Cardio Before or After Weights: What’s Best?

Fitness enthusiasts often debate: Should you do cardio before or after lifting weights? Until recently, the answer was mostly about personal preference. Some prefer a jog before hitting the weights. Others believe lifting first burns more fat.

A new study may have finally answered this question.

The Study’s Findings

The study found that the order of your workout affects fat loss. People who lifted weights before cardio lost more fat. They also became more active throughout the day.

How the Study Worked

Researchers worked with 45 young men aged 18-30 who were classified as obese. They split the participants into three groups for 12 weeks:

• One group was a control group and didn’t change their exercise habits.
• The other two groups exercised for 60 minutes, three times a week.

Participants wore sports watches to track their daily movement. This helped researchers get accurate data without relying on self-reporting.

Exercise Programs

Both exercise groups followed the same training programs but differed in the order of exercises. The strength training group used weights and did exercises like the bench press, deadlift, bicep curl, and squat. The cardio sessions involved 30 minutes of stationary cycling.

Results

Both groups saw improvements in fitness, muscle strength, and body composition. They lost fat and gained lean muscle. Interestingly, improvements in cardiovascular fitness were similar in both groups.

However, the real differences were in fat loss and muscle performance. Those who lifted weights first lost more body fat and visceral fat. Visceral fat is linked to heart disease risk.

They also increased their daily step count by about 3,500 steps. The cardio-first group only increased by 1,600 steps. Plus, lifting weights first improved muscular endurance and explosive strength.

Why Exercise Order Matters

The reason behind these findings is how your body uses energy. Lifting weights first depletes muscle glycogen stores. Glycogen is the sugar stored in muscles that acts as quick fuel.

When you lift weights first, you use up this fuel. Then, when you do cardio, your body relies more on fat for energy. This shift helps explain why the weights-first group lost more fat.

This study aligns with other research. A 2022 review found that resistance training alone can reduce body fat and visceral fat. Muscles burn calories even at rest, which helps with fat loss.

Doing cardio first might make your strength training less effective. Cardio uses up glycogen, leaving your muscles tired before you lift weights. This can reduce your muscles’ ability to produce power and strength.

Workout Order

Whether you do cardio before or after lifting weights, both will improve your health. The difference is that lifting weights first helps with fat loss, reducing belly fat, and increasing daily activity.

Lifting weights also boosts confidence and energy levels. This encourages more movement throughout the day, aiding fat loss.

If your main goal is cardiovascular fitness, the order doesn’t matter much. Both ways improve aerobic fitness. But if you want to lose fat and be more active, evidence supports lifting weights first.