does it really matter? weights or cardio first?

lisaisso

i have about 60+ more lbs to lose, and i love weight training and cooperate that with my cardio workouts 3 of the 5 days per week.
does it make a difference as to what your goals are? would it really matter if i've been doing cardio first? i don't feel like my form is compromised..
thanks in advance MFP

emilydmac

i dont think it matters!

Sweet13_Princess

My fitness magazines recommend cardio first, weights second. However, I find that when I do that, I get too tired to do a decent job with weights.

I think you have to do what works best for your body, but I would at least do a five minute warm-up before lifting so you don't hurt yourself.

Shannon

Melis25Fit

I was always told weights first. Intense Cardio can fatigue the muscles, and so when you lift, you won't be able to do it to your full potential. I always lift then cardio.

('Ive worked with 3 different Personal Trainers- also read it in Shape Magazine.--- So I think it's pretty accurate,)

lawtechie

I'm sure you'll find varying opinions, but I'd recommend weights first -- you want your muscles to be fresh and do the most they can. If you do weights AFTER cardio, you're going to be tired and less apt to get a good weights workout.

Bobbejo

you should do cardio first - at least some. Your joints expand when they are warm. If you strength train cold you put your body at more of a risk for injury because things have more room to slip into the wrong places.

MadeOfMagic

I think you're supposed to do cardio first to warm up your muscles and get your body to start burning calories, so in turn you will burn more during you weights session because your body has already been boosted up. And it also warms up your muscles so you don't get injuries. Some sort of light cardio warm up could be good if you wanted to do cardio after weights.

kellyscomeback

It's a personal preference. I do cardio then weights.

mrau719

If you do them together trainer told me cardio second.

Bobbejo

My trainer has me do 3 days of strength training with a decent warm up first (10-15 minutes). Then I do intense cardio 2 x's a week, but I never do heavy lifting and heavy cardio on the same day.

leilani♥

I don't know. I've done it both ways and feel fine either way

Breedy75

Simple answer is which ever benefit you want the most from.

If you are really looking to improve your cardiovascular endurance and burn a lot of calories then do cardio first. You will be more focused and have more energy.

If you are looking to tone or make strength gains then lift first. It's hard to get on a stair stepper and get a good cardio work out when your leg are on fire.

In your specific case, if you just want to lose weight and tone up a little I don't think it will really matter. If you have the option of working out in the morning before breakfast I would consider that. I haven't kept up to date on the accuracy but there were some studies that showed that exercising on a empty stomach (ie before eating breakfast) actually burned more calories. YMMV and this is canon.

marianne_s

I prefer cardio first, then weights

When I do it the other way around, my muscles are just too tired for me to put any real effort into the cardio

jgic2009

On gym days, I like to do a short cardio warm-up (2-3 minutes), then weights (sometimes with cardio bursts between sets), then a cardio workout (elliptical or upright bike) if I feel like it.

On non-gym days, I run.

aprilfit

Depends on your goals.

You want to have the most energy for what your main focus is.

Super important that you warm up 1st. No matter what you choose to do 1st.

Reccomended you warm up for 3-10 mins (length depends on your fitness level.)

From there you can continue your cardio or do weight training and cardio later.

The theory is:
Cardio first if fatburn or incresed cardio capacity is your goal.
Weights 1st if your goal is strength trainng or increasing muscle mass.

Really as long as your getting in your workouts. Get a warm up, cool down post cardio and work in a stretch, it's all good.

Happy Workouts,
April

ninerbuff

For the purpose of using glycogen for good ATP/ADP conversion and not catabolize muscle if your glycogen stores run out, you lift first then cardio. If you have more energy, you can lift heavier weights. This increases resting metabolic rate.

Contrary to what people think, you burn MORE FAT sitting at home resting in a day, then you would in a one or two hour cardio session. Most people burn between 250-700 calories on an hour cardio session. Your body, just to sustain itself will usually need more than 1200 a day for most people.

So a higher resting metabolic rate results in more fat being burned. Hit the weights hard to do this.

lilRicki

I do 10 minutes of cardio first...weights and then 20 minutes of cardio...I was doing my cardio first, and I was to tired to do weights after. Than I did weights first, and it's hard lifting a cold body lol