One common question most fitness and gym trainers face is, “When should I Lift weights?” Many fitness enthusiasts and gym freaks opt to take on both cardio and strength training in the same session. However, the simple answer to this question is what your targets are.
Weights Before Cardio
If you are aiming to build substantial muscle mass, then lift before doing your cardio workout. According to fitness experts, if you do cardio training before you don’t have much energy to do your lifting which is where you’d want to put your A game.
In a recent study carried out on a group of healthy men revealed that when they performed cardio training before strength workout, they experienced a drop in muscular power. Additionally, they were only able to complete fewer strength reps than those who never did any cardio work beforehand.
Cardio Before Weights
If you are looking to boost your cardiovascular fitness or preparing for an endurance competition, then you can do your cardio workouts before lifting. If you do your strength exercises first, you will curtail the amount of energy for the cardio workout session.
Fitness experts warn that doing resistance exercises before cardio could hinder your endurance levels. Research shows that strength routine increases the heartbeat rate by 12 per minute during cardio training, making the session feel more intense causing you to feel tired sooner.
Can’t Both Be Done at The Same Time?
Well, if you are looking into dropping off a few kilos, then you can blend in cardio and weight exercises in one training session. Doing both modes of exercises in one routine ensures you burn more calories which is the primary goal of when working out for weight loss.
Let’s break this down a little bit, hitting strength workouts first tends to spike your heartbeat rate up to 12 beats per minute during the cardio session. Consequently, a moderate intensity cardio routine will feel more intense.
As such, you can try curating supersets of cardio and strength exercise. For instance, switching between a set of pushups with sessions skipping rope.
Working Out For Several Goals
In most instances, people are always targeting various fitness goals when they hit the gym. Be it shedding excess weight, improving endurance, or building muscle mass. If you fall into this category, and you are working out say 3-5 times a week settle on which goal you want to achieve on that training day.
For example, your training regimen could be; strength and cardio supersets on Mondays, weight loss focused session on Wednesdays and lastly an endurance shift on Fridays.
Expert Advice
Concurrent workouts can be very intense, as such be very careful not bite too much during the early stages. This may result in fatigue, muscle soreness or even strains. Make sure to tone down on the intensity if you experience shortness of breath or a rapid heart rate.
Lastly, make sure you eat a nutrient-rich diet, stay hydrated and get enough sleep and rest days to ensure your body recovers fully and rebuilds itself.
