strength before cardio?

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sarafil
sarafil Posts: 506 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I have heard that if you are going to do both strength and cardio in one work out (ie, running and lifting weights), you should do the lifting first, and cardio afterwards. If this is correct, can anyone explain why? I'm just curious more than anything, plus I want to structure my work outs correctly. Thanks for any info anyone can provide.

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  • varner2012
    varner2012 Posts: 1 Member
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    HI,
    I have heard the same thing. The reason for this is that you need to save your energy to have correct form when doing strength training. If you are already too tired, you run a greater risk of injuring yourself. This is just what I have gleaned from someone who has been helping me with my strength training, hopefully it helps! :smile:
  • trelm249
    trelm249 Posts: 777 Member
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    You will get many mixed answers on this.
    I can't really do both seriously in the same workout. I do about 10 minutes of cardio for a warm up prior to a lifting session.
    After a good lifting session, I count it a victory to walk to the car.
    After a good cardio session, I don't have it in me to do any serious lifting.

    Find what works for you and be consistent.
  • ready2tryagain42
    ready2tryagain42 Posts: 202
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    This is just me..but I do some cardio before my strength training and some cardio afterwards too. I also space my workout over a hour to hour and a half period.
  • Enspiria
    Enspiria Posts: 7 Member
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    My husband, who was a regional deadlift champion, says that if you do strength training first, you motivate your metabolism for four hours afterwards, so if you do cardio after, you are getting the best "burn" possible.
  • christina0089
    christina0089 Posts: 709 Member
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    :flowerforyou:
    This is just me..but I do some cardio before my strength training and some cardio afterwards too. I also space my workout over a hour to hour and a half period.

    I do it in intervals. I start with cardio to get my heart rate up then go thru various strength training routines and then back to the cardio to keep my heart rate up. it works for me so that I stay burning even whilr I am lifting. :) Good luck finding what works for you!
  • magnum6
    magnum6 Posts: 18
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    If you do strength first, you move your metabolism into fat burning mode quicker. So when you get to your cardio, your body is metabolizing more fat stores for fuel rather than glucose stores than if you had just started with cardio alone.

    If you do the reverse order, as long as you execute your strength training with the exact same intensity, you'll get the same net effect. However, your body can't metabolize fat stores as well for quick burst activity like strength training. What that means for your workout is you'll likely be out of gas by the time you get to your strength training and your workout will be executed at a much lower intensity level.
  • missym357
    missym357 Posts: 210 Member
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    I understand the logic, but I find that for me, I am more likely to get hurt during cardio if my muscles are fatigued from weight training. I am less likely to get hurt during weight training if I have done my cardio- cardio does not wear me out in the same way. So I usually do cardio first because it works better for me to do it that way.
  • Hmrjmr1
    Hmrjmr1 Posts: 1,106 Member
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    ^^ to Magnum 6 Post above good info plus the post strength training cardio works as a dynamic stretch after the high intensity training all around better to do it this way. warm up stretch, Cardio warmup, Sttength trng, cardio work out, cool down. If you're going to do them all ont he same day. Would recommend initially to alternate days on the heavier workout, (with lite workout ahead or behind the heavier one. Eg Mon Focus Strength, lite cardio (15 mins easy pace), Teus light weight 3-5 lite dumbbell circuit drills, 40 min Good max effort cardio, etc...
  • Rae6503
    Rae6503 Posts: 6,294 Member
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    This is how I understand it but it might not be perfect. Carbohydrates are stored in your body as glycogen. Weight lifting and cardio both deplete the glycogen. But you NEED the glycogen during lifting but you don't need it during cardio (you can use fat I think for energy). So do the lifting first so you have the glycogen you need.
  • mhotch
    mhotch Posts: 901 Member
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    This is how I understand it but it might not be perfect. Carbohydrates are stored in your body as glycogen. Weight lifting and cardio both deplete the glycogen. But you NEED the glycogen during lifting but you don't need it during cardio (you can use fat I think for energy). So do the lifting first so you have the glycogen you need.
    I read something similar to this. Lifting releases glycogen stores, cardio burns it up. Thus lift first, cardio second
  • albinogorilla
    albinogorilla Posts: 1,056 Member
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    I do the cardio first, if i do it, because if i dont, I know i will skip it after.
    Plus, when pushing your strength limits, you need all of your energy, you can fudge your way through a jog.........but not heavy lifting.

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