Teaching my Dad a thing or two!

My Dad, who is undoubtedly the most avid reader of this blog and an ACAINtraining.com #1 fan asked me the other day, "what is better, an hour of running or an hour lifting weights?"

This question was quite thought provoking so I told him to check my blog in the next few days for his answer :) Hi Dad!

First off, I am going to assume that "better" refers to - higher caloric burn, and increased overall health benefits for time spent and ignore everything else.

Increased caloric burn:

An hour of cardio could include walking, jogging, hiking, skipping, biking, swimming etc. When performing these activites for an extended period of time, your body begins to operate in "steady-state" if the intensity of the exercise does not vary.  When your body is performing in steady state, the demands of your tissues for oxygenation can be met by the cardiovascular system, meaning a balance between oxygen intake and oxygen consumption. Overall, by placing the demands on your body for energy output over this length of time, you will burn a consistent amount of calories
 
An hour of weight training provokes constant changes in the active tissues and therefore heart rate and oxygen consumption varies greatly. When you are lifting (assuming you are lifting the correct amount of weight to stress the muscle tissue and using proper form), your heart rate and need for oxygen increases. During the rest phase between sets, your body regulates itself by the heart rate slowing and a decrease in oxygen consumption. Overall, during the hour timeframe alone - you will burn less calories than an hour of cardio.

But hold on! Our bodies are still working when we unlace our shoes, or we leave the gym!
Upon ceasing weight lifting activites, our muscle tissues immediately begin growth and repair. In order to support this growth and repair, calories are burned in the process. That is not all! As lean muscle tissue is added to the body, we burn more calories in order to support and maintain the muscle mass. Some studies indicate that per 1lb of lean muscle on the body, we burn an extra 50 calories - even while sedentary. With steady-state cardiovascular exercise, this post exercise caloric burn is not as apparent.

 
Health Benefits:
 
To keep my blog from being pages long I am going to answer this question simply. Health benefits are dervied from participating in both cardiovascular exercise and weight lifting exercise. If you have to choose between the two, choose the one that most appeals to you and that you will most consistently participate.
 
 
Terms:

Steady State - The condition of a system or physiological function that remains at a relatively constant (steady) value. After a few minutes of submaximal exercise, for example, a person reaches a steady state in which heart rate and rate of oxygen consumption tend to remain constant at a constant rate of work

from: http://www.answers.com/topic/steady-state
Alli Cain, B.A.Kin, C.K.
Personal Trainer
www.ACAINtraining.com
905-806-7198