Which exercise do you do first? Cardio or strength training?

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  • Jennical
    Jennical Posts: 219 Member
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    I read this yesterday....(Kicking myself for not saving the site, but happy that I did jot it down)....

    If your primary goal is endurance, do cardio first!
    If it's building strength or burning calories, do cardio last....
  • chuisle
    chuisle Posts: 1,052 Member
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    What about how your body is composed? What type of body muscle fibers are you mostly composed of? I think i have an equal balance of fast and slow twitch fibers. So i can run for an hour and then lift my maxes afterward or vice versa. Of course those with more fast twitch fibers might not be that much effective after a long run because the don't have enough slow twitch fibers. Their fast twitch fibers may be used up and can't be used for heavy or power lifting. Does this make sense?? That might be the reason why it is different for everyone.


    Again, i think it is how your body is composed. And you can train yourself to be start off either way. But you should know how your body react when you start off with either way to determine what is more effective.

    I am not an expert (as in I don't have a degree etc) so perhaps someone else can help but I have never heard low/fast twitch fibers described in this context. I

    don't want to pick a fight or be impolite but I just don't frankly believe you can run for an hour then lift your max. That or your max is not your max. That or you are Olympic caliber athlete and specimen of peak human condition and I would love to be you.

    I agree

    I forgot to quote. Here is a repost

    Well I just did it last Saturday. i went up on the max. I am about to do it again this Saturday and start off with strength. I usually compare back to back weekends to validate. So i am pretty sure I am doing my max. And I use to be a college sprinter. After college I start marathon training.

    Nothing but respect for what I am sure if an excellent workout but my point was the reasoning behind this based on fast/slow twitch fibers is unfounded from what I can tell and I am still doubtful. Perhaps you are very good at doing both but the definition of "maxing out" (see here for instance: http://www.livestrong.com/article/414276-how-to-max-out-when-lifting-weights/) would by physical necessity mean you wouldn't max out before and after 60 minutes cardio to the same number.
  • skingszoo
    skingszoo Posts: 412 Member
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    It's best not to do both on the same day, as they actually contraindicate each other. But, sometimes we have no choice. That being the case, warming up with a few minutes of cardio first is fine. But, strength should always be done first. Yes, cardio will boost your heart rate and so it will be higher when you do your weight training but you are not actually burning more calories this way. It's misleading.
    The reason to do strength first is that you want to be able to lift your max weights and have your best form. If your muscles are already tired, you get muscle fatigue sooner and can't lift as much or for as many reps and so you don't actually get the full benefits of the weight training.
    Of course this also works for the cardio - if your muscles are fatigued from weights, you can't work to your max. But the convention is.... strength before cardio.
    But you can see why they will interfere with each other on the same day.
    ^^^ THIS THIS THIS!!!! I can not do cardio before lifting. I fell I can't give it 100% becuase I'm already tired from the cardio.
  • robinogue
    robinogue Posts: 1,117 Member
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    my trainer use to tell me to always do strenght training first, then cardio. He says build it then burn it off...
  • engineman312
    engineman312 Posts: 3,450 Member
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    if you are looking for a good warm up that is effective for both cardio and strength training, please check this out.

    http://nerdfitness.com/blog/2012/01/09/warm-up/
  • cpiton
    cpiton Posts: 380 Member
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    It's best not to do both on the same day, as they actually contraindicate each other. But, sometimes we have no choice. That being the case, warming up with a few minutes of cardio first is fine. But, strength should always be done first. Yes, cardio will boost your heart rate and so it will be higher when you do your weight training but you are not actually burning more calories this way. It's misleading.
    The reason to do strength first is that you want to be able to lift your max weights and have your best form. If your muscles are already tired, you get muscle fatigue sooner and can't lift as much or for as many reps and so you don't actually get the full benefits of the weight training.
    Of course this also works for the cardio - if your muscles are fatigued from weights, you can't work to your max. But the convention is.... strength before cardio.
    But you can see why they will interfere with each other on the same day.

    ^^This for me. I do a 4-5 minute fast walk on the treadmill, then a dynamic warm-up, then lift. If I did too much cardio first I wouldn't be able to lift as heavy. I do more intense cardio (intervals) on non-lift days. Just seems to work well for me. :flowerforyou:
  • gettingthinandfit
    gettingthinandfit Posts: 80
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    Its better to start out with strength and then cardio after. Cardio will hinder your lifting performance, but lifting doesn't effect your cardio!
  • TrueBlueBruin78
    TrueBlueBruin78 Posts: 311 Member
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    Really depends on your goals. There is no right or wrong way, if your looking to gain some strength then it would be wise to use up your energy for primarily used on strength training then cardio, but if you just want to burn calories then cardio would be first. The ideal way would be to warm up with a light cardio session about half of what you normally do, then resistance training, then your cardio session, but that is a perfect scenario and i know that life gets in the way.
  • Jeff92se
    Jeff92se Posts: 3,369 Member
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    Really depends on your goals. There is no right or wrong way, if your looking to gain some strength then it would be wise to use up your energy for primarily used on strength training then cardio, but if you just want to burn calories then cardio would be first. The ideal way would be to warm up with a light cardio session about half of what you normally do, then resistance training, then your cardio session, but that is a perfect scenario and i know that life gets in the way.

    I try to burn calories during both. triple sets.

    But it probably doesn't bode well for max lifts. Although I am gaining strength. Probably just not as much as if I did single sets
  • Nigerianebony
    Nigerianebony Posts: 182 Member
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    What about how your body is composed? What type of body muscle fibers are you mostly composed of? I think i have an equal balance of fast and slow twitch fibers. So i can run for an hour and then lift my maxes afterward or vice versa. Of course those with more fast twitch fibers might not be that much effective after a long run because the don't have enough slow twitch fibers. Their fast twitch fibers may be used up and can't be used for heavy or power lifting. Does this make sense?? That might be the reason why it is different for everyone.


    Again, i think it is how your body is composed. And you can train yourself to be start off either way. But you should know how your body react when you start off with either way to determine what is more effective.

    I am not an expert (as in I don't have a degree etc) so perhaps someone else can help but I have never heard low/fast twitch fibers described in this context. I

    don't want to pick a fight or be impolite but I just don't frankly believe you can run for an hour then lift your max. That or your max is not your max. That or you are Olympic caliber athlete and specimen of peak human condition and I would love to be you.

    I agree

    I forgot to quote. Here is a repost

    Well I just did it last Saturday. i went up on the max. I am about to do it again this Saturday and start off with strength. I usually compare back to back weekends to validate. So i am pretty sure I am doing my max. And I use to be a college sprinter. After college I start marathon training.

    Nothing but respect for what I am sure if an excellent workout but my point was the reasoning behind this based on fast/slow twitch fibers is unfounded from what I can tell and I am still doubtful. Perhaps you are very good at doing both but the definition of "maxing out" (see here for instance: http://www.livestrong.com/article/414276-how-to-max-out-when-lifting-weights/) would by physical necessity mean you wouldn't max out before and after 60 minutes cardio to the same number.

    No disrespect here. My husband thinks it is weird too. But I should make it clearer though. i ran at a 9min pace (which is a zone 1 level for me). So i am using a lot of my slow twitch fibers for that run. So my fast twitch muscle were still in tact for the maxes. Now, if I would have ran at 6:30 minute pace. Yea, i don't think I would have done my maxes. My fast twitch would have been overused at that pace. But overall, I just used a little more science to explain what everyone was saying. Some are better at starting with cardio (more slow twitch), and some are better with starting with strength (more fast twitch) and some can do both.(fast/slow twitch mix).

    http://www.synergy-athletics.com/effective-strength-training/whats-your-type-muscle-fibers-explained/
  • bigdawg62
    bigdawg62 Posts: 127 Member
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    Cardio first, it warms me up for the weights and gets my heart rate up. If my intent was to push heavy weight then I would do weights first but thats not what I'm after. I'm looking for tone and weight loss so cardio first.
  • Oo_BrookeNicole_oO
    Oo_BrookeNicole_oO Posts: 165
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    I do cardio last. Mainly because I get really drenched from cardio and I don't like to get sweat all over the weight machines. At our gym, the wipes aren't readily available.
  • Jeff92se
    Jeff92se Posts: 3,369 Member
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    I don't think your cadio is as taxing on your strength as cardio is for some of us here. Since you are a marathoner
  • aippolito1
    aippolito1 Posts: 4,894 Member
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    When I'm doing them separately, strength. Currently I'm doing Insanity, though, which is all of it kind of together.
  • smor27
    smor27 Posts: 87
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    Start out doing 5-10 minutes cardio this is just warm up. Then do your strength training. Then go back and do at least 30 minutes of Cardio.
  • kdeaux1959
    kdeaux1959 Posts: 2,675 Member
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    I do cardio first then strength. No rhyme or reason; just the way I do it. That being said, it stands to reason that some cardio before may help warm up your muscles seomwhat.. as long as it has sufficient warm up and cool down. Some would suggest that you want to lift first so you are fresh... of course with some stretching... There is even a camp that suggests that you should alternate days with cardio/weights/cardio/weights... They suggest that to do both is not a good idea because of how the various exercises break muscles down and such... That being said... I have not bought into that camp and still do Cardio then weights...
  • Fit4Evolution
    Fit4Evolution Posts: 375 Member
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    what comes first! well its pretty simple , and ive answered this before but since people still dont know here we go
    if you are looking to lose weight and keep your heart rate elevated and burn more fat during your workouts , cardio first then lighter sets and more reps

    if you are looking to get big and stronger save your quick fuel store for lifting heavy rest between sets less reps more sets
    then do cardio to burn what you may have left but not too long if your looking to get big 30 min max
  • angelapolite
    angelapolite Posts: 249
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    I do cardio last. Mainly because I get really drenched from cardio and I don't like to get sweat all over the weight machines. At our gym, the wipes aren't readily available.

    Good point!
  • fajitatx
    fajitatx Posts: 36
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    generally strength, then cardio, then strength then cardio

    repeat for about 60-90 (a few times 120) minutes. Doing at least 5 minutes of cardio in between strength exercises.
  • dare2love81
    dare2love81 Posts: 928 Member
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    I strongly think that strength is best. Being fresh on your lifts allows you to push harder and heavier (which is exactly what you should be doing). ****It's also safer not to be tired****. Cardio can easily be done after. Just do dynamic warm up of 3-5 minutes before weights and do warm up sets on your first weight sets.

    Cardio may have a better "burn" but weights are how you get LEAN.

    ^^^THIS!

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