Should you do cardio before or after weights? This is a question on the lips of many gym members around the world who are trying to figure out how to lose weight. Yet despite the conclusive proof which is already available, it remains something which confuses most people.
Today you are going to find out the factual answer to this question.
Let us begin by looking at the most common myth associated with this question. Many people believe that by doing cardiovascular exercise before resistance training you will leave your muscles zapped of strength and restrict your ability on the weights, therefore it would make natural sense to go with hitting the weights first and doing your cardiovascular activity at the end.
This is a theory which stands up nicely when you say it out loud, but loses credibility when you look at the facts scientifically.
During aerobic and anaerobic activity, the body is forced to make several internal changes to help you adapt to your heavy workload. One such change is the release of two very important enzymes which play a vital role in both the effectiveness of a resistance training workout and your ability to perform cardiovascular exercise. The first enzyme we will look at here is m-TOR.
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.
Despite being perfectly natural, AMPK has one flaw - it kills off m-TOR!
So now you should be beginning to see that the last thing you should be doing following a hard resistance training session is jumping on an upright cycle and peddling for an hour! In doing so, your body will be forcing itself to wipe out much of the increased m-TOR release you caused by training with weights.
It is also worth noting that several studies have looked into just how much pre workout cardio can zap the muscles of strength, too. One study tested this theory by having subjects do a tough aerobic session followed by a bench press and squat session. The cardio only affected the squats, which prompted the conclusion that you can get around this issue by simply avoiding cardio activity before leg day - this allows you to get the full benefits of cardio without missing out on the full benefits of the spike in m-TOR brought about by a heavy weights session.
If you are searching for the best explanations on how to lose weight then it makes sense to go with the most logical scientific answers rather than buying into the wealth of gym myths which are out there. Should you do cardio before or after weights? The latest science is massively in favor of doing it before.
Today you are going to find out the factual answer to this question.
Let us begin by looking at the most common myth associated with this question. Many people believe that by doing cardiovascular exercise before resistance training you will leave your muscles zapped of strength and restrict your ability on the weights, therefore it would make natural sense to go with hitting the weights first and doing your cardiovascular activity at the end.
This is a theory which stands up nicely when you say it out loud, but loses credibility when you look at the facts scientifically.
During aerobic and anaerobic activity, the body is forced to make several internal changes to help you adapt to your heavy workload. One such change is the release of two very important enzymes which play a vital role in both the effectiveness of a resistance training workout and your ability to perform cardiovascular exercise. The first enzyme we will look at here is m-TOR.
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.
Despite being perfectly natural, AMPK has one flaw - it kills off m-TOR!
So now you should be beginning to see that the last thing you should be doing following a hard resistance training session is jumping on an upright cycle and peddling for an hour! In doing so, your body will be forcing itself to wipe out much of the increased m-TOR release you caused by training with weights.
It is also worth noting that several studies have looked into just how much pre workout cardio can zap the muscles of strength, too. One study tested this theory by having subjects do a tough aerobic session followed by a bench press and squat session. The cardio only affected the squats, which prompted the conclusion that you can get around this issue by simply avoiding cardio activity before leg day - this allows you to get the full benefits of cardio without missing out on the full benefits of the spike in m-TOR brought about by a heavy weights session.
If you are searching for the best explanations on how to lose weight then it makes sense to go with the most logical scientific answers rather than buying into the wealth of gym myths which are out there. Should you do cardio before or after weights? The latest science is massively in favor of doing it before.
About the Author:
Author blog: Russ Howe PTI is a nationally sought-after south shields personal trainer featured on tv. Read his full guide on the effects of doing cardio before or after weights for a complete guide to this subject.
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