Which is better? Cardio first, or weights?

RCKT82

I like doing both... I warm-up with cardio to get my HR up before my lift. If I go straight into lifting, my heart rate is much tougher to keep at an elevated state. So a quick 20 min cardio session helps sustain a certain zone for me. I also do cardio right after my lifting session is complete. I don't like doing it all up front, because I don't want to wear myself out before a lifting session and wind up not having energy to lift heavy. I do a short burnout at the end of my lift, usaually another 20-35 mins to completely use up the last of my energy stores.

jessicamiller8884

It somewhat depends on your ultimate goal...by that I mean endurance during cardio, building muscle, burning fat overall, etc. whatever you do first, you will do with more intensity. What I learned from a trainer a couple years ago was to do weights first. This way your muscles are less fatigued for lifting, your main source for energy is higher thus weight lifting is more effective. Also, this gets your body into fat buring mode. Then when you go do cardio you will be burning fat right away due to the fact that your body has already depleted initial carbs and glycogen that are for energy used during the weights.

Other options are alternating days.. Cardio MWF, weights Tues/Thurs, etc. Otherwise, combine the two with interval or circuit training.

smuehlbauer

I have found that when I do weights first I have more strength to get it done. If I do cardio first I am sometimes tired and don't get as much out of my lifting.
I say weights first, then cardio.
But that's just my opinion.
:flowerforyou:

tameka1220

Weights 1st and then cardio. Preferably stretch the time between your weights and cardio by 6 hours or so...

bizco

It depends on what your goal is when strength training. If your goal is to increase strength and build lean muscle then you're lifting heavy weights, in which case you should lift first then do cardio. Of course you need to do a warm-up before lifting weights to raise your internal temperature and you can do 3-5 minutes of cardio to accomplish this.

If your strength training goal is simply endurance, then you're lifting light weights and you can choose to do either weights or cardio first, it doesn't matter.

sullivanx4

My trainer at the gym says I should always start by doing 5-10min of cardio to get your heart rate up and then weights. But you can do cardio after weights too because clearly 10min of cardio is not enough!

Dark_Latin_Guy

Weights before Cardio, is a great idea - This order of doing things is beneficial, as this way round the cardio training won’t sap your energy for resistance/weight training, this order is also good for your cardio training as you burn more fat during the cardio part of your training.

Doing the weight workout before aerobics led to marked increases in lactate, norepinephrine and growth hormone levels.

Imagine yourself doing 30 minutes to an hour of aerobics and then going on to do your weight training. How much energy do you really have left to do justice to your weight training? After all that cardio, you have burnt through your glycogen stores (which are the muscle preferred source of fuel) and will not have the energy to stimulate the most outrageous fat burning method available to you. An all day long, increased metabolism, because you stimulated your muscles.

iAMaPhoenix

No perfect answer as you can see. My trainer says to do weight then cardio and I have not taken his advice yet and have lost 40#s to date. Depending on how I feel is what I do, but it is usually Cardio first. If you want to climb a tree 40 times, then go swimming with weights on your leg, do what works for you. I say change it up at times to surprize the body so it does not get used to your schedule. Just keep moving.

Enjoy,
E.

lissypriss

These are all good answers! This is my second go round with losing weight. The first time I lost weight, I did full on elliptical for an hour, then went straight for the weight circuit. I lost over 100 lbs. This second time, after many setbacks, not to mention getting older..I'm having a hard time with endurance. I really need to get my body into the fat burning machine it used to be! I'm not as strong as I used to be (my fault for letting myself go) and I really want to do this right! I have many people telling me that cardio is the best way to lose weight, then I hear from T.V. and other trainers that weight training after cardio is more beneficial to someone of my stature. I've always been a thick gal, even when I was thinner, so I'm just a little confused on what would be best for me.

BR1986FB

Weights, then cardio.

TK421NotAtPost

Cardio first if you are planning on doing anything intense, like intervals, or if you're goal is to improve endurance training over building your physique.

If the cardio is going to consist of low to moderate intensity steady state training, then it's more of a personal preference type of thing.

For me, I prefer to do cardio first because I generally do not exceed 20 minutes, and I like to get in my PWO shake asap after resistance training.

Iceskatefanrn

Thanx to the OP that started this, what a great thread!


And thanx to all who answered - I've learned a lot!

:drinker:

Ice

MsLadyVirgo

My opinion....

Warm Up 5-10 mins, stretch, Weight Lifting, stretch, then Cardio, and stretch again. That's if you're doing it all in one session.

I' ve been told that the first 15 to 20 minutes of your workout (excluding warm up) you're burning sugar (which carbs supposedly turn into sugar when not burned up), and the last part (cardio) is up to you:
-you can burn fat by staying in your target zone
-or increase your fitness by exceeding your fatburn zone

Good Luck!

mer2016

I've talked to several trainers about this and have been exercising regularly for just about 14 years. It sounds to me that it really depends on how you feel and that one is not truly "better" than the other. Caloric burn lifting weights after cardio is said to be higher, but the difference is not supposed to be "significant". I've done both over the years, but I've found that cardio before weights leaves my glycogen levels so low that I cannot hit the weights as hard as I'd like to.Why not try both and see what is more effective for you?

electromg

When I had a trainer back in the day, we did 5-10 minute cardio warm up, weights, then the full cardio.

rodrigo_r21

Warm up 5-10 minutes Muscle
Warm up 5-10 minutes Cardio
rotate

hroush

I have done it both ways, but if you are lifting heavy weights you definitely want to start with the weight lifting first.

katekrise

When I hired a personal trainer...she told me that you do weights first so that you're using up your stored glycogen first.

FemmeAndi

My trainer told me to do weights first before cardio for the reason that after cardio your muscles are tired and you won't be able to push your muscles as much as you would if you started with weights first and waited for cardio after. That made sense to me and stuck with me since. Bu just warm up before you start weights.. like 5-10 mins on bicycle or something.