Should I Do Weights Or Cardio First?
I’ve been an Austin personal trainer for 20 years and a gym owner for just over 8. As a gym owner, I’ve seen an enormous amount of heart and effort from members, success stories, and exuberance. Unfortunately, I also have seen my fair share of fitness mistakes, fitness myths embraced, and people that plain gave up be it from frustration, the realization that changes don’t come easily, or a lack of sustained motivation. In these 20+ years as a fitness professional, I have also fielded an awful lot of questions, and one that I get rather frequently is, should I do weights or cardio first? On the surface, that may seem an inconsequential question, but it isn’t.
Like everything else in the realm of the fitness world, the answer is very individual. Are you looking to primarily lose weight, or is your primary objective to gain muscle mass? What does your nutrition plan look like? If you indeed have a plan, do you have a schedule for your nutrition plan?
The body, like an engine, uses fuel. The source of the fuel will be dictated by what we have eaten, when we ate it, etc. If we have no fuel in the tank, or in other words, an empty stomach, we will burn fat and oxygen for fuel. It is also true that we will tend to become catabolic, which being the opposite of anabolic, means that our muscles are deteriorating, in layman speak. If you are still confused about whether you should do weights or cardio first, start by asking what your objectives are.
If your goal is to get bigger and stronger, your best bet would be to do your cardio post weights. Use the fuel from your food to sustain and power your weight lifting session, and then once that’s been depleted, and the glycogen stores are nearly empty, but not fully, do some light cardio in order to keep your body fat percentage in check.
If your goals are purely weight loss, however, your best option would be to do cardio first thing in the morning on an empty stomach, when the glycogen stores are completely vanquished, and later do some weight training in order to promote some hypertrophy and keep bone density levels good, etc.
Whatever your goals may be, you’ll need to put some thought into your approach and make a plan to stick with, even when you don’t feel like it. A well thought through approach coupled with consistency, will yield the results over time. Whether you do weights or cardio first will have an impact upon the other activities you do at the gym, or in your workout, so be sure that you are working towards your goals as opposed to sabotaging them.
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Andy
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