Fitness
Should You Do Cardio Before or After You Lift Weights?
UNLESS YOU HAVE the free time to hit the gym more than once a day, if you’re including weight training and cardio in your programming, you’re combining them in one massive block. So, which should you do first: cardio or weights?
It’s almost surprising we’ve progressed to a place where guys are asking this question. Gym wisdom long held that cardio can hurt your gains, and building muscle would inhibit cardiovascular performance. More recent research has shown us that cardiovascular exercise can help with muscle gains, and muscle gains can help with cardiovascular performance. A study published in the Journal of Gerontology found that long-term aerobic exercise is associated with greater muscle strength throughout a lifespan. Now, you’ll find the highest level endurance runners, swimmers, and bikers in the weight room a few times a week—lifting weights can even help such athletes improve VO2 max, according to University of Oklahoma researchers. You’ll also find the strongest powerlifters and bodybuilders hitting the cardio floor (if only to walk on the treadmill).
Plus, both cardio and weight training promote different aspects of health—both needed for overall well-being. A 2022 British Journal of Sports Medicine study found that those with regimens that included both cardio and weight training had a lower risk of mortality than those who only did cardio. The focus has shifted away from which style of training you should be doing, to how to incorporate the two together effectively based on your goals.
Here, experts explain whether you should do cardio or weight training first in your workout, depending on your goals.
How to Decide Between Cardio Before or After Weights
If you were to poll personal trainers about the questions they receive most often, there’s one that would occur on almost every list: What should I do first during a workout: lifting or cardio?
It’s a loaded question, and the full answer depends on a number of factors, including your fitness level, exercise experience, athletic goals, and how much time you can devote each day to working out. It’s also somewhat of a false dilemma, as there are a number of ways to perform strength training and cardio simultaneously, such as high-intensity interval training (HIIT) and circuit training. But if you have general fitness goals, you want to approach cardio and strength training separately in the same workout, and you’re looking for a general rule, here it is: Lift first, then do cardio second. If you’re looking to split your training into a two-a-day workout split, follow these tips to optimize your efforts.
Why Weights Should Come Before Cardio
The reason is that strength training typically involves external loading (e.g., with a barbell, dumbbells, kettlebells, resistance bands, etc.), and thus has a more acute injury risk. Pre-fatiguing your muscles with cardio prior to lifting weights will only elevate that risk—not to mention torpedo weightlifting performance. In short, you won’t be able to lift as much or perform as many reps as you would if you started with your strength training.
If you plan on lifting heavy, you need your muscles to be fresh in order to do so with good form and to load them sufficiently to optimize their growth stimulus. You simply can’t do that if you “pre-fatigue” your muscles with cardio.
What If I Want to Improve Cardiovascular Endurance?
Of course, there’s also the counter argument: If you lift weights before doing cardio, won’t that inhibit your aerobic performance? The answer is yes. Research suggests that you’ll likely notice a reduction in power, speed, and stamina, providing yet more incentive to perform strength training and cardio on different days.
But what lifting weights prior to performing aerobic exercise won’t do is significantly increase your risk of injury—and that’s a key difference to keep in mind when designing your workouts and programing your training plan. Try to tailor your aerobic training and your weight training on different days to optimize both. But, if you do have to do your weight training and cardio on the same day, stick with weights first.
Exceptions to the Weights Before Cardio Rule
As with all things in life, some rules are meant to be broken, and the “lift first, do cardio second” decree is no different. Here are a couple of instances when you should flip the script.
Warming Up
Working out without warming up is like driving a car in winter without letting it idle first—you’re going to strain your engine or (at the very least) compromise its performance.
Warming up with a bit of light cardio prior to any workout—whether it be strength or cardio based—will help prime your muscles for action. You’ll increase blood flow throughout your body, excite your nervous system, and increase your mental focus, which will all get you primed for a great sweat session.
HIIT and Circuit Training
There are also times when it’s appropriate to combine strength training and cardio in the same workout. HIIT and circuit training are two of them. Protocols that get you moving like EMOM and AMRAP are two more. The basic idea is this: By prioritizing work efforts and minimizing rest periods, you keep your heart rate elevated and metabolism cranking while challenging your muscles and stimulating hypertrophy.
In short, you get the best of both worlds—the calorie-burning and endurance-boosting benefits of cardiovascular conditioning and the muscle-building and power-developing rewards of strength training.
But here’s the thing: You shouldn’t do these high intensity cardio workouts every day. In fact, you should only perform it two to three times per week (at most), because if you do it more often, your body won’t have time to recover sufficiently between sessions. So what should you do on the other days? You guessed it—strength training and/or lower intensity cardio.
Trevor Thieme is a Los Angeles-based writer and strength coach, and a former fitness editor at Men’s Health. When not helping others get in shape, he splits his time between surfing, skiing, hiking, mountain biking, and trying to keep up with his seven year-old daughter.
Cori Ritchey, NASM-CPT is an Associate Health & Fitness Editor at Men’s Health and a certified personal trainer and group fitness instructor. You can find more of her work in HealthCentral, Livestrong, Self, and others.
For Hobart teacher Mary Holton, health means everything.
She started feeling the squeeze from cost-of-living pressures when fuel prices spiked again.
“Going out for just fitness alone was a bit much,”
she said.
Mary Holton says since joining the group, her fitness across the board has improved. (ABC News: Jake Grant)
Many Tasmanians are feeling cost-of-living pressures in a very physical way, with locals saying exercise routines are being dropped, health appointments delayed and wellbeing pushed to the bottom of the list as budgets tighten.
Ms Holton relies on multiple physiotherapy sessions each week, but says paid fitness classes simply are not an option.
“That costs … so to actually go to other classes as well, it’s out of my budget really.“
Ollie Mathewson conducts a free workout session. (ABC News: Jake Grant)
National data shows that almost half of Australians already fall short of minimum physical activity guidelines, and rising prices are making even basic care unaffordable for many.
Consultant clinical psychologist academic Kimberley Norris says this is exactly how unhealthy patterns begin.
“We tend to focus on the most stressful thing first … and health is one of those things we don’t think about until things go wrong,”
Professor Norris said.
Kimberley Norris says humans tend to focus on alleviating stress first and foremost, and warns de-prioritising health can become a cycle. (ABC News: Jake Grant)
For Ms Holton, going to a free workout group in her local community was a game-changer.
“Came down and absolutely loved it. It’s really nice to have a group and it just keeps growing,” she said.
Finding a free exercise group has drastically improved her health, as noted by her GP, and she is part of a growing trend.
Free exercise classes become a lifeline
At a community exercise class in South Arm, south-east of Hobart, the mood is upbeat, with laughter, movement, and a sense of relief.
Participation has more than doubled in the past year, with more than 100 Tasmanians now involved.
Trainer Ollie Mathewson said the surge was unmistakable.
“It’s free of charge for everybody … and over the last 12 months I’ve noticed a lot more people starting to come along,”
he said.
Ollie Mathewson says attendance at his classes has almost doubled over the past year. (ABC News: Jake Grant)
Across greater Hobart, free and low-cost alternatives are multiplying and include walking groups, community-run circuits, and morning and afternoon fitness meet-ups.
Tasmanians are increasingly organising their own solutions.
Mr Mathewson said connections drive outcomes.
“A lot of people talk about weight and strength, which are obviously insanely important, having other people there to push you single every week makes it a hundred times easier.“
Professor Norris said one’s health can be prioritised for free.
“What we know about health is, it’s more about sustainable wellbeing, it’s about quality of life,” she said.
“So rather than focusing on how much you can deadlift, how far you can run, it’s about how your life has improved and how close your life is to the way you want to live it.”
She said free options were vital because once people stop moving, it becomes harder to start again.
“If we develop routines in which health is not a priority, then we almost get stuck in this cycle of health always being last.“
Health appointments being delayed or dropped
For some Tasmanians, the financial pressure is forcing even tougher choices.
Amy Dakin says she can’t even think about getting a gym membership with all the other costs of living on her mind. (ABC News: Jake Grant)
Amy Dakin, who lives with a compromised immune system, often has no choice but to delay essential care.
“My health needs to be prioritised, but your bills come first, really,” she said.
Jordyn Rowbottom says she’s not the only one changing her hobbies to save on costs. (ABC News: Jake Grant)
Jordyn Rowbottom has seen the same pattern around her.
“People are being forced to cut what they can access,”
she said.
Professor Norris warns that these short-term decisions can create long-term harm, not just for individuals, but for the broader health system.
She said the combination of financial pressure and reduced physical activity would create a public health challenge.
Trainers adapting to shrinking budgets
Personal trainer Nickola Orr works with clients across different income levels, ages and needs.
She said affordability now shapes almost every program she designs.
“You want to make sure they can get as much help as they can within their price range,”
she said.
Nickola Orr is concerned about access to fitness and health services in the face of rising cost pressures. (ABC News: Jake Grant)
With the median individual spend on fitness in Tasmania sitting at almost $600 last year, Ms Orr said the warning signs were already visible.
“We’re going to see more results of long-term neglect; higher injuries, more need for mental health assistance. It’s going to snowball.”
Her concerns echo Professor Norris’s academic findings that once healthy routines break down, the consequences ripple for years.
“The changes are very small … while they add up over time, there is no immediate impact,”
Ms Orr said.
Calls for more free and low-cost options
Mr Mathewson hopes the success of free community classes will inspire governments and private operators to expand accessible fitness programs.
“More free options would be a great thing. There are a few now, but there should be more,” he said.
The Tasmanian government has said it will release its 20-year preventive health strategy this month, titled The Health Revolution.
A Department of Health spokesperson said the strategy “will address the broader social, economic, and environmental factors that influence health and wellbeing”.
“Specific issues about access to health services and programs are being considered through the Access to Health Services project, a Commonwealth-State partnership.
“The Health Revolution will complement that project by addressing the root causes of poor health and the underlying conditions to make it easier for Tasmanians to live well.“
If you’ve been faithfully logging your 30 minutes of moderate exercise most days of the week, you’re getting the recommended weekly about of cardio. But a new study1 suggests that for women in midlife, that standard benchmark may not be moving the needle on cardiovascular fitness as much as we’ve assumed. Here’s what you need to know.
EL MONTE, Calif. (KABC) — A boutique fitness gym in the San Gabriel Valley is focused on women’s empowerment, offering everything from dance fitness to pilates, yoga, zumba and circuit training. It’s called “Beastin Beauties” in El Monte.
“ Boutique fitness spaces here, it doesn’t exist here, so I needed to have this for the people in my community here, where I grew up,” said owner Jay Armada.
Members love working on their health and fitness alongside other women.
“You walk in and you feel like you’re able to let loose and inhibit it in a way that you don’t find in other places,” said member Esmeralda Cabral.
“It takes away the stresses of being in a space where you may feel judgment from others. And there’s a certain level of comfort as a woman that you wanna be able, especially if you’re starting a health journey or you’re reigniting it, you wanna have the comfort of being around under supportive women,” said member Ruby Rose Yepez, who also teaches yoga at the studio.
Women empowerment has been the theme all along, from Jay’s humble beginnings…
“ I want people to feel what I felt when I was going through my own journey. I had lost ninety-three pounds in a whole year and I just wanted everyone to feel that,” said Armada.
…to a huge setback in 2020 when the gym’s previous location burned down in a fire.
“ I thought I didn’t wanna do it anymore. Maybe it was a sign from God that you should just quit. But my community held me up and they just really made me believe in it again,” said Armada.
Now, her business is thriving, and she was just named the city’s Woman of the Year!
“ Community and connection here in this space is super, super important. Jay is not just about bringing people here for health. She brings people here to build the connections so that they feel that they’re part of a community,” said Yepez.
“You build a connection without even really trying. You’re all experiencing the same moments together. There’s always just so much fun happening,” said Cabral.
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