7 November
4 min. read
Съдържание:
Everyday I have to answer the question “What to do first: Cardio and strength training?” So I decided to give a clear answer and share it with you in this blog post.
What's the Difference Between Cardio and Strength Training?
Monotonous cardio in which you sustain pulse in a relatively stable range is a type of aerobic workout. It is important to make a distinction with HIIT workouts which are a mixture of anaerobic and aerobic mode: alternating high intensity and low intensity intervals. Here we will talk about traditional cardio and strength (anaerobic) workouts.
What is the difference between them? In the aerobic workout your muscles use oxygen to burn carbohydrates and fat, while with anaerobic loads, muscle cells rely on chemical reactions without the participation of oxygen - the energy source is glycogen.
Aerobic or Anaerobic: Which Should Come First?
If you go in a gym and look around, most women do cardio first, followed by strength training. Yes but no!
First you need to run your power drill, then cardio. Why? Because this is the right way to structure a workout where muscles are loaded optimally and to stimulate the production of the right hormones.
Anaerobic workout should be about 90-120 minutes after eating. It should never be carried out on an empty stomach because your body will not be loaded with glycogen (fuel for the muscles in anaerobic mode). And since the burning of fat requires oxygen during the actual strength training you can’t get to the fat stores. The energy source is glycogen. After you finish the exercises and everything went according to plan, your body has used up most of the glycogen (almost all of it).
Now it’s the cardio turn! It is used to target the fat burning. The only available source of energy are fatty acids as through strength training you burned the glycogen. The effect is the same as cardio on an empty stomach because glycogen levels are low after sleep (with properly structured diet).
Done like this your workout has the following benefits and results:
- Through strength training you burn glycogen to do better cardio.
- Strength training helps to accelerate the metabolism, since the mere injury to the muscle fibers exacerbate insulin sensitivity.
- After strength training metabolism stays fast within 48 hours. This means faster weight loss and fat loss!
- During cardio the body is directed to body fat and burns it.
What Happens If You Do Cardio First?
If all other factors are held constant this is what happens:
You are going to training 90-120 minutes after eating. Glycogen depots are filled. You start with cardio, which is an aerobic workout. Unfortunately, the first energy source is glycogen. You do 30-40 minutes of cardio in which you burn glycogen, but did not reach the fat because the body has easily accessible source of energy it prefers to use.
You are done with cardio and start strength exercises. Strength training is anaerobic - without oxygen. The body can’t reach the fat and use it for energy. And now glycogen is depleted. What now?!
The body is in panic and begins the disintegration of muscle protein (gluconeogenesis) to procure the necessary energy. You are still unable to burn fat!
What happens to your body and what is the effect in this scenario:
- Breakdown of muscle protein and loss of muscle mass (metabolism).
- Stimulating the production of stress hormones: cortisol and adrenaline.
- Suppressing the synthesis of anabolic hormones: testosterone and growth hormone (essential for building lean muscle and burning fat).
In Conclusion
If you want to do cardio, always do it after resistance training or in the morning on an empty stomach. This is the time when your efforts will really be justified! Take advantage of this time window. Try not to overdo it: no more than 30-40 minutes of cardio on one go. Strength training also should not last more than 45 minutes, and total workout (anaerobic + aerobic) should not be longer than an hour and 30 minutes!
