Training
Marisa HeinzeApril 12, 2022
For the best results: Cardio before or after weight training?
If you value a powerful body and therefore train your strength and endurance, you have certainly already asked yourself in which order the workouts should be performed. The main question is to what extent certain combinations influence the results. So, how should you proceed?
Depending on your goals, place cardio before or after strength training
Unfortunately, there is no general answer to the question of the correct sequence. The decisive factor is your individual training goal. For example, if your goal is to build muscle, you may need a different combination than if your goal is to improve endurance. To understand the basic processes, it is important that you understand the benefits of both types of training.
The relevance of strength and endurance training
Strong muscles are important for an active lifestyle, especially if you want to continue being healthy in old age. Strength training allows you to target specific muscle groups. It is also an advantage for losing weight: when you build muscle, more calories are consumed because the basal metabolic rate is increased. Endurance training, on the other hand, has a positive effect on the cardiovascular system.
Furthermore, endurance training allows for a good calorie usage. With endurance training you burn more calories during the training session itself. With strength training, you are still actively burning calories after the training session. In both types of training, your body uses glycogen - the stored form of carbohydrates.
However, this consumption is higher during cardio training, an aspect which is important in answering the question of whether cardio should be done before or after strength training.
The combination for maximum success
If you combine both forms of training, you will benefit from all the advantages they bring. These include:
- Reduction of body fat
- Improved performance
- Reduced risk of injury
- Better sleep
- Reduced susceptibility to stress
The problem: the interference effect
There is no question that combining strength and endurance training is recommended. As mentioned at the beginning, goal setting plays a big role when you ask yourself whether you should do your cardio before or after strength training. The fact is that cardiovascular training can have a disadvantageous effect on the success of your strength training.
This is called the interference effect. Sports that train your endurance interfere with the adaptations that strength training produces at the cellular level. The combination of strength and endurance can therefore limit muscle growth and you will not be able to build strength as quickly.
Direct effects are also possible
Remember: Both types of exercise deplete your body's glycogen stores. Thus, if you do a long endurance session before an equally long strength training session, you will notice a significant loss of power in the latter. After all, your body has less energy available in the form of carbohydrates.
This makes progression - increasing the weight or number of repetitions in strength training - more difficult. Furthermore, your coordination may suffer, which can lead to injury. It should also be noted, however, that after an extensive strength training session, you will not be able to train at your usual level when running or cycling afterwards.
Are there any negative effects in terms of fat burning?
Perhaps you are not primarily interested in improving your strength and conditioning. Many see strength and endurance training as a useful fat-burning tool. But what about cardio - is it better before or after strength training if your main goal is to reduce body fat?
In this respect, the situation is clear: complete your cardio after your strength training. Your glycogen stores have been depleted during weight training and therefore your body has to turn to another form of energy supply: fat.
You also benefit from the "afterburn effect" after strength training. Your body continues to burn calories even though you are no longer exercising. If an additional workout is added, the calorie consumption is logically even higher.
However, it is important to consume amino acids - for example, in the form of protein powder - shortly after resistance training. This helps repair muscle tissue and prevents the muscle protein from being used as a source of energy during your cardio training – which would result in muscle loss rather than fat loss.
Prioritise one type of training
To minimise the interference effect, it is best to focus on either strength or endurance training. If your main goal is to build muscle, it is best if your endurance session takes place on a different day. However, as this is not always possible, it is preferable to place your cardio training after your strength training to limit negative effects.
Remember to take in adequate protein after resistance training to stimulate protein biosynthesis, as this will result in muscle growth. It would be beneficial if the cardio training takes place after a few hours of rest.
But what if the focus is on cardiovascular training and improved conditioning? Should you do cardio before or after strength training? Surprisingly, the same is true here: it is best to put endurance training after strength training. Intense strength training will also stimulate your cardiovascular system to a certain extent.
However, from an injury perspective, it is less of a concern to let cardio follow strength training. Bear in mind that you might want to avoid a long bike ride after having trained legs the same day.
There is one exception: you can put cardio training first if you follow it with a very moderate strength unit in the strength-endurance range – working with little weight and more repetitions – as this also works the cardiovascular system. No matter what you decide, always go with your gut, and focus on the form and execution of your workout to reduce the risk of injury.
Conclusion
The question of whether to put cardio before or after strength training is not an easy one to answer, as it depends on various factors. First and foremost, it depends on what your exercise goal is. If strength training is your passion and you only do endurance sports for health reasons, you should prioritize accordingly.
Do resistance training first. If the focus is on improving endurance, you can also lead with strength followed by endurance, in order to minimize the interference effect. If you absolutely want to do cardio before strength training, the subsequent strength session should be moderate, avoiding risk of injury.
The question of whether to do cardio before or after strength training if you mainly want to burn fat is quickly answered: place the cardio after strength training. Due to the afterburn effect, you burn even more calories during endurance if it follows the strength part.
In general, you can assume that it is better for your muscle development, your fat burning and your risk of injury to place the cardio training after the strength training.