August 28, 2022: Workout Order

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You’re running late…You get to the gym—and it’s packed. There isn’t a single cardio machine available. So, what do you do? Do you wait for the machine? Or just find something else to do? Surprisingly, the order of exercise is important when it comes to your goals—or what you want to accomplish from your workout. This week, we’re going to talk about whether you should do cardio or weights first in your workout routine.

For those just starting a workout, doing cardio seems like an attractive option. You burn a lot of calories in a short amount of time and it feels good.

But, as your workout goals progress, prioritizing the important aspects—and the exercises that will help you reach your goals—becomes important.

Even though cardio does burn calories, it depletes your glucose stores, therefore leaving less in the tank when you finally do get to the strength part of your workout. Your muscles may already be fatigued, which could make it harder to do your strength workout.

So which should you do first? Here are some guidelines to consider:

If you’re looking to improve endurance or speed

If you’re an athlete, and you’re looking to build more endurance or speed, then it may be important for you to focus on your cardio first. Not only are you able to boost the intensity of the workout, the exercise may be easier since you have more stored energy. Studies have also shown that even one strength training session may ruin your endurance performance.

If you’re looking for strength

If you’re looking to put on muscle, or increase your strength, then it’s important to do your strength training first. During strength training, you use a lot of stored energy sources—and not oxygen like you would with cardio. If your glucose stores are used up (due to doing cardio before), you may have less energy to fuel your strength training workout. This could limit the amount of muscle you can add, or even how much strength you will gain.

If you’re looking to lose body fat

If you’re looking to lose body fat, you should be doing your strength training first, and cardio second. Strength training leads to muscle development, which could speed up your metabolism. In fact, some studies show you can increase your metabolism by as much as 7% and you could lose up to 4 pounds (more or less). If you want to lose weight, choose strength first, then cardio to burn those extra calories.

There are many times where you may need to choose to do cardio over strength, or vice versa. Choosing the right exercise is important to get you closer to your goals. If you’re looking for weight loss, general fitness, or improvements in strength or muscle development, doing your strength training first would be the best option. If you’re looking to run a marathon, for example, doing cardio first will be the best choice to build your endurance.

If you’re unsure where to start, it’s important to first look at your goals, and ask yourself which method will get you closer to reaching your goal. Once you’ve determined that, the sky's the limit.

Next Sunday, we’ll talk about if you are eating enough to lose weight.

Want some expert help with reaching your health goals painlessly? Check out my programs! I also have some really awesome monthly subscriptions. We’ll get everything taken care of in a way that fits into your current lifestyle so you never have to think about your health again.

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I hope you have a wonderful week,

Kelly

Kelly Morgan, Ph.D.

Tsirona - www.tsirona.com

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