WIS News 10 - Columbia, South Carolina | Health Alert: Cardio, or weights?

Health Alert: Cardio, or weights?

(National-NBC) November 18, 2005 - Gin McErlane is no stranger to working out, but a demanding job had kept her out of the gym.

"I was recently diagnosed with high blood pressure. So um, one of the goals is I want to get my blood pressure under control and, and become healthier and my husband and I want to have children," McErlane said. "So it's preparing the temple for the buddha, so to speak," she adds.

Since it had been awhile, she consulted a trainer to help her get started, "She went over a, a brief routine for me. Which was mostly, um, weight training. Um, maybe five ten minutes of cardio just to warm up the muscles and then doing weights. So I followed that for awhile and uh, after three months was reevaluated and she had told me that I actually gained body fat."

Gin panicked and called an old friend, a fitness professional who stresses the importance of cardio.

Anne Wilkinson, "If you're looking to start a weight reduction program, you really have to focus it heavy on cardio. Add the weight training in as you go along, but if you're looking to really reduce weight, reduce fat mass in your body, and I think that's typically what people say when they say I want to lose weight."

Anne says you can't rely on weightlifting or the muscles you build to burn fat, "You really need to do cardio, weight training, and flexibility, and I know that's not the popular answer. In the weight training you're not going to burn fat as a primary fuel source unless you have the cardio to back it up, so it's linked."

Gin's a believer in cardio now, "I'm down a dress size and half," and sizing up better health along the way.

To lose weight, Ann says you need to do a cardiovascular workout in anywhere between three to five days a week, for up to 45 minutes per session. The more you need to lose, the more you need to move.

Posted 4:06pm by Bryce Mursch