Cardio VS Strength Training First

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Caper88
Caper88 Posts: 418 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I recently started Jillian Micheals For Beginners fitness dvd. The dvd is circuit training that alternates between cardio and strength training with weights. It has me now wondering is it better to do my cardio workout or my strength training first. I do have a lot of fat, especially belly fat that I need to loose. Any suggestions on what I should do first?

EDIT: I was just curious does one way burn more fat over the other? My issue isn't so much that I want to get to a set weight but more so loose the belly fat and eventually tone up.

Replies

  • Vigilance88
    Vigilance88 Posts: 95 Member
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    Depends on what you want. I prefer to do weights first so I can put max effort into it and progress.
    If I do my cycling first my legs will be dead before I even start strength.

    You could spread it out over the day to get max effort for both. Or alternate each day.
  • cardbucfan
    cardbucfan Posts: 10,417 Member
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    I work out in a gym and I have to do strength first for both the reason that vigilance88 said and because I sweat so much it would be disgusting to lift after spin class!
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
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    I prefer to do strength first, for some reason my cardio goes better when I do strength first. I think it's just a matter of personal preference, though.
  • Miss_james1990
    Miss_james1990 Posts: 214 Member
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    I find after cardio I'm about ready to go to bed lol I have to do my weights first just so I can give it 100% :)
  • db34fit69
    db34fit69 Posts: 189 Member
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    Sandwich method: Cardio (20 min) - strength (40 min) - cardio (20 min)
  • naturesfempower
    naturesfempower Posts: 107 Member
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    I do cardio 30 strength 60 cardio 45 swimming 45 3 days a week
  • Caper88
    Caper88 Posts: 418 Member
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    It not so much because I don't have the strength to do both. I was just curious does one way maximize the amount of fat you burn over the other.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,268 Member
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    It not so much because I don't have the strength to do both. I was just curious does one way maximize the amount of fat you burn over the other.

    diet for fat loss

    exercise for health/fitness...

    Cardio gives you extra calories to eat
    Strength/resistence training helps preserve muscle mass.
  • Strokingdiction
    Strokingdiction Posts: 1,164 Member
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    It not so much because I don't have the strength to do both. I was just curious does one way maximize the amount of fat you burn over the other.

    diet for fat loss

    exercise for health/fitness...

    Cardio gives you extra calories to eat
    Strength/resistence training helps preserve muscle mass.

    Boooooooooooooom!

    Just wanted to add emphasis to this answer as it best answers the OPs question.
  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
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    It really doen't matter the order as long as you can keep the intensity level up in whatever order you choose. Some days I do cardio before, others I do it after, and occasionally I do it before and after.

    The main things to think about are:
    1) keeping the same level of intensity
    2) be sure to eat back cardio calories if you want your strength training to be effective.

    I think #2 is why cardio gets a bad rap from weight lifters. You HAVE to adjust your calories for it if you want to retain/build muscle.
  • _KitKat_
    _KitKat_ Posts: 1,066 Member
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    The advice that diet is for weight and exercise is for fitness is correct but I have wondered myself which to do first. The trainer at my gym says cardio then weights, but he also says as a female I should lift light and high rep :noway:

    What I have found is that if I lift first, I have more stanima and strength...my speed will also go up after lifting if I jump on the elliptical. Depending on my mood though, sometimes I will jump on a cardio machine just to raise my hr and take smaller breaks (jumping between multiple exercises) when I lift, this keeps my hr up and makes my workout more of a circuit training (cardio and burns more). You really have to find what works for you.

    Cardio burns calories only while working out (burns a lot) and may burn some lean body mass (another reason some lifters dislike it), lifting burns less but the burn continues the rest of the day and helps retain muscle mass. Circuit training is cardio, but if sore from your last workout it can be a great way toget a great burn and still lift some. The DVD's are more cardio than anything normally and are not really considered strength training, no insult and they can only help but normally they are dealing with small weight increments.
  • LauraJayneHazzard
    LauraJayneHazzard Posts: 12 Member
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    Although it is sometimes appealing to get the cardio done out of the way first I make sure do strength training first otherwise I'm far too knackered to do it after doing my cardio!
  • MityMax96
    MityMax96 Posts: 5,778 Member
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    It not so much because I don't have the strength to do both. I was just curious does one way maximize the amount of fat you burn over the other.

    diet for fat loss

    exercise for health/fitness...

    Cardio gives you extra calories to eat
    Strength/resistence training helps preserve muscle mass.

    I would go with this also....

    The only thing I would add is that if you are going for fat loss, and your diet is on point.

    Then incorporate full body weight lifting (heavy lifting), using compound exercises.....
    Most things I have read, tend to point to that as being very effective for helping to burn BF.
  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
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    The advice that diet is for weight and exercise is for fitness is correct but I have wondered myself which to do first. The trainer at my gym says cardio then weights, but he also says as a female I should lift light and high rep :noway:

    What I have found is that if I lift first, I have more stanima and strength...my speed will also go up after lifting if I jump on the elliptical. Depending on my mood though, sometimes I will jump on a cardio machine just to raise my hr and take smaller breaks (jumping between multiple exercises) when I lift, this keeps my hr up and makes my workout more of a circuit training (cardio and burns more). You really have to find what works for you.

    Cardio burns calories only while working out (burns a lot) and may burn some lean body mass (another reason some lifters dislike it), lifting burns less but the burn continues the rest of the day and helps retain muscle mass. Circuit training is cardio, but if sore from your last workout it can be a great way toget a great burn and still lift some. The DVD's are more cardio than anything normally and are not really considered strength training, no insult and they can only help but normally they are dealing with small weight increments.

    sounds like your trainer is a little bit of a moron. The best strength plan include periods of high reps (15-20) as well as moderate (10-12) and heavy (4-6). You really should be doing a mix of the three because they all stimulate muscle differently. Actually, Lyle McDonald just published a blog post about this very thing if you want GOBS of details!
    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/training/categories-of-weight-training-part-1.html

    However, in all of the 3 situations I described you should be lifting heavy enough that you are really struggling on the last 1 or 2 reps. Otherwise you are wasting your time and might as well be on an elliptical. I personally do high reps 2x a week, moderate once, then follow with a heavy session once a week. You can spread it out more if you like though.

    finally, aside from the hormone levels available to the muscles, female muscle = male muscle. You build it the same way.
  • _KitKat_
    _KitKat_ Posts: 1,066 Member
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    The advice that diet is for weight and exercise is for fitness is correct but I have wondered myself which to do first. The trainer at my gym says cardio then weights, but he also says as a female I should lift light and high rep :noway:

    What I have found is that if I lift first, I have more stanima and strength...my speed will also go up after lifting if I jump on the elliptical. Depending on my mood though, sometimes I will jump on a cardio machine just to raise my hr and take smaller breaks (jumping between multiple exercises) when I lift, this keeps my hr up and makes my workout more of a circuit training (cardio and burns more). You really have to find what works for you.

    Cardio burns calories only while working out (burns a lot) and may burn some lean body mass (another reason some lifters dislike it), lifting burns less but the burn continues the rest of the day and helps retain muscle mass. Circuit training is cardio, but if sore from your last workout it can be a great way toget a great burn and still lift some. The DVD's are more cardio than anything normally and are not really considered strength training, no insult and they can only help but normally they are dealing with small weight increments.

    sounds like your trainer is a little bit of a moron. The best strength plan include periods of high reps (15-20) as well as moderate (10-12) and heavy (4-6). You really should be doing a mix of the three because they all stimulate muscle differently. Actually, Lyle McDonald just published a blog post about this very thing if you want GOBS of details!
    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/training/categories-of-weight-training-part-1.html

    However, in all of the 3 situations I described you should be lifting heavy enough that you are really struggling on the last 1 or 2 reps. Otherwise you are wasting your time and might as well be on an elliptical. I personally do high reps 2x a week, moderate once, then follow with a heavy session once a week. You can spread it out more if you like though.

    finally, aside from the hormone levels available to the muscles, female muscle = male muscle. You build it the same way.


    He is a moron, he even thinks women should avoid the free weights and only use the machines. He loss 280lbs and now believes he knows everything. The worst was he asked my husband if he was OK with me not "listening" and if he was concerned that I could get bulky.....my husband told him to f off, to ease any fears my husband may have not been voicing, I did show him some of the stunning female lifters on here and he just smiled and said " that will work".

    I actually mix up between heavy lifting, moderate and high rep to a degree. I do compound lifts at a low rep, heavy weight and isolated exercises (not sure what to call them but triceps pull down, lat pull down, cable rowand others) at moderate. If still sore from prior work out, I switch over to circuit and do high rep. I had a guy at my gym tell me....no matter how many reps, aim for the total of reps x sets to be about 30...so heavy 6*5, moderate 8*4 and light 10*3 or 12*3 and always at a weight like you described.

    Thanks for the link.
  • Oi_Sunshine
    Oi_Sunshine Posts: 819 Member
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    The advice that diet is for weight and exercise is for fitness is correct but I have wondered myself which to do first. The trainer at my gym says cardio then weights, but he also says as a female I should lift light and high rep :noway:

    What I have found is that if I lift first, I have more stanima and strength...my speed will also go up after lifting if I jump on the elliptical. Depending on my mood though, sometimes I will jump on a cardio machine just to raise my hr and take smaller breaks (jumping between multiple exercises) when I lift, this keeps my hr up and makes my workout more of a circuit training (cardio and burns more). You really have to find what works for you.

    Cardio burns calories only while working out (burns a lot) and may burn some lean body mass (another reason some lifters dislike it), lifting burns less but the burn continues the rest of the day and helps retain muscle mass. Circuit training is cardio, but if sore from your last workout it can be a great way toget a great burn and still lift some. The DVD's are more cardio than anything normally and are not really considered strength training, no insult and they can only help but normally they are dealing with small weight increments.

    sounds like your trainer is a little bit of a moron. The best strength plan include periods of high reps (15-20) as well as moderate (10-12) and heavy (4-6). You really should be doing a mix of the three because they all stimulate muscle differently. Actually, Lyle McDonald just published a blog post about this very thing if you want GOBS of details!
    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/training/categories-of-weight-training-part-1.html

    However, in all of the 3 situations I described you should be lifting heavy enough that you are really struggling on the last 1 or 2 reps. Otherwise you are wasting your time and might as well be on an elliptical. I personally do high reps 2x a week, moderate once, then follow with a heavy session once a week. You can spread it out more if you like though.

    finally, aside from the hormone levels available to the muscles, female muscle = male muscle. You build it the same way.


    He is a moron, he even thinks women should avoid the free weights and only use the machines. He loss 280lbs and now believes he knows everything. The worst was he asked my husband if he was OK with me not "listening" and if he was concerned that I could get bulky.....my husband told him to f off, to ease any fears my husband may have not been voicing, I did show him some of the stunning female lifters on here and he just smiled and said " that will work".

    I actually mix up between heavy lifting, moderate and high rep to a degree. I do compound lifts at a low rep, heavy weight and isolated exercises (not sure what to call them but triceps pull down, lat pull down, cable rowand others) at moderate. If still sore from prior work out, I switch over to circuit and do high rep. I had a guy at my gym tell me....no matter how many reps, aim for the total of reps x sets to be about 30...so heavy 6*5, moderate 8*4 and light 10*3 or 12*3 and always at a weight like you described.

    Thanks for the link.

    He asked your husband for permission, in case he didnt like your results??

    The answer to this entire thread: get a different trainer.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    You will have 1 opportunity now for strength training you will not get later with less fat to lose.

    If you can tap out existing muscle strength and have a good progressive overload routine, you will have the chance now to actually build some muscle while in a deficit with fat to spare.

    You will not get that opportunity later after you have lost weight, not without eating in surplus.

    Doesn't matter which one burns more fat during the workout, look at the whole day in complete.

    Whichever one adds enough calories to keep your deficit reasonable and eating goal sustainable is the good one.

    Since strength training doesn't burn as much during the workout, but more later, it may appear you get to eat less. That could be tough.
    Then again a reasonable goal loss takes care of that issue.
    Or throw in cardio after lifting session.
  • Naan_Kobra
    Naan_Kobra Posts: 2
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    First cardio then Strength Training.
  • _KitKat_
    _KitKat_ Posts: 1,066 Member
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    ]

    He asked your husband for permission, in case he didnt like your results??

    The answer to this entire thread: get a different trainer.

    Neither of us use him, he is the in house trainer at our gym. My husband found the permission thing funny, after he asked me when I ever "listened to him". My husband just wants me happy, he says it makes his life easier :wink:



    OP, heybales brings up a great point about begginer gains....don't let this opportunity pass.

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