weight training before cardio ?

cindymarguerite

I've heard that doing your weight lifting before cardio is more beneficial than doing your cardio first. yay or nay?

koosdel

Yay.

lisafred24

I don't know the answer, but my trainer has me do 5 minutes on the treadmill, then my circuit training and then back to either the treadmill or elliptical at the end of my workout.

vox23

bump

jbug100

I have heard that you should weight train before cardio. I can't remember the rationale for this. Having said that, I have always done my cardio first. I just like it that way. I have gotten results doing it my way. I'd be interested to hear the reasons for weights first, but is it really that important? Are we splitting hairs here?

babybluestacey

I got a couple free personal training session sessions at my gym and I remember the trainer telling me that a small warm up, then weights, then cardio is best. I think his reasoning was that you are not "too exhausted" to get through the weight training if you do it first?
With that said - I did that order for about 2 months & didn't really feel like I was getting anywhere. I also was NOT tracking my food so that may have not helped either.

I started using MFP at the end of June & started doing it the "old" way (warm up, weights, cardio last) for a couple weeks & wasn't really getting results. A person at the gym told my fiance that he always does cardio first - and all he does is RUN on the treadmill, & then he goes to weights. He explained that he got really great results this way so we changed to doing interval training on the treadmill for 20-30 minutes & then doing weights afterwards. I don't know if my body just needed a change or if I did something differently with the food tracking on MFP - but I noticed results FAST when doing cardio first & then weights.

But again - that might be just how it affected my body. I don't think it would hurt for you to change it up & see whatever you feel is best.

RoundRockFitCoach

Yes for a variety of reasons.

cindymarguerite

What reasons ? Do you burn more calories/fat that way? I don't understand how it would make much of a difference, lol.

kaalin

Yes. Weights first then cardio.

babybluestacey

Yes for a variety of reasons.

can you give the reasons? Multiple people, myself included, have posted saying that we don't understand the benefit of doing everything in a certain order.

fiberartist219

Personally, I'd be scared to lift weights after cardio. I'd be tired, and I'd probably drop a dumbbell.

I like to do the lifting after the warmup, so I don't pull a muscle. (Muscles stretch better when they are warm.) I like to do the weight lifting next, so I can make it the bulk of my workout. Then, I do cardio (jump rope, or walking) and do it until I'm just about completely wiped. Then, I do a few stretches and call it a day.

I think you can probably do it in whatever order you want, but this way causes fewer injuries, I imagine. If you need to switch up your workout though, or you feel more motivated to do it differently, do what you need to do.

eates

I don't know the real reasons before it but I have my theory lol. I always feel like I'm less sore if I do cardio after weights. I think it might help get rid of some of the lactic acid build up.

RangerSteve

Ah, this thread again:

1) mTOR pathway - This is the pathway that is responsible for protein synthesis. It is triggered by using major muscle groups (weight lifting) or when consuming amino-acid rich food, especially those containing leucine.

2) AMPK pathway - This is the pathway that is responsible for mitochondrial density and is triggered by oxidative phosphorylation (aerobic exercise) or when generally getting your heart rate up to a level that is sub maximal.


When you combine weight training and cardiovascular exercise, you trigger both metabolic pathways. That means that both of them are conflicting with each other and you will NOT, I repeat, you will NOT gain maximum benefit of either type of exercise. That being said, for general health, this doesn't mean much at all. If weight loss is your goal and you're losing by doing cardio and weights together, continue on. If you like doing them together, continue on. If you want to MAXIMIZE your weight lifting or cardio performance or you're trying to break through a plateau, you might want to look into separating these exercises by 3-4 hours.

koosdel

Ah, this thread again:

1) mTOR pathway - This is the pathway that is responsible for protein synthesis. It is triggered by using major muscle groups (weight lifting) or when consuming amino-acid rich food, especially those containing leucine.

2) AMPK pathway - This is the pathway that is responsible for mitochondrial density and is triggered by oxidative phosphorylation (aerobic exercise) or when generally getting your heart rate up to a level that is sub maximal.


When you combine weight training and cardiovascular exercise, you trigger both metabolic pathways. That means that both of them are conflicting with each other and you will NOT, I repeat, you will NOT gain maximum benefit of either type of exercise. That being said, for general health, this doesn't mean much at all. If weight loss is your goal and you're losing by doing cardio and weights together, continue on. If you like doing them together, continue on. If you want to MAXIMIZE your weight lifting or cardio performance or you're trying to break through a plateau, you might want to look into separating these exercises by 3-4 hours.

But mostly cuz if you do cardiovascular first, you will be too tired to do the weights correctly.


There's my big fancy word for the day, enjoy!