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Exercise as Medicine: How Aerobic and Strength Training Improve Your Health

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In the same way that doctors prescribe drugs as medicine, physiotherapists, exercise physiologists and other exercise professionals prescribe exercise as medicine to help treat, manage, or prevent disease. 

 

Various types of exercise provides stimulus for your body to positively adapt in both the short term and long term. 

 

Let’s have a look at some different types of exercise and how they can help.

Aerobic Exercise as Medicine

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Aerobic exercise is any exercise that involves sustained rhythmic movement which utilises major muscle groups and raises your heart rate. This may include things like walking, jogging, cycling, swimming, dancing, and so on. 

 

When we participate in aerobic exercise, our muscles demand more oxygen to use as fuel. To keep up with this demand, our body increases its heart rate to pump more blood (hence more oxygen) around the body. Over time, consistent participation in aerobic exercise leads to many adaptations which include:

  • A stronger heart: Pumps larger volumes of blood 
  • Increased blood volume: Increased amount of red blood cells and blood volume
  • More compliant blood vessels: Blood vessels become more compliant – being able to expand when blood pressure heightens, allowing blood to travel through the body smoothly.
  • Increased oxygen metabolism: Oxygen uptake into the muscle increases and as does the cell’s ability to create energy.

These adaptations all come together to increase the body’s ability to transport and use oxygen around the body more efficiently.

What does this mean for you?

This means your resting heart rate decreases, your heart gets stronger, and your cardiovascular system becomes more efficient which in turn puts less stress on your heart – which plays a key role in the treatment, management, and prevention of many cardiovascular related diseases. 

 

Aerobic exercise also plays a critical role in the management of blood glucose levels and inflammation.

Resistance Exercise as Medicine

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Resistance based exercise involves completing movements against or with resistance. This does not just include weight training – it also includes moving against gravity itself or in water.

 

Moving against resistance (or added resistance) increases the amount of strength required to complete the movement compared to completing the movement normally. If you do this consistently over time your body begins to adapt to the the added resistance by 

  1. Creating new neural pathways to complete the movement more efficiently 
  2. Better communication between the brain and the muscles – resulting in faster and stronger muscle contractions 
  3. The muscles themselves become bigger and stronger – increasing the amount of raw force they can create. 

It isn’t just the muscle that benefit from resistance training, it also has benefits on 

  • Bone density – bone adapts to increased forces becoming stronger
  • Boosts metabolism – glucose management, sustained weight loss
  • Balance – Increasing muscle strength and the ability to co-contract increases joint stability.
  • Mental health – antianxiolytic, self esteem, movement confidence 
  • Cardiovascular system – lowering blood pressure

Which Exercise as Medicine is Best?

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Using a mix of aerobic and resistance-based exercise is the best way to make sure you give your body the greatest opportunity to create all of these positive adaptations. Each type of exercise places a different stimulus on the body, and together they work synergistically to improve overall health, function, and resilience.

Aerobic exercise primarily challenges the cardiovascular and metabolic systems, improving heart health, endurance, and the body’s ability to manage blood glucose and inflammation. Resistance training, on the other hand, focuses on strengthening muscles, bones, and connective tissue, while also improving balance, coordination, and metabolic health. When combined, these forms of exercise support not only physical performance, but also long-term independence and quality of life as we age.

Importantly, the right balance of aerobic and resistance exercise will vary between individuals depending on their health status, goals, and lifestyle. This is why exercise, much like medicine, should be dosed appropriately and progressed over time to maximise benefits and minimise the risk of injury.

A Final Word on Safety and Guidance

Always remember: if you have any chronic conditions, injuries, or are new to exercise, it is best to see your doctor before participating in an exercise program. From there, working with an exercise professional such as a physiotherapist or exercise physiologist can help ensure you are prescribed the right type, intensity, and volume of exercise for your individual needs.

Exercise professionals are trained to tailor exercise to your current capacity, monitor your response, and progressively adjust your program as your body adapts. 

This personalised approach not only improves outcomes, but also builds confidence, consistency, and long-term adherence — which is where the true power of exercise as medicine lies.

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