TweetCardio or Strength Training
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here’s been an ongoing debate as to whether it’s better to do cardio before resistance training in the same workout session, or to do resistance training before cardio if you’re looking to build a lean and muscular physique. This article will tell you everything you need to know (and nothing you don’t) about how different sequences of concurrent training (i.e., resistance + cardio in the same workout) affect cardiorespiratory and muscular adaptations, and also settle the debate as to which sequence is best to use for the goal of maximizing physique development.
Cardio Training Before Resistance Training

A study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found that although both orders of training produced significant improvements in VO₂ max— which is the highest rate of oxygen consumption attainable during maximal or exhaustive exercise—
the improvement was greater in the group that did the cardio training
first, as opposed to the group that did resistance training first.

A study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that the aerobic-first sequence was more effective in increasing excess post-exercise oxygen consumption(EPOC,
informally called “the afterburn”), which is a measurably increased
rate of oxygen intake following a bout of exercise that’s associated
with an elevation in metabolism.

Resistance Training Before Cardio Training

A study published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology demonstrated that fat oxidation and calorie burning were increased during the aerobic exercise component when it was done after
resistance exercise. This increased metabolic effect was even more
pronounced when the resistance exercise that preceded it was performed
at a higher intensity. This is important to note because several studies
have shown that performing cardio first in the workout can compromise
the performance of subsequent resistance training exercises due to
residual fatigue, therefore reducing the tension developed during the
strength training portion of the sessions, which interferes with the strength and muscle gains.

Also, a study published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise
also found that the resistance exercise first sequence seems to
increase the metabolic effects of the subsequent aerobic session.

What’s Your Training Goal?

Put simply, since there are benefits and limitations to each training sequence, the “best” sequence is relative to the specific training goal , because different training goals require different training approaches, as summarized by a 2014 paper published in the ACSM’S Health & Fitness Journal:

“Performing aerobic exercise first may be a preferred choice for
developing maximal aerobic power. On the other hand, resistance exercise
first seems more favorable for developing strength, power, and muscle
hypertrophy. Resistance exercise first also can yield some metabolic
benefits, and the high-intensity nature of resistance exercise can
potentiate energy expenditure and create a metabolic environment that
favors fat utilization during a subsequent aerobic session.”

Resistance Before Cardio for Building Your Best Body

As you’ve just learned, both cardio before resistance training and resistance training before cardio offer metabolic (i.e., fat-burning)
benefits. That said, when looking to build your best-looking body,you
don’t just want a “lean” physique— you want a lean, strong and
athletic-looking physique. In order to achieve the “strong and muscular”
part, you’ve got to focus on maximizing the results of resistance
training. And, the research clearly shows that doing resistance training
before cardio (in the same workout session) is the way to go
when looking to maximize strength and muscle, whereas doing cardio first
is best reserved for those who are maybe training for an endurance
event such as a marathon.

Muscle: Metabolically Active Tissue

Another reason it’s smartest to do resistance training first in the
workout for the goal of maximizing physique development, is because
muscle is metabolically active tissue, as fat is sent into the muscle to
be burned. This is why strength training first, which gives you a
better ability to build and maintain muscle, is critical for fat loss.

In other words, muscle is the physical location in your body where stored body fat
is burned (i.e., used as energy). More muscle requires more energy, so
the more muscle you have, the more calories and fat you’ll burn over a
24-hour period of time, even while you sleep!

Put simply, humans are just like cars. If you put a bigger motor in
your car (i.e., add muscle mass), you’ll burn more fuel (i.e., calories)
while driving (i.e., doing activities) than you did before. You want to
be opposite of your car in that you want to become fuel inefficient,
because the more fuel you can burn to perform a given activity, the
better!

Women and Weight Training: You WON’T Get “Bulky”

Many women seem to get uncomfortable with training to gain muscle
because they’re under the impression that they’ll get “bulky.” This is
just plain silly, since women have significantly less testosterone than men.

When you talk about “shaping” certain areas of your body, what you’re
really talking about is muscle. Put simply, muscle creates the shape of
your body, and therefore more muscle equals more muscle tone. You can’t
build a perkier, rounder or sexier anything without building muscle.
And, being “toned” just means that you are lean enough to show off that
shape, which comes from fat loss, which, as you’ve just learned, muscle plays a most important role in.

The Strength Before Cardio Workout Structure

The strength-training portion of your workouts should alternate sets
and rep ranges. By alternating set/rep schemes, it ensures you hit your
muscles in a different manner, which has been shown in research to be a
more effective method of improving muscle than using the same old rep
every workout. Plus, changing the sets and reps keeps your workouts more
interesting and varied.

Each time you do your resistance-training portion of the workout (before doing cardio), alternate each workout between the following set/rep schemes for each exercise:

Set/Rep Scheme 1: 2-3 sets of 12-15 reps

Set/Rep Scheme 2: 4-5 sets of 6-8 reps

The Cardio Workout Structure

Not only should you alternate between the two set/rep ranges that I
provided, you should also alternate between two different types of
cardio workouts: short duration/high-intensity training, and longer
duration/medium-intensity training, as follows:

Cardio Workout 1: 30-40 minutes at approximately 70% of your max HR

Cardio Workout 2: 10-15 minutes go as hard as you
can,* or use intervals where you alternate intense bursts of work with
medium-intensity active recovery periods.

*If you’re running on treadmill or on a bike, go as far as you can (rack up the most miles) in the time frame. Try to beat your previous time each workout.

Putting Your Workouts Together

On the workout days where you use the higher set range (e.g., 4-5
sets of 6-8 reps), you’re weight training will take longer, so you’ll
follow it by performing the short duration/high-intensity training
(e.g., 10-15 minutes. Go as hard as you can or do intervals).

On the workout days you use the lower set range, you’re weight
training will take less time, so you’ll follow it by performing the
longer duration/steady-state training.

TweetSure! Just to set a time frame, I got done in 12:01. That's about 4 minutes per round. And the weight for women for the 3 round part is 95