Cardio before weight training?

I joined a gym a few weeks ago and the trainer there told me stretch, warm up for 5 minutes on the treadmill, strength training, then cardio.

If spread throughout the day, it doesn't matter.

If literally doing them during the same workout (like one immediately after the other), my trainer and NRLW both say to do weights first, cardio last.

If you are just going to toss around light weight, by all means, go ahead.
if you are looking to build the most strength in the least amount of time, and are really pushing yourself, then you know that anything more than a short/light walk is going to hurt your progress


The way to warm up for weights is b y doing weights.

For example, if you are going to squat 200lbs, you would do something like
45x5
85x4
105x3
130x2
160x1
(work set)

Brief cardio (5 minutes tops), weight training, heavy cardio...then stretch. You never stretch at the beginning when muscles are cold!!!!

I always Cardio then weight train.

Weight training is a waste of time for weight loss anyway

not sure if trolling, or srs.

I always do a quick mile on the treadmill before hitting the weights. Helps loosen things up for me.

cardio last. always.

typically, save your bulk energy for the weightroom.

check this out... from http://www.builtlean.com/2011/11/07/cardio-before-or-after-weights/


Here are 7 reasons why you should consider doing cardio after weights:


Cardio After Weights Reason #1) Increased Energy For Lifting Weights

During exercise, the body uses stored energy in our muscles called glycogen. If glycogen levels are low, it affects our energy levels for workouts. For example, if you’ve ever gone on a low carb diet and experienced less energy during workouts, then you know what it feels like to have low glycogen levels. The same phenomenon happens if you do cardio before strength training – you use up your body’s preferred energy source for intense exercise. If you use up that energy, it won’t be available when you need to lift heavy weights, making a goal of building muscle, increasing strength, or maximizing calorie burn through weight lifting compromised.

Cardio After Weights Reason #2) Favorable Changes in Blood PH

Completing cardio can make your blood more acidic. As you exercise, energy gets broken down and utilized to make lactic acid. Although lactic acid helps to replenish your fuel sources for continued exercise, it does so by creating excessive hydrogen ions. These hydrogen ions need to be buffered, which your body handles at an ineffective rate, lowering your pH (which makes your blood plasma more acidic). This acidic environment causes muscular fatigue and performance drops. So besides using the energy you need for heavy resistance training, doing cardio first also makes it harder for you to contract the muscles.

Cardio After Weights Reason #3) Favorable Hormonal Changes

By completing cardio first, cortisol is released without a concurrent increase in testosterone. Cortisol breaks down muscle in order to give your body the continued energy to workout. This works fine when doing cardiovascular exercises and happens extensively in long duration cardio (think marathons), but is detrimental to building muscle if there’s not a concurrent increase in testosterone. For example, when you’re strength training, cortisol levels will go up but so will testosterone levels. This hormonal shift not only allows you to have energy for the workout, but also helps to rebuild muscle after the session. Without these changes in hormonal profiles, it becomes much harder to gain muscle.

Cardio After Weights Reason #4) Clear mTOR Pathways

Another nail in the coffin for doing cardio before strength training is the inhibition of the mTOR pathways. Many people have not heard of the mTOR pathway, but in essence, this is the pathway that tells your muscles to grow. In fact, one of the biggest genetic differences between those that gain muscle easily and those that really struggle to gain muscle size is due to the differences of expression for the mTOR pathway. In other words, “genetic freaks” have easy access to this pathway, whereas “hardgainers” don’t. When you do cardio with strength training and especially before strength training, this muscle building pathway becomes inhibited, making an already difficult situation that much harder.

Cardio After Weights Reason #5) Greater Afterburn Effect

The workout that causes the largest afterburn effect will be the most effective for fat loss because you will
not only burn calories during your workout, but also for up to 48 hours afterwards. While the research is inconclusive (some studies show the afterburn effect to be greater with cardio before weights), an intense metabolic resistance training workout can create a very large afterburn effect and increase your cardiovascular health. A traditional bodybuilding workout on the other hand will not create a very significant afterburn effect so in that case, cardio before lifting may make sense from a fat loss perspective.

Cardio After Weights Reason #6) Exercise Feels Harder Doing Cardio First

The “perceived exertion” rates (how hard exercise feels) is higher when you do cardio before strength training – even if the results you get from both routines are the same. This simply means that if you do the same routine, but do cardio first, it will feel much harder then if you did the same exact workout by doing the strength portion first. In other words, all of those reasons listed above truly do make your workouts feel harder. The sad part is that this method is not more effective for fat loss or muscle gain than if you simply did the strength first.

Cardio After Weights Reason #7) Less Risk of Injury Due to Fatigue

If you try maxing out on squats after an intense cardio session, you may be mentally and physically fatigued, which increases the chance of injury. Besides needing the mental fortitude to put a heavy weight on your back after cardio, you will also need the help of a number of smaller “assistance muscles” to help with the movement. These may have become fatigued from the cardio beforehand. By tiring these stabilizer and assistance muscles before performing heavy strength training, you risk the chance of completing an exercise incorrectly or with improper form.

Why Not Combine Cardio and Weights?

If you’re truly pressed for time, you can combine strength and cardio movements. An example would be to complete two strength training exercises – think lunges and cable rows – followed by bike sprints for 30 seconds. By combining the strength and cardio portion, you are satisfying the need to create damage to the muscle, keep your heart rate high throughout the session and have more spikes to your heart rate creating a greater oxygen debt.

The Wrap Up

While there are several benefits for lifting weights before cardio, at the end of the day, the best fat loss plan is the one you will stick to and that continues to produce results. If you enjoy completing cardio first, then by all means go for it! I would caution using the “weights after cardio” approach, however, if your main goal is building muscle.

I always do cardio after weights. I'm usually dead tired by the end of a long run, and don't have the energy to lift heavy weights.

I always Cardio then weight train.

Weight training is a waste of time for weight loss anyway

not sure if trolling, or srs.

He's just telling the truth.

you can weightlift and lose weight!! as you are after all reducing fat cells!

I always do cardio after weights. I'm usually dead tired by the end of a long run, and don't have the energy to lift heavy weights.

^^this

I've always heard if doing all together in one workout session to do weights first. Cardio tires me out and form could suffer if done afterwards.

If I space out throughout the day it doesn't matter.

In your particular case, it does not matter because you are walking at 3.0 mph and, therefore, won't be using much glycogen at all. Walking at that pace will use mostly fat stores and your glycogen will be spared for your strength training session.

Walking at 3.0 mph and strength training is how I lost 100 lbs. and over 21% body fat in 6 months. For what it's worth, I do a set of strength training and then walk 0.2 miles and repeat this 15 times. In the end, I do 15 sets of strength training and walk 3.1 miles (5k).

I was getting in a one mile run before weight training and doing cardio after. When I went to see one of the trainers a couple of weeks back I told him my goals changed from strictly weightloss to weightloss and being prepared for the warrior dash which includes climbing a rope wall and a cargo net and other obstacles during a 3.2 mile run.

He had me cut my repitions from 10-15 to 6-10 (two sets) and increasing the weight I lifted. When I can do 10 & 10, I up weight and if I can't manage at least 6 & 6 I need to drop weight until I can move back up in weight.

He recommended that I do a quick warmup on the ellipticals before weight training so I'm using my arms and legs and do cardio after I'm done lifting. I can run then for my real cardio.

I'm thinking of saving the running for the cardio only days. I'm doing 2-3 miles twice a week and 6.2 miles once a week. I lift 3 or 4 days a week (every other day) and if it's a 4 cardio week I do a one mile run, stretch, and then ellipticals until I have enough in my calorie budget to cover my food for the day plus milk and a cookie before bed.

You're always going to get a million views on this mine is:

Depends on what you want. You said you want to build muscle but have some fat to lose, you should really always warm up with some cardio (or light weights) and then stretch! And then the choice is really yours, I thought I read that you're doing circuits, is that as in in a hall with equipment of your choice? Or just round the bits of kit in the gym?

If your circuits are aimed at building muscle and strength then do that first, and then your cardio. As other people have said, your cardio will use some of your energy.

If your circuits are using lighter loads and geared a bit more towards weightloss and endurance, do your cardio first, as that'll make it harder for you, which is good.


And on a side note, I have found from experience with other people (and personal preference) that doing intervals of cardio works much better and strength and weight loss in a much shorter time, but if that's not for you then ignore this bit...I'm sure someone will probably totally disagree with me on this

There are many schools of thought on this. My suggestion would be to try both ways. Try weights first for 3-4 weeks and then switch and do cardio first. If you always keep your body guessing you will see better results. That is what programs like P90X are built on.

I personally would do the cardio before the circuits b/c your muscles work best when they are warm and the cardio gets the blood pumping thru them. But I do circuit days on circuit days and cardio days on cardio days...that may all change when I start P90X but that's how I do it now...