Thursday, April 8, 2010

Q & A on cardio before or after weight training


QUESTION:
Andrea,

I received your email that stated if you have a health or fitness question
to email this address. So, I have a fitness question. I am working on
burning fat and building muscle. Usually I alternate every other day
between aerobic and weight lifting. For example, on Monday I run on the
treadmill, on Tuesday I workout chest and biceps/triceps, on Wednesday I run
on the treadmill, on Thursday I workout my legs with weights, Friday I run
on the treadmill, and Saturday I may lift weights to work on shoulders and
back. This is my plan, but I do miss days here and there. My question is
that if I want to change things up and get an aerobic workout and a muscle
building workout on the same day, is it better to run on the treadmill first
then lift weights, or to lift weights first then run on the treadmill? Any
advice would be appreciated.

DW

ANSWER FROM FITNESS EXPERT, ANDREA METCALF:
Good for you DAVE that you have a game plan... That's the first step. If you want to do cardio and weights on the same day, unless you are a body builder, it will not matter very much which you do first. Weight training will deplete muscle glycogen and then move onto the fat stores for fuel, so weight training first for a body builder is a better option. But if you cannot get into the gym that often, it's better to interval train--- meaning alternate your weight training with cardio... You'll burn more calories in less time and get benefits from both cardio & strength.

No comments: