Weights or Cardio?

leanne9876
leanne9876 Posts: 301 Member
edited 4:38AM in Fitness and Exercise
Weights or Cardio?
Which one should you do first ?

Replies

  • dr3wman
    dr3wman Posts: 205
    It doesn't matter in terms of effectivness, but most people prefer weights first so they dont tire themselves out. A small cardio warm-up is always good though
  • BigGuy47
    BigGuy47 Posts: 1,768 Member
    My schedule

    Mon / Wed / Fri: Weight training then light cardio

    Tues / Thurs / Sat: Cardio only (strength recovery day)

    Sun: Rest
  • lauren3382
    lauren3382 Posts: 372 Member
    It doesn't matter in terms of effectivness, but most people prefer weights first so they dont tire themselves out. A small cardio warm-up is always good though

    ^^^This is exactly why I lift first.
  • Stepmom1
    Stepmom1 Posts: 155 Member
    I prefer weights and then cardio. But I say, whatever your schedule permits. ☺
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
    Depends on your goals.

    And on a side note, why does it have to be either/or?


    ...Edit...

    Oh, wait... what do you mean by "do first"? If doing both as part of a routine, should you do cardio before weights or weights before cardio? Or when first starting to get healthy, should you do cardio or weights?
  • joe7880
    joe7880 Posts: 92 Member
    I was told that if you do both in a session, and are looking to lose weight, lift weights first because lifting will deplete the glycogen reserves in your muscles, which will help your body go into "fat burn" mode faster when you're doing cardio later.
  • jcstanton
    jcstanton Posts: 1,849 Member
    It doesn't matter in terms of effectivness, but most people prefer weights first so they dont tire themselves out. A small cardio warm-up is always good though

    ^^This! I used to do a cardio segment in the middle of my strength training routine to keep my HR up. However, I was finding it difficult to get through the end of my workout due to fatigue. I started putting the bulk of my cardio at the end of my workout instead and it has helped tremendously.
  • nickmast78
    nickmast78 Posts: 65
    I was told that if you do both in a session, and are looking to lose weight, lift weights first because lifting will deplete the glycogen reserves in your muscles, which will help your body go into "fat burn" mode faster when you're doing cardio later.

    exactly!
  • Vansy
    Vansy Posts: 419 Member
    I like doing my weights/strength workouts first and then cardio workouts. Unless I'm only doing abs and then I typically do cardio first to get my heart rate up first.
  • ahamm002
    ahamm002 Posts: 1,690 Member
    It depends on your goals. Whichever is done second will suffer slightly. If you do weights first, you won't be able to do as much cardio. Likewise, if you do cardio first, you'll have to decrease the volume of your resistance training.

    I personally strongly prefer doing cardio before lifting (doing cardio afterward is painful), but I noticed that if I did too much cardio it really limited the volume I could lift. So now I only do a small amount of cardio before lifting and just do my big cardio work-outs on different days.
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