An hour of exercise indulgence is completely essential with our current lifestyles. Cardio vs Weight Training: Which one should come first? This question is a little difficult to answer, and it is crucial to have clarity about it before starting your workout routine. Making a choice between cardio and weight training depends upon your clarity of fitness goals.
Everybody is different and every body reacts to the same training in different ways.
To get better results, you need to take a look at the factors described below:
1. Perfect Your Fitness Goal
It’s about perfecting your primary fitness goal—whether it’s losing weight, building muscle, improving performance, or increasing endurance. Clarity is essential. Let’s break down a few key goals:
- Lose Weight: If your goal is fat loss, cardio workouts should dominate. They burn substantial calories but may lead to a flabby look if not combined with strength training. After shedding pounds, incorporate strength training to sculpt your body.
- Gain Muscle: Excessive cardio can hinder muscle gains by slowing recovery and using up calories needed for growth. Challenge your muscles beyond their comfort zone to stimulate growth.
- Build Endurance: Cardio elevates your heart rate and enhances both lung and heart strength. Most studies on exercise and disease prevention emphasize cardiovascular performance, making aerobic exercise a cornerstone of fitness.
2. Know Your Body Type
Before you begin, understand your body type—whether slim, muscular, or otherwise—and how it responds to food and exercise. This awareness will help tailor your training effectively.
3. Know Your Sport Requirement
For cardio-intensive sports, prioritize cardio fitness, breathing drills, and HIIT based on your body type and sport demands.
If your sport is strength-oriented, weight training should take precedence, with minimal cardio to avoid interference with muscle gains.
Why Not Both?
Weight training before cardio can enhance fat burning and increase resting energy expenditure post-workout. This combo helps burn more fat when workouts include resistance training.
A recent study showed that combining aerobic and resistance training is the most effective strategy for fat loss. Just beware of overtraining—alternate intense days with lighter sessions.[1]
Strength training not only supports fat loss but also boosts overall fitness and athletic performance—more so than cardio alone.
Conclusion
“As for the expert advice on this matter, cardio and weight training should ideally be done on two separate days.”
Doing cardio one day and weight training another helps break monotony and keeps your workouts fresh. Changing the order and type of exercises surprises the body and avoids plateaus. This principle is followed by many celebrities like Jason Statham and Roger Federer.
Once you’ve settled the cardio-vs-weight debate, the next step is balancing exercise with proper nutrition. If you love running, it certainly boosts fitness, but some time spent strength training in the gym can significantly enhance your results.
I hope you enjoyed the article and found the tips helpful. Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Also Read:
- 11 Awesome Cardio Based Bodyweight Exercises
- 3 Types of Weight Training & The Science Behind Them
- 5 Ways to Gain Muscles Naturally
Reference [1] Davis WJ, Wood DT, Andrews RG, Elkind LM, Davis WB. Concurrent training enhances athletes’ strength, muscle endurance, and other measures. J Strength Cond Res. 2008;22(5): 1487–502. ^Back to Top^
Last updated: April 26, 2014
Next Scheduled Update: June 28, 2014
