Is It Better To Do Cardio Before Or After Resistance Training?

By Howe Russ


Today's question is one of the most popular among those who are trying to learn how to lose weight, should you perform cardio before or after weights? Today you'll discover the factual answer to this often debated topic.

There are numerous areas in the fitness industry which, until recently, were shrouded in mystery. This is one of them. Despite the fact everybody knows someone who has some fitness knowledge, until very recently the answer to this question was based entirely on personal opinion because there weren't sufficient studies to give a definitive answer.

Now science has provided the answers people were previously unable to get. We'll be looking at the findings of two studies in particular and analyzing why performing cardiovascular activity before a resistance workout was recently proven to be far more effective. []

While both approaches ultimately yield positive results, a study at the James Maddison University discovered that an aerobic-weights routine yielded far more lean muscle growth than a weights-aerobic routine.

When it came to fat loss, the results were very similar. The Journal Of Strength And Conditioning recently commissioned a study which discovered that fat loss results were substantially higher by performing aerobic activity prior to resistance training.

Most folks at the gym base their opinion on this subject on what works for their own body. While there is nothing wrong with that approach at all, science suggests that those who insist upon working out with weights as soon as they hit the gym could increase results further by switching up their routine a little.

The main findings of recent studies focus on the effects of two enzymes:

* Adenosine Monophosphate-Activated Protein Kinase (also called AMPK for short!)

* mTOR (aka mammalian target of rapamycin)

You may have heard these two enzymes discussed in fitness magazines and bodybuilding gyms in the past. If you are performing aerobic activity the body increases the release of the AMPK enzyme to help your muscles adjust to endurance activity, while signals the beginning of the muscle recovery process at the end of a workout. For about an hour after you hit the weights, you'll have a surge of mTOR in your body and this is perfect for consuming post-workout nutrition. After six hours, the spike in mTOR wears off and your body returns to normal. []

If you finish your weight training and then sit on a bike for 45 minutes you have not only wasted the bulk of your golden nutrition window, you have also made a fatal mistake. When the body releases AMPK, i.e. during cardiovascular exercise, this hormone doesn't co-exist with mTOR and actually kills it off.

Although you can certainly achieve a fitter physique regardless of whether you do cardio before or after weights, recent studies seem to weight heavily in favor of performing your aerobic activity before you begin using dumbbells and barbells. In order to learn how to lose weight, getting past common myths like this is part of the battle. You've just done that today and can now apply this new knowledge to your own training.




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