Weights before Cardio... Right or Wrong?

Mad_Dog_Muscle

I have just been reading this article and it turns out I have always done the way its discussed below, but not becuase I am any sort of fitness guru by any means. Forn me it was the way I was taught while in the military, and its just stuck with me through the years. (light cardio to warm up, then hit the weights and finish off with cardio sessions.)

Curious what others do or think of the below article?

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http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/training-day/201104/warm-cardio-then-go-weights-right-wrong

""Having been an athlete for most of my life, I figured I knew my way around the gym. On a typical day, I'd hit the treadmill or elliptical machine for 30 minutes, then move to the weight machines. And that's what I started to do when I recently joined a gym. Then I got my assessment -- you know, the review of your habits a lot of gyms do. And the review told me I was doing something wrong.

Hit the weights hard, the assessment said. Then go to cardio.

What?

"The body needs to burn through its sugar source first before it taps into the fat," says Iman Nikzad, who runs the fitness program at my LA Fitness near Irvine, Ca. "You burn the sugar while doing the weights then burn the fat while doing the cardio."

I did some more research and, turns out, he's right and I was wrong. The optimal workout is a 10-minute warm-up on a low-impact cardio machine followed by 30 minutes of weights and then 30 minutes of intense cardio.

Yes, really.

"Efficiency is the key when structuring any workout, so long-duration cardio should not be done in the beginning of the session," says certified strength and conditioning specialist Jim Smith. "The most intensive training should be done first in the workout, when you are at your best."

By starting with weights, you alert your muscles to trigger the proteins that churn through calories while you train. So even though you're probably spent after 30 minutes of weights, your body is ready to eat fat faster than it would if you started by "telling" the body to attack sugar.

A lot of people get this wrong, thinking weight training diminishes the effect of the cardio work. It's the opposite. Just remember the phrase: "Muscle eats the fat." If you want to lose the flab -- and who doesn't? -- you want your muscles as active as possible. That means starting with weights.

And if you only have 30 minutes total, go for weights instead of cardio. That sounds counterintuitive, since we feel sweating is "proof" we're losing fat. But you will lose a lot more fat by pushing and pulling weights and then going on a brisk walk in your neighborhood (or even at the mall). The guy or gal who is dripping buckets on the Stairmaster is getting a good workout, but you're likely getting a better one by getting sore and not getting soaked.

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Thoughts??

Coffeemanic

Good info! I have totally been doing the opposite!

believetoachieve

I've heard that doing cardio after weights is actually damaging to your body. Since it has no more easily accessible energy store, it turns to the next most readily available source, which happens to be muscle (NOT fat). I'm not entirely certain either way, but I look forward to reading peoples' opinions!

bbb84

I agree 100% and there are lots of articles out there to back it up .... If you think about it, it increases the effectiveness of cardio as a fat burner. If you have already burned of the "sugar /carbs /glycogen" then once you hit the TM or whatever way you choose to do your cardio you are burning fat!


When you eat carbohydrates, your body stores them as
glycogen in your liver and waits for your body to use them as fuel. When
performing an aerobic activity, like walking or running on a treadmill,
your body has the option of using glycogen stores or fat stores. The
problem is that your body won’t use any fat stores until your glycogen
stores are used up. On the other hand, during anaerobic exercise, like
weight lifting, your body can only use glycogen as fuel.

So here’s how
it plays out. Studies have shown that it can take as much as 29 minutes
of cardio to burn your glycogen stores. So if you start your workout off
with 30 minutes of cardio, not only did you burn fat for a whopping one
minute, but you also depleted your body of the fuel it needs (glycogen)
to do your resistance training. Now, in order to manufacture glucose
(glycogen) during your weight training session, your body may actually
break down muscle tissue to use certain amino acids as your fuel. You
could end up losing muscle instead of gaining.

To make things
simple, if you do your weight training first, you can use your glycogen
stores as fuel. Then, when you move over to your cardio, you’re right
where you want to be… with depleted glycogen stores, giving your body
the opportunity to burn fat as a fuel source.

http://www.shapeyou.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/37114

Edited to add article

Mad_Dog_Muscle

I've heard that doing cardio after weights is actually damaging to your body. Since it has no more easily accessible energy store, it turns to the next most readily available source, which happens to be muscle (NOT fat). I'm not entirely certain either way, but I look forward to reading peoples' opinions!

I have heard the same thing, but I can honestly say in 20 years of doing it this way, I have never had any kind of work out related injury..... then again maybe thats because I am not hitting it hard enough!! LOL

bebbjeb

Good tip! thanks!

CandyC74

I am totally doing it wrong. I do 60 min on the treadmill before I even lift a weight.

Thanks for the info

snkeller24

I've heard that doing cardio after weights is actually damaging to your body. Since it has no more easily accessible energy store, it turns to the next most readily available source, which happens to be muscle (NOT fat). I'm not entirely certain either way, but I look forward to reading peoples' opinions!

I've heard the same thing - and thats why people split their cardio and lifting days. Either doing 2-a-days or one day lift and the next day cardio.

I personally usually do cardio first unless its packed ... Mostly because its the part I hate and I take a thermogenic prior to working out. Which takes 20-30 minutes to make it through my body. By then I'm out of cardio and have an extra boost to lift.

I guess I could switch ...

newman50

My personal trainer, my ortho and my occupational therapist all say cardio first and then weights (using the 70/30 rule in terms of time) for a good balance of weight management and muscle.

All have also said to do one session of weights by themselves once a week after a warm up (I train 5-6 times a week, an hour each session)

I am happy with the results I have had over the last 2.5 months I have been using MFP and training using this method.

I do often mix it up though. If my heart rate drops during weights I throw some cardio in such as air grinder or rower

Again, nutrition is the most important thing, as we all know. I'd focus more on that area.

BigGail

I do some yoga first to stretch and warm up, then hit the weights, then do intervals of weights and cardio.

Mad_Dog_Muscle

My personal trainer, my ortho and my occupational therapist all say cardio first and then weights (using the 70/30 rule in terms of time) for a good balance of weight management and muscle.

All have also said to do one session of weights by themselves once a week after a warm up (I train 5-6 times a week, an hour each session)

I am happy with the results I have had over the last 2.5 months I have been using MFP and training using this method.

I do often mix it up though. If my heart rate drops during weights I throw some cardio in such as air grinder or rower

Again, nutrition is the most important thing, as we all know. I'd focus more on that area.

Excellent point about nutrition..... if we dont have that, all the other hard work will be for naught.

c2sky

Oh gosh....too late right now for this trainer to go into all the reasons I don't necessarily agree with this article. But suffice to say right now, one size does not fit all. There are different reasons to start with cardio or weights. Personally, I never combine the two. I don't have time. But I will say the best way to warm up for weights is to do some of your routine at a much lighter weight. From what I read, this is one trainer at LA Fitness....Puhleaze.............This is a teaser article, and highly incomplete.

mamijujuphat

Hmmm this is interesting...I guess I could experiment & see if this works for me

waterbabeAD

I have heard this too - from way back, and more recently by my PT. he said after a short warm up, do 30 - 40 mins of weights, then any cardio exercise done afterwards is pure fat burn. From this article, the line that justifies this approach/rationale in general is:

"The body needs to burn through its sugar source first before it taps into the fat"

I do 5 min cardio warm up, 40 mins strenght/weights, 30 - 40 mins running or cycling.

But with exercise, we are all different - so other posters will have thier own ideas. But I have heard this from several different sources and it works well for me.

Lotuser

I used to have a personal trainer who said light cardio to warm up, then do some short reps to get heart rate up, then weights, then go hard on cardio.

After weights I found cardio so so hard and my trAiner said this was the fat burning stage cause I have lost all my energy in weight training.

I dunno if he was right but that is what he told me. And he is a machine!,,,,,

anubis609

Another article which supports that theory:

http://www.livestrong.com/article/396974-when-you-exercise-should-you-do-cardio-or-strength-training-first/

jjkriv

My personal opinion and since I know my body,lol....I can't do cardio b/f weights,my joints sometimes will ache and I can't get that burn/heat feeling in my muscles,now in between sets,I'll shoot some hoops or jump rope to get the heart rate going but once I lose that burn,it's hard to recover...

Mad_Dog_Muscle

Oh gosh....too late right now for this trainer to go into all the reasons I don't necessarily agree with this article. But suffice to say right now, one size does not fit all. There are different reasons to start with cardio or weights. Personally, I never combine the two. I don't have time. But I will say the best way to warm up for weights is to do some of your routine at a much lighter weight. From what I read, this is one trainer at LA Fitness....Puhleaze.............This is a teaser article, and highly incomplete.

When I read it, my initial thoughts were, "this is how I have always done it", BUT at the same time I thought, well different things work differently for other people and its just too generalized of an article, ......Always good to hear your input as a personal trainer. :-) Thanks!!!

kumarprabhat

While this is all good thought and discussion, and will certainly benefit anyway....here is what I found when I explored these articles further...(see this link : http://sportsmedicine.about.com/od/sportsnutrition/a/Fat.htm)

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Using fat for fuel for exercise, however, is dependent upon these important factors:

•Fat is slow to digest and be converted into a usable form of energy (it can take up to 6 hours).
•Converting stored body fat into energy takes time. The body needs to breakdown fat and transport it to the working muscles before it can be used as energy.
•Converting stored body fat into energy takes a great deal of oxygen, so exercise intensity must decrease for this process to occur.

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I am just wondering aloud if "weights and then cardio" will help above fat-burn...while doing cardio 2nd, one - intensity will seem mroe than desired; second - there is not enough spare oxygen to help burn fat. So, my thought goes other way - first cardio to burn the glycogen, and then weights to help burn fat...

just wondering...but anything that works...

ATB

Mad_Dog_Muscle

Another article which supports that theory:

http://www.livestrong.com/article/396974-when-you-exercise-should-you-do-cardio-or-strength-training-first/

thanks for the article.......

LurayneMarie

BUMP!