Aerobics and weight-training are part of a balanced workout program. Both workout routines offer unique and also overlapping benefits that can improve your health and quality of life. So, if you’re committed to fitness, doing a combination of both is the best way to get and stay in shape. The question is, which one should you do first during your workout routine?
In short, it depends. Here’s why:
Cardio exercises have a long list of physical as well as mental health benefits. Not only does it strengthen your heart, it also:
Aerobic exercises are any movements that increase your heart rate and engage your major muscle groups, such as:
While cardio does strengthen your body, weight training can completely transform your physique. Here are some other important benefits:
Strength training, also known as resistance training, is any form of exercise that taxes your muscles through the use of weights, such as:
What exercise should you do first? It depends on what’s more important to you. Both forms of training provide a long list of health benefits. But, when you want to know which exercise should come first, the answer depends on what your workout goals are.
Do you want to focus on endurance or cardiovascular performance? Your primary focus should be on aerobic exercises. Do you want to increase your strength and build a more muscular physique? Start with weight training. Once you have determined what your workout goals are, it’s important to remain consistent so that you can maximise your workout.
Whether you’re pushing yourself on the ellipticals or you’re doing heavy deadlifts, both cardio and strength-training exercises are taxing on the body. By the time you get to the second part of your workout, your muscles are already fatigued. The first workout will be the better quality of the two.
If you haven’t heard about this phenomenon, the interference effect happens when you combine both cardio and weight-training exercises concurrently. Because the body adapts to these two types of workouts differently, your strength-training gains may be compromised. In other words, doing both exercises one right after the other may slow down your resistance training results.
Ideally, you want your body to give 100% every time you work out. To avoid fatigue, consider splitting up your workouts, so that you only spend time on one form of exercise every day. Separating strength training from cardio prevents compromise. If this doesn’t sound feasible to you, try leaving at least six hours in between your workouts to give your muscles a small break.
If, however, you still want to do both exercises concurrently, try working the different muscle groups for each type of workout to reduce fatigue. For example, upper-body strength-training followed by a spinning class or thirty minutes on the rowing machine followed by a lower-body resistance training.
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