Should you do cardio or resistance first?
On days that I have to combine my workouts because of time constraints, should I do my cardio or resistance stuff first?
Split your cardio in half. Meaning if you do 30 minutes of cardio, do 15 minutes before resistance and 15 minutes after. The first 15 will get your blood circulating and help better supply your muscles with what they need to perform more efficiently (less injuries). The last 15 will help prevent lactic acid build up within the muscle so you wont feel as sore the next day.
8 Answers
If you're using the same muscles for weight training and cardio (say, a day of lower-body lifting and jogging), weight training should come first. Weights preserve muscle when you're dieting; cardio does not. But if you're training, say, your arms and jogging, the order doesn't matter much. Start with whichever motivates you.
-Source, Men's Health
I would recommend doing cardio first, especially if you are doing a heavy lower body resistance work out. This will warm up the muscles, especially the legs, before you do the weights. This will reduce the likelihood of injuries as you are warmed up and to some degree stretched. Also, this allows you to jump right into your resistance workout, so saves a little time as you don't need to warm up with lighter weights for a set or two.
Ultimately, I would recommend doing whole body exercises that incorporate weights and cardio at the same time. Such as kettlebells or sandbags. Advantages: whole body exercise, builds core, time saver.
I always resist doing any cardio then dont have to worry about either ; )
Some notes I have from a former trainer says that the body burns 3 things for fuel when doing cardio (in this order):
1) Carbs
2) Fat
3) Proteins.
The first 20-30 mins of cardio burn almost NOTHING but carbs. Once the body burns through those, it goes on to Fat (which is really what we want to be burning).
When you lift weights, you are burning only carbs. This is important because when you hop on the treadmill after lifting, your body can go straight to burning FAT.
I might be wrong and misreading (and misremembering) what this trainer told me, but I am pretty sure this is correct. Any personal trainers out there want to back me up (or knock me down ;-) )
Hope that helps.
-jason
Split your cardio in half. Meaning if you do 30 minutes of cardio, do 15 minutes before resistance and 15 minutes after. The first 15 will get your blood circulating and help better supply your muscles with what they need to perform more efficiently (less injuries). The last 15 will help prevent lactic acid build up within the muscle so you wont feel as sore the next day.
Start with cardio, then resistance. Don't forget to have a light snack comprising carbohydrates and some protein before and - more importantly - after.
It really depends on you, there is no formula in which you should follow. What you should do (in my eyes) is just play around and see which way you like better. Because really if you don't like doing something then you won't do it.