Is Cardio Best Before or After Lifting?

We all know we should do some conditioning work, whether it’s running, cycling, burpees  – “do your cardio” is the “eat your veggies” of the fitness game. Like it or not, cardio is too damn good for you to skip out on, and it's a key tool for getting ripped. But where’s the ideal place to program it into your gym routine?

Should you do conditioning, metcon, or cardio work before or after lifting?

Some say to do it before. You’re going to warm up anyway… might as well push a little longer and get cardio out of the way.

Classic bodybuilders will tell you doing cardio first will drain you and interfere with the real reason you’re there: to lift weights.

So when is the best time to do cardio?

Thanks to a recent study published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, we have the answer. The old school lifters who said to do it after weight training were on to something.  

 

The New Study

The study found that across the board, when healthy, resistance-trained men performed cardio/conditioning exercise before a weight training session:

• Fewer reps were completed
• Average power and speed of lifts were significantly reduced
• Perceived exertion was higher (ie, the athletes reported feeling more burnt out)

For the pre-lifting cardio portion, researchers tested four different treadmill protocols and intensity levels:

• 60% of the participant's max effort for 45 minutes
• 75% of the participant's max effort for 20 minutes
• 75% of the participant's max effort at a 6-9% uphill incline for 20 minutes
• 90-100% of the participant's max effort for intervals of 3 minutes – sprint/rest Hight Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) work done for 5 rounds

Researchers found that all forms of pre-lifting cardio negatively impacted strength and endurance in the weight training that followed. The decrease in performance matched the intensity of the cardio work done – the harder the cardio, the worse the athletes lifted after.

Despite its work/rest balance, the High Intensity Interval (HIIT) group experienced the greatest reduction in lifting performance.

That last point is important, because many online gurus recommend HIIT before lifting. They argue that because HIIT doesn’t take a long time to complete, and because has built in rest periods, it won’t drain your lifting session.

This study disproves that argument, showing that HIIT (when done first) did more damage to lifting sessions than any other cardio type tested.

While HIIT is an outstanding (arguably the best) way to do conditioning work, it is not optimally done immediately before a weight training session.  

 

The Bottom Line:

Do weights first. If your goal is to build muscle and have a strong, productive lifting session, don't perform conditioning work before you lift. For best results, save cardio for after weights, or do it on separate “cardio days” if your schedule allows it.

Cited:

Ratamess, Nicholas A. et al. October '16. ...Resistance Exercise Performance Is Negatively Impacted.... JSCR, Vol. 30 (10).

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