Cardio or Lifting What Should You Do First?


  • What Does Cardio Do With Your Body?
  • What Does Lifting Weight Do to Your Body?
  • What Should You Do First?
  • Can You Do It That Day?
  • How Often Should You Do Cardio and Weight Loss?

Whether you are a fan of hardcore cardio or strength training, you probably know that a fitness routine involves one of both. But that raises an old question: What should you do first, cardio or weight lifting? It may seem like a decision you make depending on how you feel, but the sequence of exercises can make a difference, and it will not be the same for everyone. Here is what two experts said about the benefits of cardio and lifting, and when and how to do each one.


What Does Cardio Do With Your Body?

Cardio is shorter in cardiovascular, heart-related, so obviously there is some benefit in doing it, says trainer Joel Freeman. Cardio exercise helps your overall heart function and efficiency, he said. They also help you increase your lung capacity and burn calories, which helps in weight loss. All of this can help prevent heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and high cholesterol.1



The benefit of cardio is that it helps improve our body's ability to use oxygen when we do physical activity, says trainer Ben Lauder-Dykes. “Our heart muscle and will adjust / improve its ability to pump oxygen to our bodies with each stroke, which is why we are seeing a decrease in heart rate and blood pressure in those people with high aerobic intensity and VO2 max. , with VO2 max the most relevant brand for life, ”he said. (VO2 max is the highest level of oxygen consumption achieved during strenuous exercise2). Additionally, when our bodies are more efficient at delivering oxygen around us, we will be much better at supporting and recovering from physical activity.


What Does Lifting Weight Do to Your Body?

Lifting, or strengthening or weight training, helps to increase strength and muscle mass, increase bone density, and improve lines and tenders to aid overall health and quality of movement, says Lauder-Dykes. But in addition to strength and weight, if you start lifting consistently, you may see other health benefits, including "improved blood pressure due to your heart muscle, improved body composition that increases digestion, and maintenance and glucose tolerance."


Lifting is the key to a strong muscle foundation, Freeman said. Although the bones provide the structure of our body, the muscles allow us to move. Resistance training is important as we grow older to help prevent muscles from reaching or shrinking, which can lead to an increased risk of falls and injuries. In addition, "muscles need more daily energy (calories), so the more you gain and have more muscle in your body, the more you will burn more calories throughout the day compared to cardio only ... it's a win no matter what."


What Should You Do First, Cardio or Lifting?

If you are looking for the exact answer that you should be doing cardio or lifting weights first, unfortunately, it is not. The answer is, depending on.


For example, says Lauder-Dykes, one runner may want to do his cardio at the beginning of a session, as that is an important part of their game, and then lift afterwards. Although a bodybuilder or someone who is trained for strength effects may want to prioritize his or her lifting first and then do cardio afterwards. Advise you to decide what to do first based on which activity will bring you closer to your current goal. And those principles may change over time. “You can choose to change as your goals change. Perhaps at first, someone may need more cardio to build strength to support longer training sessions. And having done that successfully, they may want to prioritize further promotion, as those benefits could have a profound effect on their overall health, performance, and physique, ”he said.


The American Council on Exercise (ACE) has some basic guidelines, but again, there is no equal workout for everyone, so you should make the best choice.


If you want to increase your endurance, do cardio first. In one ACE-approved study, participants who did cardio before strength training had a lower heart rate, compared with those who did strength training before cardio, during the same exercise period. In other words, cardio first can help ensure that exercise is done with the right amount of energy and does not sound more difficult than intended.3 Other studies in Applied Physiology Nutrition and Metabolism have shown that when athletes do strength training before running times. , impaired their running performance compared to those who ran first.4

If you want to lose weight or get stronger, do it first. As mentioned earlier, lifting weights helps to strengthen your muscles, increasing your overall strength. Muscles also burn more calories than fat, so "lifting weights not only builds muscle, but also increases your daily caloric burn, which can mean losing more fat," Freeman said.

If you want to improve your fitness, it does not matter what you do first. Choose the one you don't like the most and do it first so you can end it.

Can You Do Cardio and Exercise on the Same Day?

"If you have a lot of leisure time available to work out, it can be helpful to do cardio and lifting on different days, but you can definitely be able to do it in the same session," said Lauder-Dykes.


Freeman suggests that if you choose to do both on the same day, you should consider lifting first before cardio, as lifting requires extra strength. "By going the first lift route, you will find more in your sessions while helping to prevent any fatigue injuries," he says.