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?

The facts behind this question are very clear so today you will discover the answer.

Conflicting information is everywhere, particularly on the gym floor. What works for one person might not work for the next person and this causes confusion. Most people falsely believe that doing aerobic activity after a training session is a superior way to increase fat loss and lean muscle growth. Today you will discover the answer based upon scientific research, rather than gym opinions.

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

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.

You may have seen that name, m-TOR, plastered across the pages of muscle building magazines in the past. That's because it is the enzyme your body releases in increased volume following a tough workout. It is the enzyme which is considered the 'key' to 'turning on' the post workout muscle building recovery phase. So if you are trying to build lean muscle in the gym (and who isn't?) then it makes sense to take increased m-TOR release very, very seriously. Ideally, you want to be in a state of increased m-TOR release for as long as possible after each and every workout.

When you do cardiovascular activity the body releases an enzyme called AMPK instead. This helps the body adapt to aerobic exercise.

Ready for the controversial bit? AMPK release kills m-TOR dead in it's tracks!

So by jumping on a treadmill after your weights workout and doing half an hour of cardio exercise, you are actually causing your body to release a spike of AMPK and shut down much of the increased m-TOR you caused by working hard on the iron in the first place.

Also, a study from northern California looked into the theory that pre workout cardiovascular activity would zap strength from the muscles. What they discovered was quite shocking. Like we said earlier, theories do not always play out the way you expect them to. Subjects noticed that pre workout cardio only had a negative impact on the muscles which were used during the cardio itself, for example if the cardio was legs based then leg exercises would be impacted, but every upper body move remained just as powerful. Combine this with the fact that pre workout cardio also allows you to get the full benefits of increased m-TOR levels and you can see why pre workout cardiovascular exercise is scientifically recommended as the way to go here.

So, should you do cardio before or after weights for maximum fat loss results? The latest science on the subject points heavily in favor of doing your aerobic work before you hit the weights and skipping it on leg day. Figuring out how to lose weight can be a very confusing affair, so when you have the benefit of real scientific research at your fingertips, it makes perfect sense to use it.




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