leg issues

nickkreitzer

So I finally have been able to add in legs to my current workout regiment. The problem is I am doing bohemian split squats and leg presses following 30 minutes of spinning. Is this a good or bad decision? It's the only time I can fit legs in right now. I'm thinking as I get legs more involved and it will not be so brutal the following day I will begin to add during the week. I had a bad snowboarding accident about 10yrs ago and so my left leg is pretty weak. I cant do regular squats or high impact leg exercises as it's too much for my left leg. Any opinions or suggestions on the matter is welcomed. Thanks

vorgas

You're gonna get the book on people saying which is better to do first. The problem is, you haven't specified what your goals are.

To that end, it may help to understand the general energy chain during exercise, so you can make a better decision. I will say, that for most people, doing weights before cardio/aerobics is generally the preferred method.

Energy Paths
Aerobic exercise is when your body combines oxygen and fat to produce energy. It's very fast.
Anaerobic exercise is when your body uses the glycogen stored in the muscles to produce energy. It's a slow process.
Now, energy can also come from the food in your intestines, but getting into the specifics and the nitty gritty won't help much for purposes of this discussion.

Exercise Types
When you lift heavy weights, and by that I mean weight so heavy you can't do more than 20 reps straight, your body uses glycogen as the fuel source. It's anaerobic.
When you do aerobics with your HR below about 70%, your body uses fat as the fuel source with some glycogen. It's aerobic.
When you do cardio with your HR above 70% your body begins to use more and more glycogen as the fuel source.

Your Goals
If your goal is to improve your cardio health, so you are interested primarily in improving your cardiovascular/cardiopulmonary systems, then doing the spinning first is probably your best bet.

If your goal is to improve your leg strength, then doing the spinning first is taking away valuable fuel. You are limiting yourself. You won't be able to lift as much, and you won't see any real gains. This is because the failure comes from a lack of available fuel, not because you have pushed the muscles themselves to their limits.

If your goal is to reduce body fat, then doing the weights first would be better, because with less glycogen your body will have to consume more fat early on in the process. However, be sure to keep your HR from getting too high while spinning, as your body will turn to breaking down protein to supplement the energy chain.

If your goal is to burn the greatest number of calories in the least amount of time, so you can eat all the yummy foods you want, go for spinning first, as you will have the most energy to go crazy on the bike, and burn more calories.

Hope that helps.