Strength Training or Cardio…What Should You Be Doing First?

There are a lot of questions that come to mind when starting a fitness program. One of the most frequently asked questions is what should I be doing first? Strength training or cardio? The answer is it all depends on what your goals are! If you are looking to improve your heart and lung function or get better endurance you should do cardio first. If you are trying to build strength while losing weight or body fat you should do strength training first. For a well-rounded fitness program both are necessary but the order in which you perform them should be personalized to your goals so that you can maximize your performance.

You should always warm up for five to ten minutes before exercising, instead of jumping right into your strength or cardiovascular training. This can be done walking, cycling, rowing or jumping rope. This gets the blood moving around the body so that oxygen can be readily available for the muscles to perform whether it is cardio or strength training we are doing first. Warming up also reduces muscle soreness and risk of injury. Along with a warmup, a well-rounded fitness program also includes a cool-down. The best way to cool down from strength training or cardio is by static stretching. This allows your heart rate and blood pressure to gradually return to resting while reducing post exercise soreness. Now onto the meat of the program.

If you are training for a marathon or just trying to improve your heart and lung function you should focus on doing cardio vascular training right after your warmup. This will allow you to maximize your effort and performance. If you do strength training first you will tire out before making it to the cardio portion of your workout. You want to start with the most important exercise for your long term goals. Generally speaking, most people looking to start a fitness program are looking to “tone up” and “lose weight”. In other words, build muscle. If this sounds like your goal, you should start with strength training and here is why.

Doing cardio (aerobic work) first uses up the energy you need for strength training (anaerobic work). The first activity you do when you get into the gym your body uses its most readily available source of energy which is blood glucose. After that it uses muscle glycogen which is stored. This is the energy you want to use for your most important exercises so you feel fresh and strong. Once you have depleted your blood glucose and stored glycogen your body will then begin using body fat for energy. If your goal is to build strength and lose body fat this is why you want to do cardio in your fat burning heart rate zone after your strength training. This way you can maximize your results and change your metabolism with the muscle you will build and optimize your time spent doing cardio since your body will be using fat as its primary energy source by the time you get to this part of your program.