• Request Appointment
  • Verify Insurance
  • Research Library
  • Exercise Library
Call Us: 262-345-4166
HealthFlex
×
  • Appointments
  • About Us
  • Services
    • Chiropractic
    • Physical Therapy
    • Sports Medicine
    • Pediatric Care
    • Senior Care
    • X-Ray & Labs
  • Store
    • Shop
    • Cart
    • Checkout
    • My account
  • Blog
  • Contact Us
  • FAQ

Cardio Before Or After Weightlifting? Here’s What The Science Says

Cardio Before Or After Weightlifting? Here’s What The Science Says
November 11, 2019Dr. Grant RadermacherExercise

Workouts: Should You Lift or Do Cardio First?

I get it: we’re all insanely busy and it’s a miracle that we can get to the gym at all. So when we work out, most of us try to get in both strength training and cardio exercise in a single session.

But should you do weights or cardio first?

If you’re looking to get stronger, lose body fat, and save time in the gym, the science says it’s best to lift weights before doing cardio. For why, read on.

1. Weightlifting first helps build muscle strength & size.

Getting stronger and building muscle requires progressive resistance (in which resistance is progressively increased as strength improves to facilitate muscle adaptation). That means you want to lift the most weight possible every workout. But when you do cardio before strength training you fatigue your muscles, which causes a decrease in the contractual force your muscles are able to produce, which means you can’t lift as much.

This is due to the ‘all or none principle’ of muscle contraction. Muscle fibers contract at 100%, or they don’t contract at all. So to lift something 70% of your max would require 70% of your muscle fibers to fire at 100%, rather than 100% of your muscle fibers to fire at 70%. Because of this, if muscle fibers are already fatigued from previous cardio, then less muscle fibers are available to contract for weight training.

In a study from the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, researchers found that subjects who did a bout of treadmill running before lifting weights had a decrease in muscle power and performed fewer reps compared to when they lifted before running on the treadmill. Plus, when subjects ran before lifting, lifting just felt heavier – the rate of perceived effort increased.

What’s more, cardio actually reduces your short-term sensitivity to insulin – the hormone responsible for transporting amino acids from your blood stream into your muscle cells for protein synthesis. That means doing cardio first limits muscle growth.

2. Lifting first optimizes fat burning.

Weight training relies on the glycogen stored in your muscles to fuel your workouts. Your working muscles will clear out any sugar floating around in your blood stream which prepares your body to turn to stored fat as a fuel source early in your cardio session.

Plus, while resistance training isn’t necessarily great at burning fat, it is good at mobilizing fat (releasing stored fat from your fat cells) because it increases levels of the hormone noradrenaline – fat that can be burned off later on the treadmill or stairclimber.

Knocking out your cardio after you crush the weights will burn more fat!

3. Cardio first increases risk of injury.

Especially for beginners, there’s always an increased risk of injury if you lift weights while exhausted. Proper form is more likely to suffer when you’re tired and it only takes a little slip up to cause an injury that can keep you out of the gym for weeks or months. Cardio injuries, on the other hand, tend to come from overuse and sustained impacts.

The Bottom Line

Sure, whatever you do last in your workout is going to suffer, but simply put, weight training doesn’t hurt cardio as much as cardio hurts weight training.

Plus, it saves time: cardio fatigues your muscles so when you finally get to lifting, you may find yourself having to take longer rests between sets to complete your reps, lengthening the duration of your workout.

The exception to the rule: If you’re training for an endurance event, do cardio and weight training on different days. If you’re training for a 5K, a marathon, a mud run, etc. your goal is to maximize performance in that event, so you want to go as hard as you can when you train. Lifting weights before endurance training will prevent you from doing that, so endurance athletes should do their endurance training and weight training on different days to ensure adequate recovery between training sessions.

The Ascent Chiropractic Difference

Whether you’re a pro athlete, weekend warrior or just looking to tone up, study after study shows that regular chiropractic care is an essential part of correcting problems, reducing pain and reaching your full potential. We want to be part of your team! To make an appointment at Ascent Chiropractic, call 262-345-4166 or schedule an appointment with our online scheduling app.




Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Skype (Opens in new window)

Related

Comments

PHIL GAINAN Reply
December 5, 2019

I have been doing it wrong evidently. Thanks for the post.

Peter Parker Reply
September 17, 2020

As per my personal experience cardio exercise should be done after workouts as cardio consumes excess energy and fatigues the muscles. However it is always recommended to do 40 mins of weight training followed by 20 mins of cardio. For superset, do 5 mins of cardio and 5 mins of upper body exercises.

Add Comment Cancel


This blog uses premium CommentLuv. Enable CommentLuv?Show more posts

Ascent Chiropractic

16620 W Bluemound Rd
Brookfield, WI 53005
Phone: 262-345-4166
Fax: 262-753-6908
[email protected]

  • How To Get Rid of Migraines Fast (and For Good!) Jan 18

    Got migraines? Here’s what works. If you’re one of the 39 million...

  • EVERYTHING You Know About Stretching Is Wrong Jan 11

    Quite a stretch: Stretching myths debunked! There are lots of reasons people...

  • 5 Resolutions We Should All Be Making For Our Physical & Mental Health In 2021 Jan 4

    Here’s How To Start the New Year Off Right! The Year-That-Must-Not-Be-Named is...

  • Don’t Have Time For A Full Workout? Try Exercise “Snacks” Instead Dec 28

    Exercise doesn’t have to be all-or-nothing. If you don’t have the time...

  • Use Acupressure to Clear Congested Sinuses in 30 Seconds Dec 21

    Stuffy sinuses are no fun. Especially in 2020, where every sniffle is...

  • Cortisone Steroid Injections: Can They Actually Make Things Worse?! Dec 14

    Cortisone Shots: The good, the bad and the ugly. Cortisone has been...

  • The Best Social-Distanced 2020 Holiday Events in Southeastern Wisconsin Dec 7

    Get out of the house & celebrate the holidays! Amid the current...

  • Honey Relieves Cold Symptoms Better Than Antibiotics & OTC Medications [Study] Nov 30

    Honey: A natural remedy for the common cold. Temperatures in Wisconsin are...

  • Life Pro Tip: Keep Your Wallet Out Of Your Back Pocket To Avoid Back Pain Nov 23

    A big wallet can cause big back problems! When it comes to...

  • COVID-19: Can Melatonin Help Protect Against Coronavirus? [Study] Nov 16

    New research shows sleep aid supplement can reduce COVID risk by 30%....

  • A Comprehensive, Evidence-Based Guide To the New Science of Treating Low Back Pain Nov 9

    Mainstream medicine has failed people with low back pain. Low back pain...

  • Does Caffeine Help Relieve Headaches? Nov 2

    Caffeine can relieve migraine headaches, but there’s a catch. The relationship between...

Office Hours
Mon - Fri: 8:30am - 5:30 pm
Saturday: 8:30am - 12:30 pm

262-345-4166

[email protected]

16620 W Bluemound Rd #405, Brookfield WI 53005

Click to open a larger map

Copyright 2021 © Ascent Sports & Wellness. All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy