Cardio or weights first? A kinesiologist explains how to optimize the order of your exercise routine

Which direction should I head to first when I enter the gym? Head to his studio for a treadmill or spin to work up a sweat with a cardio session, or do you prefer to do some strength training with free weights and strength training machines?

American College of Sports Medicine Suggest doing both types of exercise Harness unique benefits to improve your health and daily functioning and reduce your risk of chronic disease. But what is the best order for the best results?

The answer to this question is…it depends. I'm an exercise physiologist. Recently, my laboratory has been studying the effects of a combination of aerobic and strength training on health-related fitness, specifically improving aerobic capacity and muscle strength.

Research shows that several factors should be considered when designing an exercise program, including age, fitness level, exercise history and goals. You should also consider the amount of exercise you do on a daily basis, i.e. duration and intensity, and how you schedule your training throughout the day.

benefits of exercise

First, any exercise is better than no exercise.

aerobic It's a rhythmic activity that gets your heart racing. Examples include walking, running, swimming, cycling, and using aerobic exercise equipment such as an elliptical trainer.

Aerobic exercise improves cardiovascular fitness. Over time, your heart and lungs increase their ability to pump oxygen to your muscles and create energy for continued muscle contraction. You can also do aerobic exercise It reduces risk factors for several chronic diseases, increases the amount of energy your body uses and burns fat, and improves physical and cognitive function.

resistance training Strengthen your muscles by lifting, pushing, and pulling against resistance. This type of exercise can be performed using free weight barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells, weight machines, and even rubber bands.

resistance movement Improve strength, endurance, muscle power and size – what exercise physiologists call it muscle hypertrophy. Research shows that resistance training also has health-related benefits, especially for people who: have or are at risk of developing type 2 diabetes. It improves blood pressure, blood glucose levels, the ability of muscles to use glucose for energy, and helps maintain lean body mass and bone health.

Training to enhance health benefits

With limited time to work out, many people incorporate both cardio and weight training into the same exercise session. This simultaneous training has many health benefits, including reducing cardiovascular disease and metabolic risks.

in fact, Do both forms of exercise together Especially for people with risk factors for chronic disease, exercising for the same amount of time is better than sticking to only aerobic or resistance exercise.

Simultaneous training studies suggest a general training effect, i.e., similar gains in aerobic capacity and muscle strength, regardless of the order of aerobic and resistance exercise within a session.these benefits a variety of peopleincluding those who are initially inactive, those who are active for recreation, young people, and older women and men.

Performing resistance exercise before aerobic exercise will result in a slight weight gain. Without compromising lower body strength All other improvements in health-related fitness.

So if your exercise goals are in line with staying healthy in general and reaping the mental benefits of moving your body, doing some resistance training first might help a little. . Overall, however, research suggests that you don't need to worry too much about whether you should focus on cardio or weights in that order.

Training with performance goals in mind

On the other hand, if you're a performance-oriented athlete training to get better at a particular sport or for a competition, you may need to be more careful about the order of your training.

Research shows that for these exercisers, concurrent training can slightly inhibit gains in aerobic capacity. It is likely that gains in strength and power, and to a lesser extent muscle growth, may be hindered. This phenomenon is called “.”interference effect” It manifests itself best in well-trained athletes. Do a lot of both aerobic and resistance exercise exercise.

Researchers are still investigating what is happening at the cellular level to cause the interference effect.Unleash your cardio and strength training Competing influences at the molecular level Affects gene signaling and protein synthesis. At the beginning of an exercise program, the body's adaptations become more generalized. However, with repeated training, muscle changes become increasingly specific to the type of work being performed, increasing the likelihood of interference effects.

Of course, many sports require a combination of aerobic and muscular strength. Some elite-level athletes need to improve both. Therefore, the question remains: What is the optimal order of the two exercise modes to obtain the maximum performance effect?

Based on the research results regarding Simultaneous training for high-level athletes, it makes sense to do resistance exercises first, or train first with the types of exercises that are most important to your performance goals. Additionally, if possible, elite athletes should give their bodies at least three hours of rest between resistance and aerobic training sessions.

Don't worry about ordering

In my lab, we study what is called the “microcycle” of aerobic and resistance exercise. You don't have to decide which one to do first, and weave the two modalities together in much shorter bursts. For example, immediately follow one set of resistance exercise with a three-minute walk or run. Repeat this cycle as many times as necessary to incorporate all resistance exercises into your routine.

Our preliminary findings show that this simultaneous training method improves aerobic fitness, muscle strength, and lean muscle mass when compared to typical simultaneous training in which all resistance exercises are followed by all aerobic exercises. This suggests that it offers a similar improvement in volume, while at the same time feeling less difficult. exercise.

For most people, my current advice is to choose your exercise sequence based on your personal preferences and your reasons for continuing to go to the gym. High-level athletes can avoid significant interference effects by performing a resistance routine before aerobic exercise or by separating aerobic and resistance workouts within a given day.