Research
Energy balance
Combination exercise significantly improves cardio-respiratory fitness (VO2max) by 13.3% compared to no exercise, whereas aerobic or resistance training alone did not show statistically significant improvements in this specific 12-week moderate-intensity protocol.
To improve your heart's pumping efficiency (VO2max), combining 15 minutes of moderate cardio with 15 minutes of weight training five days a week is more effective than doing just cardio or just weights for 30 minutes. This approach leverages both systems to boost fitness faster.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
VO2max significantly increased in the Combination group compared to Control (13.3%, p = 0.006).
Why this rating
RCT design, statistically significant result.
Source
The effect of 12 weeks of aerobic, resistance or combination exercise training on cardiovascular risk factors in the overweight and obese in a randomized trial
Suleen Ho et al. · BMC Public Health · 2012
DOI 10.1186/1471-2458-12-704
rct · n=64Cited 337×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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- Combination exercise (15 min aerobic + 15 min resistance, 5 days/week for 12 weeks) produces significantly greater reductions in body weight, total body fat, and android (abdominal) fat compared to resistance training alone or no exercise in overweight and obese adults.Good
- Resistance training alone significantly lowers ApoB48 levels (a marker for chylomicron particles and atherosclerosis risk) compared to no exercise, despite not significantly improving other lipid profiles like triglycerides or cholesterol in this specific protocol.Good
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