Should You Do Cardio Before or After You Lift Weights?

 UNLESS YOU HAVE the free time to hit the gym more than once a day, you're likely combining cardio and weight training into one massive workout block. So, which should you do first: cardio or weights?

It’s almost surprising we’ve progressed to a place where guys are asking this question. Gym wisdom long held that cardio can hurt your gains, and building muscle would inhibit cardiovascular performance. More recent research has shown us that cardiovascular exercise can help with muscle gains, and muscle gains can help with cardiovascular performance. A study published in the Journal of Gerontology found that long-term aerobic exercise is associated with greater muscle strength throughout a lifespan.

Plus, both cardio and weight training promote different aspects of health, which are both needed for overall well-being. Here’s how to incorporate the two together effectively based on your goals.

How to Decide Between Cardio Before or After Weights

If you were to poll personal trainers about the questions they receive most often, there’s one that would occur on almost every list: What should I do first during a workout: lifting or cardio?

It’s a loaded question, and the full answer depends on a number of factors, including your fitness level, exercise experience, athletic goals, and how much time you can devote each day to working out. It’s also somewhat of a false dilemma, as there are a number of ways to perform strength training and cardio simultaneously, such as high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and circuit training. But if you have general fitness goals, you want to approach cardio and strength training separately in the same workout, and you’re looking for a general rule, here it is: Lift first, then do cardio second. If you're looking to split your training into a two-a-day workout split, follow these tips to optimize your efforts.

Benefits of Doing Cardio After Weights

The reason is that strength training typically involves external loading (e.g., with a barbell, dumbbells, kettlebells, resistance bands, etc.), and thus has a more acute injury risk. Pre-fatiguing your muscles with cardio prior to lifting weights will only elevate that risk—not to mention torpedo weightlifting performance. In short, you won’t be able to lift as much or perform as many reps as you would if you started with your strength training.

If you plan on lifting heavy, you need your muscles to be fresh in order to do so with good form and to load them sufficiently to optimize their growth stimulus. You simply can’t do that if you “pre-fatigue” your muscles with cardio.

Of course, there’s also the counter argument: If you lift weights before doing cardio, won’t that inhibit your aerobic performance? The answer is yes. Research suggests that you’ll likely notice a reduction in power, speed, and stamina, providing yet more incentive to perform strength training and cardio on different days.