Ask the Fitness Guy

by Guy Rivera

Q. I pump weights on an average of 4 to 5 days a week. I hate doing cardio. Do I have to do a cardio work out as well? I think it’s a waste of time.

A. When you are doing a work-out, ideally you want to exercise your heart muscles as well so that your heart is strong. Being healthy isn’t just about looking good. You can have the perfect body externally and still have a heart attack if you ignore the heart. The heart is the most overworked part of the human body. It works constantly to keep you alive and people overlook it when they exercise in their search for a beautiful body.

If you’re just doing weight training then you should incorporate some sort of cardio work. There is a popular misconception that a cardio workout consists of jogging, running on a treadmill, pounding a stair master, or riding a bike for at least half an hour. Cardio workout, as the name implies, means that you’re exercising the heart muscles.

You should look into doing interval training. In interval training you are working different muscle groups successively without rest in between sets. This gets your heart pumping to at least 140 beats per minute. This will allow you to combine your cardio and weight training in a way that is healthy and efficient.

Guy Rivera is a Partner with Absolute Fitness Trainers. You can direct questions to him by email at guy@absolutefitnesstrainers.com, or by phone at (917) 287-0283.