Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Cardio Before Or After Weight Lifting?


The most effective mix of exercise that I've found at the gym is the combination of both weight lifting and doing cardio exercises that have me burning fat. While building muscle and burning fat at the same time, I end up in a situation where the lean body mass that I'm building really shows, and I look great for it all.

Many people wonder whether they should do cardio before or after lifting weights at the gym. Let's take a quick look at the benefits of each approach, and then I'll offer my insight as to what I believe works best.

As for doing cardio after lifting weights, here are some quick reasons that people like this approach. First of all, it allows them to call it a day when their body is feeling the most vulnerable. While weight lifting will definitely take some energy out of you, an activity like running will leave you feeling more drained.

For this reason, many people like to lift weights first before running at the end of the workout. This also allows them to lift while preserving as much strength as possible.

On the other side of things, exercising first before strength training has its advantages too. They say that doing this gets your heart rate going for the entire workout, which ends up challenging the body more and helping you to burn even more calories while you lift. This is certainly a strategy to consider if your body's up for the challenge.

My favorite approach is a combination of the two, and it definitely requires the tolerance for a challenge. Run in short bursts intermittently through your weights workout. This way, you truly get the best of both worlds.




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