The year 2026 is in full gear, and once again, people (myself included 😅) are fired up by New Year’s resolutions. So don’t be surprised to find your local gym packed during this time of the year.

And if you've been scrolling through fitness influencers and personal trainers as I have, you've probably noticed how many of them seem to be demonizing cardio and focusing heavily on weight training for women.

But ask yourself these questions:

• If you skip cardio, what does weight training prepare you for apart from looking fit?

• Are you truly equipping yourself for self-defense?

• In a real-life threat, will you have the stamina to sprint away and the endurance to escape your attacker or even fight back?

• Does weight training make you strong enough to stand your ground?

At first, I thought these were silly questions until I invited a super-fit, bulky friend to tackle a scenic tourist destination known for its 3,000-step trail, which is 484 meters above sea level. He flat-out refused and jokingly said, “I don’t do cardio. I’d probably faint halfway up.”

I was stunned by his response. To be fair, he could easily knock out a mugger with a single punch anytime, but I guess he wouldn’t make it if a madman chased him with a chainsaw.

I’ve started to feel genuinely frustrated by these influencers who are discouraging women from doing cardio because working out should not be just about building big muscles, but the end goal should be about making sure your body becomes resilient and capable of carrying you out of danger.

Looking Fit Doesn’t Equate to High Stamina and Endurance

I've met many gym bros who downplay the benefits of cardio, and they skip it altogether because of the belief that "cardio kills gains," even though scientific research has long debunked this myth. Unless you’re running marathons each week, cardio really shouldn’t sabotage your muscle growth.

But most women aren’t aiming to bulk up. We simply want to lose excess weight, look lean and toned, and yes, build an aesthetic body. That’s also why so many influencers are telling women to “ditch the cardio and pick up dumbbells,” because weight training sculpts your muscles and enhances your curves in ways cardio usually can’t match. In fact, you can start seeing noticeable changes in your shape in as little as one to two months.

That said, there’s an important piece of the puzzle that often gets overlooked. Let’s not forget that looking fit doesn’t automatically imply you have strong cardiovascular stamina and physical endurance, both of which are critical in real self-defense situations.

Even though physical appearance is typically the first thing people notice when they say someone is “fit,” it’s actually the least important aspect when it comes to protecting yourself.

Real-life threats in the street often involve prolonged physical exertion, which includes running from an attacker, fighting off a sexual assailant, or enduring a chase. Assaults on women frequently involve high-intensity struggles where raw strength alone isn’t enough, and in many cases, it’s not even the deciding factor for survival.

Understanding Cardio’s Role in Self-Defense

Many of today’s fitness influencers may demonize cardio, but seasoned self-defense trainers and martial arts practitioners understand that building stamina and endurance from cardio is indispensable to self-defense. Here’s why.

Endurance to Run Faster and Evade Danger

Weight training builds explosive strength, which makes it advantageous if you want to learn how to counter your aggressor with a knockout punch or a decisive chokehold.

But at the end of the day, lifting weights alone doesn’t train your aerobic system. Just so you know, your aerobic system is what allows your body to use oxygen to convert fats and carbs into energy so that you can sustain activity, delay fatigue, and recover faster between explosive actions.

Without that conditioning, even muscleheads can gas out quickly, and that’s one reason why you rarely see them in marathons.

Sure, it’s important to have reserved power in case you really need to strike or escape a grab, but let’s not forget that a woman’s safest and smartest move is to create an opportunity to get away and find help or reach safety, especially when you’re dealing with multiple threats. Not to mention, you may need to climb fences, leap over barriers, or push through obstacles while shouting for help, and all of these demand high endurance.

The goal is not to fight your attacker until the end. And when you’re running for your life, the last thing you want is to run out of breath and collapse at the feet of your pursuer. 

That’s exactly why I make it a point to jog regularly with my dogs, because consistent cardio improves VO₂ Max, which means my body gets more efficient at using oxygen. So if ever I do find myself in a dangerous situation, I can run fast and get further ahead of my pursuer so that I can reach safety or, at the very least, find a place where I can hide and call for help.

Stress Tolerance and Quicker Recovery from Intense Bursts

Another way cardio contributes to women’s self-defense is the way it changes your body’s response to high-stress situations. 

When you do regular HIIT and sustained cardio workouts, you deliberately elevate your heart rate and force yourself into deep, heavy breathing, which are sensations that closely mirror what happens when you’re under sudden stress. Over time, these once-uncomfortable sensations become more manageable as your body learns to adapt.

But for someone unaccustomed to these sensations, going through them when faced with real danger can trigger panic or even cause you to freeze. It's almost like putting yourself in uncomfortable and challenging situations before any real danger arises, so that when it does, you'll be prepared.

That said, cardio doesn’t just condition your heart and lungs but also improves your stress tolerance so that you can stay composed and functional when fear and adrenaline are surging within you.

Is Cardio or Strength Better for Fighting?

If you lack cardiovascular conditioning but possess reserved power through weight and strength training, you could deliver powerful Chun Li kicks at the start, but it’s almost guaranteed that you’ll exhaust yourself almost instantly. Also, what if you miss, or your strikes aren't effective and incapacitating? When that happens, you can lose coordination, timing, and even mental clarity for a brief but dangerous moment, especially if the situation is still unfolding and you aren’t yet safe.

On the flip side, if you have great endurance but very little strength, you might be able to run like Speedy Gonzales, but you could struggle to create the space you need if you’re caught off guard and pulled into a grapple first. Endurance helps you keep moving, but it doesn’t automatically give you the edge in close contact.

Cardio will not improve your ability to break grips or resist someone who is physically overpowering you because that kind of strength has to be trained intentionally.

So which one is better for fighting? On its own, neither. Real-life encounters demand balance. You need enough strength to act decisively and enough cardio to keep going when things don’t end in a few seconds.

Final Words

Please don’t listen to these fitness influencers who want you to skip cardio. We should drop the idea that cardio and weights are mutually exclusive.

Weight training is important because it builds strength and explosive power, but it isn’t everything and definitely not a reason to avoid cardio exercises altogether. 

Strength helps you create an opening, while cardio helps you stay alive long enough to use it. You will want to train both!