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Is Doing Cardio After Weights Superior To Doing It Beforehand?

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.


Let us begin by looking at the most common myth associated with this question. Many people believe that by doing cardiovascular exercise before resistance training you will leave your muscles zapped of strength and restrict your ability on the weights, therefore it would make natural sense to go with hitting the weights first and doing your cardiovascular activity at the end.

This particular belief stacks up well from a common sense point of view, but when you look at the latest scientific research available you will be surprised at the findings.

When there is conclusive scientific evidence on a subject available, you have no reason to follow myths or train with a trial and error approach. During cardiovascular exercise and resistance training, the human body increases the release of two very significant enzymes which can make or break your results to a certain degree. The first of those is m-TOR, which we will be looking at first.

This is the enzyme responsible for signalling the start of the muscle building process after a heavy weights session. It is not uncommon to see this name on the front of various protein supplements, which all claim to cause an increase in m-TOR release to help you build more lean muscle after a hard workout. The body increases m-TOR for up to six hours after a resistance workout, making it easier for you to build lean muscle temporarily.

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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