As most people know, a combination of weight lifting and aerobic/cardiovascular exercise is recommended by medical professionals to enhance health and longevity. Because most of us don’t have the time nor energy to space out workouts into multiple gym sessions per day, a common question arises: should weights or cardio come first?
The answer, like most things health and fitness, is not entirely straightforward and depends largely on your individual goals. If you’re an endurance athlete or someone who just prefers to prioritize aerobic exercise, it’s recommended that you do your cardio prior to weight training in order to optimize aerobic performance and cardiovascular fitness. Performing exercise in this order is also shown to increase post-exercise energy expenditure (i.e., more calories continue to be burned even after you finish working out).
On the other hand, if you’re a powerlifter or simply someone who prefers to lift weights, doing so prior to cardio is shown to maximize muscular strength and size gains. Weightlifting prior to cardio is also recommended in older individuals as age-related declines in muscle mass that hinder aerobic performance may be mitigated when workouts are structured in this fashion.
Here’s the main takeaway: choosing whether to do cardio or strength training first depends on your fitness goals, but either way is shown to confer great health benefits. So the choice is yours!
Written by: Dr Scott Newberry