Your Cart is Empty
Cardio Or Weight Training, Which To Do First?
Cardio Or Weight Training, Which To Do First?
One of the longest-running arguments in the world of fitness is whether it’s best to lift weights before or after cardio. Experts are definitely split on this issue. The majority of fitness experts will advise you to do the cardio after the weight training because if you do cardio first, it uses up much of the energy source for your anaerobic work(strength training) and fatigues the muscles before their most strenuous activity. This same view holds that strength training first will deplete the muscles' stored carbohydrates (glycogen or sugar), and therefore, will enhance fat burning during the cardio workout due to the lack of available sugar for fuel.
Let's take a closer look...
When To Do Weights First
For Fat Loss
A University of Tokyo study published in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise found that doing cardio after weight training burns more fat during the first 15 minutes of the cardio session than doing cardio before lifting.
To achieve fat loss, your body needs to use your stored fat as fuel for exercise. In order to do this, you must burn off your glycogen stores first. When you weight-train, you typically use glycogen as fuel. By doing weight-training first, you can burn the majority of your glycogen stores. So doing cardio
For Strength Goals
If you have specific strength goals, you definitely want to do your weight training first. Here's why: Your muscles are like a rubber band—it needs to be taut enough to restrict whatever it's wrapped around. For example, If you take the rubber band and repeatedly pull it, it becomes too loose and unable to hold objects together. Your muscles work the same way. The repetitive movements in cardio reduce your muscles' ability to contract effectively, leaving you disadvantaged if you're doing pure strength training and lifting for maximal effort right afterward.
When To Do Cardio First
If you're training for a big endurance event such as a triathlon or marathon, you generally want to use your energy for your cardio efforts and do it first.
Even if you're not focusing on a cardio-specific goal, there are some instances when squeezing in some cardio before strength work can be beneficial. The main one is doing cardio as a warm-up. Doing cardio before strength can be an effective strategy for ensuring the body is properly warmed up and prepared for the challenges of the strength exercises
The Bottom Line
When to do cardio really comes down to your fitness goals. For instance, if your primary goal is to increase your aerobic endurance, then you should perform cardio first. If your primary goal is to increase fat loss or muscular strength, then do weights training first. To get the most out of your workout, perform the exercise that is most important to your goals first, when you are not fatigued.
Sign up for our mailing list
