Is Cardio Better Before Weights Or Afterwards?

By Russ Howe


At some stage, everyone who wants to know how to lose weight finds themselves in a situation in the gym where they are getting conflicting advice from everyone they talk to. One of those situations involves this question - should you do cardio before or after weights?

Today you will discover the facts behind the answer to this question.
The video today will explain whether you should do cardio before or after weights in the gym.


If you were to ask most experienced gym users for their opinion on this matter, you would probably be overwhelmed with the conflicting information in many people's views on the subject. You would also be shocked that despite the fact someone may look good, it appears they may merely be training instinctively and without any real knowledge of why they are doing things a certain way. Most people believe that doing cardio after weighs is superior as it allows you to hit the weights while your energy is peaking.

This is a theory which stands up nicely when you say it out loud, but loses credibility when you look at the facts scientifically.

During aerobic and anaerobic activity, the body is forced to make several internal changes to help you adapt to your heavy workload. One such change is the release of two very important enzymes which play a vital role in both the effectiveness of a resistance training workout and your ability to perform cardiovascular exercise. The first enzyme we will look at here is m-TOR.

The more gym savvy readers here will notice this word from many protein supplements on the market. That's because this enzyme is thought to be responsible for switching on the body's muscle building recovery process following a gym workout. It is released in a spike which can last for up to six hours and, naturally, you want to enjoy the maximum benefit from this spike if your goal is to build more lean muscle tissue.

During aerobic activity, such as a bike or treadmill, the body adapts by releasing an enzyme called AMPK.

Here is the real kicker - AMPK release blunts m-TOR release significantly!

So jumping on a bike for 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise after a workout might sound good in theory, but in truth you are doing more harm than good to your chances of building rock hard lean muscle any time soon. The increase in your AMPK levels will do significant damage to the increased m-TOR you created by hitting the weights, rendering your session only half as great as it could have been.

It is also worth noting that several studies have looked into just how much pre workout cardio can zap the muscles of strength, too. One study tested this theory by having subjects do a tough aerobic session followed by a bench press and squat session. The cardio only affected the squats, which prompted the conclusion that you can get around this issue by simply avoiding cardio activity before leg day - this allows you to get the full benefits of cardio without missing out on the full benefits of the spike in m-TOR brought about by a heavy weights session.

Learning how to lose weight can be a confusing path, with many conflicting opinions often causing confusion along the way. The next time somebody asks should you do cardio before or after weights, you can help the with the latest scientific research rather than gym myths.




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