Do you want to have a healthy heart? Try the Arnold workout

Arnold Schwarzenegger is undoubtedly a living legend of our sport. However, in addition to being the definition of success and determination in his time, he also managed to find a balance between his goals and his health, because unlike many other bodybuilders of the time, Arnold is still vital and fit. In one of his recent speeches to fans, the icon shared some of his tips for training to do good for the heart muscle in addition to the striated muscles. What's good to keep in mind?

Of course, even Arnold isn't completely free of health complications as he gets older, and as we reported in a separate update, for example, quite recently the Terminator underwent heart surgery and even had to have a pacemaker. However, through his newsletter Arnold's Pump Club, the bodybuilding icon still shares various tips and tricks with his fans, the latest ones quite understandably focused on cardiovascular health.

Well then, how do you design a workout for your heart health?

"Researchers have found that an even split of time between cardio training and weight training provides the best protection for cardiovascular health,"

Arnold says in the newsletter, adding that about one-third of all deaths are caused by cardiovascular problems.

"Although aerobic exercise has been recommended in the past primarily to boost cardiovascular health, researchers in a recent study decided to compare it to weight training. And splitting the two activities 50/50 resulted in the same cardiovascular benefits as cardio alone, however, the group also performing strength training gained more muscle mass. Each one percent reduction in body fat was associated with a 3% reduction in hypertension, 4% reduction in hypercholesterolemia, and even an 8% reduction in metabolic syndrome."

Of course, in the newsletter, Arnold also mentions that proper diet is very important, but in the same breath he adds that the group that also did strength training was able to eat as much as 100 to 200 kcal a day more in the study, which is of course very good news for many people.

Although the World Health Organization recommends at least 150 minutes of physical activity per week, not much has been written about the appropriate distribution between activities. So if you've also been hesitant, you could try just an even split between cardio and strength training.

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