There has been a lot of debate whether or not you should train with weights first or cardio before weights. Let’s make something clear. Your body is a much more of a well oiled machine than we give it credit for. If you do cardio first, and deplete your glycogen (body fuel) it’s not like your body will just jump in and attack your muscle tissue for energy. What happens is that you’re likely to run out of adequate energy to participate in a high intensity weight training session.

There is very little research that proves that you should always do weights before cardio. There is one study that’s been floating around the Internet, where researchers from Japan have allegedly found that when subjects did cardio before weights, their GH response to the weight workout was blunted by about 1,100% compared to when they lifted first and ended with cardio.

 If this is in fact accurate (and I James, will keep you posted on my findings), you’d be better off doing your cardio either after weights or on a different day.

Here are two option plans of action, based on your individual Body Sculpting goals: For those who want to predominantly focus on burning fat, you should perform cardio first, as the Japanese research in the study that I referenced states that metabolic output will be greater. Even of the study is sound to be inaccurate this option plan is still solid!

For those of you who are concerned first about adding muscle (AKA Ectomorphs) or a balance of both; more muscle and less fat, you should always train with weights first.

Hey, some people would rather do their cardio first and if you can handle that, by all means, do it. Rather than become overly concerned with what’s happening during your workouts, you should pay more attention to the processes that take place following your workouts. You see, when you weight train, your objective is to lift weights which will lead to the break down of muscle tissue (unless you are just maintaining and don’t want to pack on any more muscle). You must become aware of the fact that this is the time when you need to make sure that your body has enough protein in order to allow that muscle to recover and hence, build back up bigger and stronger.

So I think you can see that what’s most important is focusing on getting adequate amounts of protein to help aid in this recovery process.

Speaking for myself, I prefer to train with weights before I do cardio. If I do (and I have) cardio first, my energy is often sapped and I have very little left in the tank to go all out on my lifting.

No one knows your body and your abilities better than you – I believe that every body and mind is unique. What works for me may or may not work for you and this is why you should go on a self discovery of your body, to see what works best for you.

I’ll leave you with this: The best workout is the one you’re not currently on!

This means that it will be to your greatest benefit to switch things up periodically. Do cardio first sometimes, train with weights first other times, change up the exercises, the sequence of exercises, the reps, sets, rest between sets, the total workout duration, etc. This is how you keep the furnace stoked, by avoiding plateaus and keeping that smart body of yours challenged!

Keep On Going!

James Villepigue CSCS