Approximately one in three deaths in the United States is caused by cardiovascular disease (CVD), according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). A new study indicates that splitting the recommended amount of physical activity between aerobic and resistance exercise reduces cardiovascular disease risks as much as aerobic-only regimens.

The results were recently published in theEuropean Heart Journal.

The study, led by Iowa State University, followed 406 participants between 35 and 70 years of age over one year of randomized, controlled exercise. All participants had elevated blood pressure and met the threshold for having overweight or obesity with body mass indexes between 25-40 kg/m2.

They were divided into four groups: no exercise, aerobic only, resistance only, or aerobic plus resistance, and those placed in a group with activity had hourlong, supervised workouts three times a week for a year.