Why do strength before cardio

On the contrary, going to the weights directly allows you to have all the energy you need to lift as hard as you want. That makes it simpler to build huge muscles. Also, the anaerobic energy system that the body uses to power your weight lifting workouts isn't as efficient as the aerobic system, leading to fast depletion of your glycogen stores.

If your aim is to build strength, doing cardio after weight training is ideal as lifting is hard, and you would require all the energy both physically and mentally that you can get to avoid injury and properly lift weights. Weight training should also come first if your primary goal is weight loss. A study also suggests that doing cardio after weight training helps to burn more fat during the initial period of that cardio workout versus doing cardio before weights.

Every individual has different ideas for what they want to achieve in terms of the benefits of joining the gym. So, whether you do cardio or weight training first primarily depends on your reasons to be in the gym.

If you are training hard for a marathon, it's better to put most of your efforts in cardio at the start of your workout. Whereas if you are looking to improve your general health, do cardio after your strength training session for the best results.

This positive feeling can last up to 24 hours, like a natural antidepressant. A minute cardio session can burn hundreds of calories and aid in weight loss. Recent Posts. What is LISS training and why is it good for you? Read more. Have you ever done a heavy lifting session after a long bout of cardio?

It's more grueling than eating gruel. When I step up to the weight rack after 90 minutes of hoops, my energy and strength stores sag. Every time I play ball before lifting, I have my worst weight-training sessions. On the flip side, if I play basketball after my weight-training sessions, I feel fresh and energetic. I've learned that lifting before cardio is much better for fat loss and workout energy efficiency.

It takes a lot of energy to move heavy weights; don't zap it all by treadmilling beforehand! Interestingly enough, your body uses glycogen as fuel during higher-intensity exercise like lifting weights, and create these byproducts which can actually be used as fuel for lower-intensity activities like steady-state cardio , he says.

Cool, right? As mentioned, if you're training for a big endurance event such as a triathlon or marathon, you generally want to use your energy for your cardio efforts and do them first.

Even if you're not focusing on a cardio-specific goal, there are some instances when squeezing in some cardio before strength work can be beneficial—namely, as a warm-up. Eric Sternlicht , Ph. If you have a specific strength-related goal, like deadlifting a certain amount of weight or learning a specific technique such as an Olympic lift or kettlebell move , keeping it low-intensity is key. You should steer clear of HIIT and instead opt for steady-state cardio to limit the risk of fatigue affecting the strength workouts, says McCall.

In fact, a study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that when exercisers did a low -intensity warm-up for 15 minutes, they were able to lift more weight in a one-rep max test on the leg press machine than those who did no warm-up, only warmed up for 5 minutes, or did a moderate -intensity warm-up of any length.

However, if you're just strength training for general fitness, you can go a little harder with your pre-weight lifting cardio. When it comes to weight loss, it doesn't really matter which you do first—but strength trumps cardio, in terms of general importance, says Strenlicht.

Most people will focus on doing more cardio when they're trying to lose weight because it burns more calories, but it's far better to do strength training two to three days a week, he says.

Strength training helps you increase or maintain lean body mass, which will burn more calories in the long run. ICYDK, the more muscle mass you have, the higher your resting metabolic rate the minimum amount of calories your body needs to perform normal bodily functions , explains Sternlicht.

See: The Science of Building Muscle and Burning Fat And when you do heavy weight training with shorter rest intervals, you produce greater excess post-exercise oxygen consumption aka EPOC , which are the calories you burn long after your workout. That's because it demands more on the anaerobic oxygenless energy pathways during exercise , which increases the need for oxygen post-workout.

So the more intense your lifts are—and the less rest you take between sets—the more EPOC you'll produce. That said, you shouldn't skip cardio altogether.