Strength before cardio or cardio before strength?

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jennate2006
jennate2006 Posts: 26 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Does it matter in the order you do these daily? Or is it something you should switch up to avoid plateau? I just want to make the most of my workout daily:)

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  • akp4Him
    akp4Him Posts: 227
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    bump
  • projectbam
    projectbam Posts: 55
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    if i were ever to do both at the same time .. i would only ever do Cardio after weights. Only because after i do alot of Cardio i have no energy to lift anything but after im done lifting i can always manage to throw in 15 mins of HIIT.
  • Melissa22G
    Melissa22G Posts: 847 Member
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    Whichever you feel like first. Doesn't matter.

    I prefer personally doing strength and then yoga or cardio. But that's me.
  • agggie550
    agggie550 Posts: 281 Member
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    If you do cardio first you aren't putting the proper amount of effort into your strength, and if you do strength and then cardio you didnt lift hard enough because you have energy left to run.
    Other than "newbie gains" you aren't going to be building any muscle on a deficit so if you are doing cardio and lifting, you are almost spinning your wheels, because you will be burning more calories, then you are eating so there wont be extra calories for muscle repair and growth. (Just my opinion)
  • ktsmom430
    ktsmom430 Posts: 1,100 Member
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    I just got an email from WebMD for a quiz on exercise do's and don'ts and this was one of the questions asked. Here is their explanation:

    There is no "correct" order for cardio and strength-training exercises -- but it may make a difference if you have a specific goal in mind. If your primary goal is endurance, do cardio first. If it’s building strength or burning calories, do resistance training first. This gives your body the energy to focus on your main target.



    The most important thing is to get enough of both types of exercise every week.
  • LngHrDntCr13
    LngHrDntCr13 Posts: 41 Member
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    I like to do strength training first since I find it the hardest. I like to get the hard part of my workout out of the way first, that way I can cut loose with some cardio afterwards :)
  • Griffin220x
    Griffin220x Posts: 399
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    if i were ever to do both at the same time .. i would only ever do Cardio after weights. Only because after i do alot of Cardio i have no energy to lift anything but after im done lifting i can always manage to throw in 15 mins of HIIT.

    This^ However if you have the time do weights in the morning then do cardio in the evening. Do two-a-days and space em out or vice versa.
  • caseythirteen
    caseythirteen Posts: 956 Member
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    It really depends on your focus but for me, it's always strength before cardio. I only add about 15-20 minutes of cardio after a good full body strength routine if I feel like it.
  • lin7604
    lin7604 Posts: 3,019 Member
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    i thought you are not suppose to do them in the same day?
  • DozzFit
    DozzFit Posts: 12 Member
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    Ditto for me To what Project* said...
    The usual thinking is that "cardio is a warm up" . This is not accurate.
    (And I used to do that myself)

    You can do a little warm up if you wish but a full cardio session is not a 'warm up' for strength training.
    You want to have max energy when you go into strength sessions. And you will find, as I have that you still have energy to do some cardio after. If you do really intense sessions of each (or eventually) you may even want to have them on separate days.
  • donnareadman7
    donnareadman7 Posts: 56 Member
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    might sound totally thick her, and I am blonde, just for the record lol
    Is sanbags and kettlebells classed as strength training?
  • phjorg
    phjorg Posts: 252 Member
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    you always do weights first UNLESS your training for something specific where cardio performance matters. Like racing.

    You want weight first as doing weights while tired is generally sub optimal. And you can do cardio whenever without much impact. You want your full energy to puuush with everything you got. And cardio first can hinder this.
  • phjorg
    phjorg Posts: 252 Member
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    might sound totally thick her, and I am blonde, just for the record lol
    Is sanbags and kettlebells classed as strength training?
    strength training is anything where you use your atp-cp energy systems to push type II muscles fibres in maximal load efforts.

    So they can be. But generally no they are not when used as most people use them.

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