Weights first or cardio first?

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pinkleah456
pinkleah456 Posts: 34
in Fitness and Exercise
I've always done my cardio first but I've heard it's better for you to do weights first - is this true, or does it not matter as long as you get everything done?

Thanks!

Replies

  • Mommawarrior
    Mommawarrior Posts: 897 Member
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    This is such a heated battle.....lol.
    I just have to listen to my body and not to anyone else. I can not lift before warming up my muscles. I use my cardio to warm up my muscles. Hope you figure out what is best for you.
  • alantungate
    alantungate Posts: 2 Member
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    Hi,
    You are right that best advice suggests the weight training first followed by any cardio.
    1. You are more alert at the start and have more energy so can acheive more and raise the metabolism.
    2. You are more likely to concentrate on technique pre cardio so will acheive better form and less injury.
    3. The weight training will use up your excess energy and reduce your blood sugar levels so that any cardio you do after the weights will actually start burning the fats and help you lose weight quicker.

    Hope that helps. Not a scientist, just read a lot of magazines :-)
  • dannylives
    dannylives Posts: 611
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    I was just reading yesterday thats it's better to do cardio afterwards.
  • HonkyTonks
    HonkyTonks Posts: 1,193 Member
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    Weights. Cardio exhausts me! If I do cardio first then weights I feel less energetic and therefore start to feel less focused/lose form and so on.
    I asked my PT the same and she said that apparently doing weights first is better as you'll burn more fat after weights doing cardio
  • daytonafitmom
    daytonafitmom Posts: 29 Member
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    Hi PinkLea! I would recommend cardio first so that your muscles are warm and ready to weights...BUT always do some stretching before AND after the weights too. Will help your muscles heal and you will feel better:) That's what I do.:happy:
  • pope369
    pope369 Posts: 159 Member
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    Strength training before cardio! Huh! I never even considered it but it makes all kinds of sense! This may be just the change-up I was looking for. Thanks for posting a great question!
  • auticus
    auticus Posts: 1,051 Member
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    If I do my cardio first, I would never touch weights, because I run long distances and I'm exhausted after my run.
  • ennaejay
    ennaejay Posts: 575
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    weights, then cardio IF you do cardio at all that day
  • chanstriste13
    chanstriste13 Posts: 3,277 Member
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    i also suggest weights before cardio, with the addition of a *five* minute cardio go as a warm up. only five minutes of walking, elliptical, light jogging, easy jumping jacks...something of that will warm you up but not wear you out, then a bit of stretching, then your weight lifting block, and then you can put in your big cardio block once that is done. best of luck to you!
  • daydream58
    daydream58 Posts: 572 Member
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    Great question - never thought about it, but all Summer I was doing:

    warm up - 10 min
    cardio - 30 min
    weights - 30 min
    cardio - 30 min

    So I was doing my weights right in the middle sort of. I will change things around for a "change up" for sure and do the weights right after the warm up and see how that goes... sounds good.
  • sarahsedai
    sarahsedai Posts: 273 Member
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    My trainer advised me to do 10 minutes of cardio ( as a warm-up, and to get my heart rate elevated ), then weights, then back to cardio if I wanted to do that. I asked her about it, and she said it's mainly because the weight-training is SO important, and I risk tiring myself out on cardio if I do it all first.
  • pinkleah456
    pinkleah456 Posts: 34
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    Thanks for all the replies!

    I think I'm going to try my weights first for a couple of weeks and see if I notice any difference!
  • cwglosin4vaca
    cwglosin4vaca Posts: 63 Member
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    HMMM! Maybe Ill try the cweights first. The cardio does exhaust me so it may work better this way

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