” exercise for a reason.
But, not to impugn the heart-health benefits of cardiovascular exercise, for those people who hate even the idea of running a mile, it turns out that strength training can significantly improve your heart health, too.
“Strength training often gets overlooked for its importance in improving cardiovascular health, but it can be a valuable addition in reducing the risk of heart disease,” says Dr. Timothy Miller, a sports medicine physician at Ohio State University’s Wexner Medical Center. In fact, research suggests that when it comes to improving certain markers of heart health, strength training is just good — if not better — than cardio.
[See: The 12 Best Heart-Healthy Diets.]
Here, check out four major benefits of strength training that translate into a happier, healthier heart.
Better Blood Pressure
Research out of Appalachian State University shows that moderate-intensity strength training significantly lowers blood pressure. That’s true both in the short term — immediately after exercise — and throughout the years, explains researcher and professor of cardiovascular exercise science Scott Collier.
After all, while strength training does increase blood flow while you’re exercising and recovering from that exercise, by helping you build lean muscle, it ultimately gives your cardiovascular system more places to put its blood, thereby reducing pressure on your arterial walls, he explains. This blood pressure benefit may be even stronger in hypertensive women than in men, with Collier’s research showing that strength training is superior to cardiovascular exercise in lowering their blood pressure.
Lower Cholesterol and Triglyceride Levels
Fatty substances that travel in the blood, both cholesterol and triglycerides can clog arteries, contributing to heart attacks and strokes when their levels get too high. However, just like cardiovascular exercise, strength training stands to lower them, explains Dr. Haitham Ahmed, a staff cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic.
[See: 6 Signs You’re Having a Heart Attack.]
And apart from lowering levels of total fats in the blood, strength training may also improve how high-density lipoprotein, or HDL, the “good” cholesterol, functions in the body to protect against heart disease. In fact, in a 2013 study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology, researchers found that, regardless of weight, young men who regularly strength train have better-functioning HDL cholesterol compared to those who never pick up weights.
Less Fat Around the Heart
Often called “belly fat,” visceral fat sits in the abdominal cavity in and around the body’s internal organs, including the heart. So it should be obvious why levels of visceral fat (as opposed to subcutaneous fat, which sits directly underneath your skin) are most strongly associated with cardiovascular disease and death, Miller explains. Recent research published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology shows that excess visceral fat carries an increased risk of heart disease — no matter your weight.
In the fight against visceral fat, strength training is key. In one 2015 Obesity study of 10,500 men, those who strength trained for 20 minutes per day gained less age-related visceral fat over a period of 12 years compared to those who spent the same amount of time engaged in cardiovascular activity. “By increasing lean body mass, or muscle, strength training speeds up the body’s metabolic rate,” Miller explains. “That has a secondary effect of decreasing fatty tissue in the midsection and around the heart.”
[See: 5 Strength Machines You Should Start Using ASAP.]
Sounder Sleep
“With poor sleep, cardiovascular health is one of the first things to go,” says Collier, explaining that sleep deprivation triggers increased inflammation that causes cellular damage to the cardiovascular system. Research links restless nights to reduced insulin sensitivity and fat metabolism as well as increases in visceral fat, all risk factors for cardiovascular disease.
However, Collier’s research, published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, shows that performing resistance exercise, especially in the evening, can significantly improve your sleep. In the study, people who performed any resistance exercise slept better than those who skipped the weights, but those who performed their strength workouts at 7 p.m. slept more soundly — waking up fewer times throughout the night — compared with those who lifted earlier in the day.
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Can You Improve Your Heart Health With Strength Training? originally appeared on usnews.com
